Test Bank (Multiple Choice)
Chapter 9: South and Central Asia and International Studies
Introduction: Why Study South and Central Asia?
1. According to the textbook, which South Asian country is currently the world’s
largest democracy?
a) India
b) Pakistan
c) Bangladesh
d) Nepal
2. Which religious belief came to South and Central Asia in the Middle Ages?
a) Confucianism
b) Buddhism
c) Catholicism
d) Islam
Geographical Realities
1. Which country is NOT in Central Asia?
a) Tajikstan
b) Turkmenistan
c) Bhutan
d) Mongolia
2. Which country is NOT in South Asia?
a) Uzbekistan
b) Sri Lanka
c) Pakistan
d) Nepal
3. What is true about the geography of both South and Central Asia?
a) Most of the region is very wet, with even wetter monsoon seasons.
b) Nearly all of the lands in the region have a reliable supply of water and fertile
soils.
c) Almost none of the lands in the region experience cold winters.
d) The region has a wide variety of landscapes and climates.
Historical Challenges
4. What civilization ruled over all of Central Asia around the year 1200?
a) the Indus River Valley peoples
b) the Timurid
c) the Mongols
d) the Ottoman Turks
5. Which two countries were involved in the “Great Game” or “Tournament of
Shadows”?
a) Russia and Great Britain
b) The United States and Great Britain
c) Russia and France
d) France and the United States of America
Cultural complexities
6. According to the text, the Vedas, reincarnation, the Ganges Valley, and “many
expressions of the deity” are all associated with which Central and South Asian
religion?
a) Tibetan Buddhism
b) Islam
c) Russian Orthodox Christianity
d) Hinduism
Economic Opportunities
7. What factor is not a challenge to economic development for a number of countries
in the region?
a) Shift from command-style to market-style economies
b) Declining role of the oil industry
c) Poverty and subsistence agriculture
d) Lack of infrastructure investment and development
Political Risks
8. Which event do the authors say is a root cause of political tension in South Asia?
a) The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
b) The September 11th attacks on the United States
c) The partition of India and Pakistan
d) None of these is correct.
The Silk Road
1. The Silk Road is now used as a metaphor for what?
a) globalization and trade linkages in Central and South Asia
b) US military and imperial designs on the region
c) China’s political ambitions to rebuild the Mongol Empire
d) the global diffusion of Islam and Buddhism
2. Samrakand, a center of Silk Road activity, is located in the modern day country
of
a) Kyrgyzstan
b) Kazakhstan
c) Uzbekistan
d) Turkmenistan
Demographic Issues
1. According to your book, what types of methods and policies are likely to be
effective and acceptable in reducing India’s population growth rate?
a) Strict one-child laws that limit family size
b) Safe, state-promoted sterilization campaigns
c) Public service advisories emphasizing the social good of smaller families
d) Life-choice advertising campaigns for birth control
Environmental Challenges in India
1. Which of the following countries saw major earthquakes in 2005 and 2015,
respectively?
a) India and Pakistan
b) Pakistan and Nepal
c) Nepal and India
d) Both major earthquakes took place in Pakistan.
2. A one-meter rise in sea level would likely have which of the following effects?
a) Approximately 20 million people from India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka would
be displaced
b) Salinization of the soil in north-western India would reach critical levels.
c) The country of Maldives would completely disappear under the ocean.
d) All of these are correct
Political Ecology in South and Central Asia
1. Why, according to the textbook, does cotton production in Central Asia have an
impact on the level of water in the Aral Sea?
a) Irrigation canals are sandy and leaky, leading to water waste.
b) Cotton requires a great deal of water, so more is diverted from source rivers
before reaching the sea.
c) Irrigation canals lead to higher rates of evaporation in the dry climate.
d) All of these are correct.
The Future of India
1. Which of the following is among the rising challenges facing India in the near
future?
a) Depletion of scarce resources due to overpopulation
b) Inequality between men and women
c) Communal violence over religion
d) All of these are correct.
Asia Matters: Global Connections
1. Which country do the authors say is fairly powerful in Central Asia and why?
a) Kazakhstan because of its oil industry
b) Uzbekistan because of its cotton industry
c) Afghanistan because of strategic importance
d) Mongolia because of its role in history
Chapter 9
Question
Answer
1
a
2
d
1
c
2
a
3
d
4
c
5
a
6
d
7
b
8
c
1
a
2
c
1
d
1
b
2
c
1
d
1
d
1
a