Test Bank (Multiple Choice)
Chapter 1: The Past in the Present
Introduction to the Chapter
1. How does the chapter define history?
a) Every event that happened in the past
b) All past events that really mattered
c) Past events that were remembered and then reconstructed in some way
d) None of these is correct.
What Is History?
1. The word history comes from the Latin word meaning
a) to orate.
b) to remember.
c) to inquire.
d) to write down.
2. Postmodern historians deny the existence of what?
a) Objective histories
b) Factual histories
c) Political histories
d) All of these
Historians and Their Tools
1. Which of the following could potentially be a primary source?
a) A coin
b) A diary
c) An e-mail
d) All of these are correct.
2. Why can’t all historical sources be trusted as a reliable way to write “good”
history?
a) Some primary sources are biased.
b) The historical record can be distorted because of missing sources.
c) Secondary sources may have some political agenda.
d) All of these are correct.
Politics, Power, and History
1. Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of glasnost could be translated as a policy of
a) openness.
b) thawing.
c) goodwill.
d) retribution.
2. How long has the history of the oppressed been around?
a) It has existed since WWII.
b) It has existed since the nineteenth century.
c) It has always existed.
d) The history of the oppressed does not exist.
History and International Conflicts
1. According to your textbook, most national histories are
a) concerned with individual citizens’ rights.
b) concerned with documenting the good and the bad things the nation has done.
c) concerned with making the nation appear infallible and righteous.
d) All of these are correct.
What Is Good History?
1. Popular histories are typically
a) less accurate narratives of the past.
b) much more accurate than people think.
c) captivating and dramatic, but completely inaccurate.
d) unable to affect public opinion.
Theories of History
1. If historians can explain the factors that caused a violent international incident,
why don’t public policy makers learn from past mistakes and avoid such errors in
the future, according to your textbook?
a) Nations are not always interested in avoiding such errors. They are more likely
to be concerned with financial and political power and control.
b) Historians often don’t agree on what caused an incident, only that it occurred.
Therefore it’s not always clear what the best course of action would be.
c) The future is too different from the past for any definitive lessons to be learned.
d) All of these are correct.
Are There Lessons of History?
1. The belief that history teachers specific lessons leads policymakers to
a) Become historical scholars themselves.
b) Invoke historical analogies when making and justifying decisions.
c) Write definitive histories of events.
d) Make better decisions overall.
2. Which of the following statements does the chapter suggest is the one historians
are most likely to agree with?
a) “History repeats itself.”
b) “Those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it.”
c) “History enables us to understand the past better, no more, no less . . .”
d) None of these is correct.
Chapter 1
Question
Answer
1
c
1
c
2
a
1
d
2
d
1
a
2
c
1
c
1
a
1
d
1
b
2
c