45) Using the graphic below, what linguistic family dominates the region?
A) Indo-European
B) Tibeto–Burman
C) Sino–Tibetan
D) Dravidian
E) Altaic
46) Which of the following descriptions does NOT apply to Central Asia?
A) mountainous
B) a place of many deserts
C) a place with a history of domination
D) lies south of Russia
E) densely populated
47) The Dalai Lama
A) is the religious and political leader of Tibet.
B) is the new political leader of Afghanistan after the ousting of the Taliban in 2001-2002.
C) is a political leader of Tibet who was installed by the Chinese government after their invasion
of the region in 1959.
D) has been found to have ties to the Taliban and al–Qaeda.
E) is the political leader of Mongolia.
48) What is the name of the ultra orthodox Islamic group that was in power in Afghanistan until
the United States military intervened in fall of 2001?
A) Taliban
B) al–Qaeda
C) Loya Jurga
D) Northern Alliance
E) Wahhabis
49) Which Central Asian country had been engaged in a civil war that was brought to a head by
the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks?
A) China
B) Azerbaijan
C) Turkmenistan
D) Kazakhstan
E) Afghanistan
50) Which country of Central Asia was NOT previously a republic of the former USSR?
A) Kazakhstan
B) Afghanistan
C) Kyrgyzstan
D) Turkmenistan
E) Uzbekistan
51) What group founded the Taliban?
A) separatist groups from northern Kyrgyzstan
B) young Muslim religious students in Afghanistan
C) an ethnic minority who are nomadic pastoralists in the Kara Kum desert
D) Pashtun women who were seeking to acquire more freedom in Afghan society
E) Russian soldiers in the 1980s
52) All of the following are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization EXCEPT
A) Tibet.
B) Kazakhstan.
C) Mongolia.
D) Kyrgyzstan.
E) Uzbekistan.
53) What is TRUE about strife in Western China?
A) China regards its Central Asian lands as a part of China.
B) Some independence groups are considered terrorist groups by both China and the United
States.
C) The Dalai Lama agrees that Tibet should be a part of China but with true political autonomy.
D) Indigenous inhabitants of Tibet and Xinjiang want independence.
E) All of these answer choices are true.
54) In the nineteenth century, what country began to displace China from Central Asia?
A) Britain
B) Russia
C) Iran
D) Afghanistan
E) Turkey
55) What was the source of the military dominance of Central Asia’s nomads before 1500?
A) firearms, which were invented in the region
B) armor, which protected them against their enemies
C) catapults, which were the most advanced weapons of their era
D) a bigger military than their enemies
E) horses, which made them more mobile
Sea
56) As the nomadic armies of Central Asia declined, which of the following countries benefited?
A) China
B) Britain
C) Russia
D) A and B above
E) A and C above
Sea
57) Which areas in Central Asia remain under Chinese control?
A) Tibet and Xinjiang
B) Xinjiang and Kyrgyzstan
C) Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan
D) Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan
E) Tibet and Kazakhstan
58) How many new countries appeared in Central Asia as a result of the break-up of the Soviet
Union?
A) three
B) four
C) five
D) six
E) ten
59) The Russian war in Afghanistan
A) was started by Islamic fundamentalists.
B) was a major victory for the Soviet military.
C) quickly eradicated the communists as a significant force in the country.
D) resulted in Taliban control of most of the country in 1995.
E) continues today.
60) How long has Afghanistan been at war?
A) since the early 1950s
B) since the late 1960s
C) since the late 1970s
D) since the late 1980s
E) since the late 1990s
61) What word best describes the political structures in most countries of Central Asia?
A) libertarian
B) authoritarian
C) democratic
D) a monarchy
E) stalled in anarchy
62) Which of the following countries is (are) trying to influence Central Asia?
A) United States
B) Russia
C) China
D) Iran
E) All of the answer choices are correct.
63) Since 1999, which Central Asian country has been the world’s largest producer of opium?
A) Afghanistan
B) China
C) Mongolia
D) Azerbaijan
E) Tibet
64) In which country of Central Asia do people have the shortest life expectancy?
A) Azerbaijan
B) Kazakhstan
C) Afghanistan
D) Mongolia
E) Turkmenistan
65) Of all the Central Asian countries, which one has the worst overall composite record of
social indicators?
A) Afghanistan
B) Turkmenistan
C) Tajikistan
D) Mongolia
E) Kazakhstan
66) Where is oil pollution worst in Central Asia?
A) Aral Sea
B) Afghanistan
C) Caspian Sea
D) Tibet
E) Mongolia
67) Most of Central Asia’s oil reserves are found near which physical feature of Central Asia?
A) the Aral Sea
B) the Tarim Basin
C) the Pamir Knot
D) the Kyzyl Kum desert
E) the Caspian Sea
68) What transportation technology must be constructed before the oil wealth of Central Asia can
become economically viable?
A) canals
B) highways
C) pipelines
D) railroads
E) specialized oil tankers
69) Afghanistan earns most of its foreign currency by selling
A) weapons.
B) oil.
C) textiles.
D) opium.
E) rice.
70) Which natural resource is of potentially great importance to economic development in
Central Asia?
A) bananas
B) uranium
C) diamonds
D) timber
E) oil
71) Which of the following statements with respect to Afghanistan’s birthrate is most accurate?
A) Afghanistan, the least-developed and most male dominated country of the region, has the
highest birthrate by a substantial margin.
B) Afghanistan, the most-developed and least male dominated country of the region, has the
lowest birthrate by a substantial margin.
C) Afghanistan, the least-developed and most male dominated country of the region, has the
lowest birthrate by a substantial margin.
D) Afghanistan, the most-developed and least male dominated country of the region, has the
highest birthrate by a substantial margin.
E) Afghanistan‘s birthrate is about average for Central Asia.
72) What country is the fourth-largest cotton exporter?
A) Turkmenistan
B) Tajikistan
C) Uzbekistan
D) Kyrgyzstan
E) Kazakhstan
73) What is yttrium used for?
A) high-powered magnets
B) microwave filters
C) lasers
D) commercial lighting
E) glass
74) China has invested in Afghanistan to obtain?
A) uranium
B) cotton
C) copper
D) opium
E) wheat
75) What is the literacy rate of women in Afghanistan?
A) 7%
B) 12%
C) 18%
D) 23%
E) 29%
76) Central Asian countries have difficulty exporting petroleum products because
A) the countries are landlocked.
B) of the high-elevation mountains.
C) there are no roads capable of handling heavy tanker trucks.
D) Western countries do not want to purchase Central Asian oil.
E) prices are way above the average per barrel cost.
77) The Caspian Sea
A) drains into the Mediterranean.
B) has increased in size over the last three decades.
C) is substantially threatened by oil-industry pollution.
D) is in much greater danger than is the Aral Sea.
E) is the smallest lake in Central Asia.
78) What is the most developed country of Central Asia?
A) Mongolia
B) Kazakhstan
C) Kyrgyzstan
D) Afghanistan
E) Uzbekistan
79) Which of the following statements about economic development in Central Asia is most
accurate?
A) Central Asia is one of the world’s poorest regions, but contains significant natural resources,
including oil and natural gas.
B) Central Asia is one of the world’s poorest regions, and it contains few natural resources.
C) Central Asia is one of the world’s richest regions, and it contains significant natural resources,
including oil and natural gas.
D) Central Asia is one of the world’s richest regions, but contains few natural resources.
E) Central Asia is in the middle of world regions in terms of wealth, but its natural resources
may lead to improved conditions.
80) According to government planners in Turkmenistan, what product will Turkmenistan begin
to export in large quantities, bringing prosperity to the country?
A) bananas
B) movies
C) rice
D) natural gas
E) gold
81) Which of the following Central Asian countries is (are) thought to contain the world’s largest
undeveloped fossil fuel deposits?
A) Afghanistan and Uzbekistan
B) Mongolia and Tibet
C) Xinjiang, China
D) Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan
E) Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan
82) Discuss the major environmental issues in Central Asia.
83) Where is the Aral Sea, and what are the reasons for the dramatic loss in surface area it has
experienced over the last half century? Be certain to discuss the environmental implications of
the vanishing of this body of water.
84) Explain what is being done to stop desertification in the Inner Mongolian Desert.
85) Briefly discuss the following: transhumance, alluvial fans, and pastoralism.
86) Describe the important aspects of Lamaism, including attempts to suppress it.
87) Discuss the history of Tibet, with a special focus on the role of the Chinese. Include an
examination of current conditions in the region.
88) Write an essay in which you discuss the Russian war in Afghanistan, and the subsequent rise
of the Taliban. In your discussion, please consider the primary causes of the war, the key players
involved, and the Taliban’s effect on the country’s cultural landscape.
89) Write an essay in which you detail the shifting of the balance of power in Afghanistan after
the September 11th terror attacks in the United States.
90) Discuss the economy of Afghanistan paying attention to the role of illicit drugs.
91) Describe the current state of the economies of the Central Asian countries and explain why
these countries are in general so underdeveloped.
92) What is the overall status of women in Central Asia? Why have women in Afghanistan been
so strictly controlled, and what is the nature of that control?
93) What is the New Silk Road? How does it contribute to the development of Central Asia?