AP Euro Reading 862-880 Questions

B

What set of ideas did the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche attack?

A. The racial ideology that justified imperialism

B. Enlightenment faith in progress and reason

C. The trend toward secularization

D. The growing movement to celebrate passion and animal instinct

D

What belief was an important part of the thinking of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche?

A. Only socialism could save the West from decline and destruction.

B. The Enlightenment was the high point of Western development.

C. Only a rebirth of Christian spirituality could save the West from decline and destruction.

D. The West was in decline.

A

According to Friedrich Nietzsche, what must the individual do if he or she is to transcend the limits of modern society?

A. Accept the meaninglessness of human existence

B. Devote oneself to the state

C. Seek a deeper faith in God

D. Devote oneself to protecting those who cannot protect themselves

A

What belief was central to logical positivism?

A. What we claim to know about human life must be based on rational facts and direct observation.

B. It was possible to construct a rational proof of the existence of God.

C. Western ideas about freedom and morality are rooted in logical, provable principles.

D. Humans cannot know anything with any real certainty.

B

Ludwig Wittgenstein argued that philosophy should concentrate on the study of

A. faith.

B. language.

C. morality.

D. love.

D

Ludwig Wittgenstein was a leading figure in what philosophical school of the twentieth century?

A. Relativism

B. Nihilism

C. Existentialism

D. Logical positivism

A

The existentialists were united by their search for

A. usable moral values in a world of anxiety and uncertainty.

B. proof of the existence of God.

C. the ideal political state.

D. rational, scientifically verifiable knowledge.

C

What did Jean-Paul Sartre mean when he wrote that "existence precedes essence"?

A. The essence of the individual exists before its manifestation in a living human being.

B. The spiritual essence of an individual takes form in existence and shapes that existence.

C. There are no God-given, timeless truths independent of individual existence.

D. An individual's essence is the product of the collective experience of all living individuals.

A

Which philosopher argued that it was necessary for individuals to take a "leap of faith" and believe in an objectively unknowable God?

A. Søren Kierkegaard

B. Jean-Paul Sartre

C. Ludwig Wittgenstein

D. Friedrich Nietzsche

D

The revival of Christian belief after World War I was fed by the rediscovery of the work of what nineteenth-century theologian and philosopher?

A. Karl Barth

B. Gabriel Marcel

C. Friedrich Nietzsche

D. Søren Kierkegaard

A

In Karl Barth's view, how did human beings gain access to religious truths?

A. As a result of God's grace

B. By the use of reason

C. Through their sensory experience of existence

D. Through both rational investigation and divine inspiration

C

What was called into question by the findings of German physicist Max Planck?

A. The existence of universal forces

B. The existence of the human soul

C. The traditional sharp distinction between matter and energy

D. The traditional notion that time and space were absolutes

B

Which phenomenon did Einstein believe to be the only constant?

A. Time

B. The speed of light

C. The speed of sound

D. Space

C

What is postulated by the uncertainty principle of Werner Heisenberg?

A. Only physical things are ultimately knowable and predictable.

B. The speed of light fluctuates within a narrow spectrum.

C. Nature itself is ultimately unknowable and unpredictable.

D. Human reason is incapable of discerning the unchanging laws of the universe.

D

Collectively, the work of the new physicists challenged what notion?

A. That anything was truly unknowable

B. That biological diversity was a product of evolutionary forces

C. That one could be both a scientist and a Christian

D. That the universe was governed by dependable, rational laws

C

Which statement describes Sigmund Freud's view of human behavior?

A. Human behavior is the result of rational calculation.

B. Human behavior is largely rational but is influenced by instincts.

C. Human behavior is governed by the unconscious and is basically irrational.

D. Human behavior is largely rational but is influenced by experiences.

A

According to Sigmund Freud, which mental structure was primitive and entirely unconscious?

A. The id

B. The superego

C. The ego

D. The self

B

On which of point did Sigmund Freud and Friedrich Nietzsche agree?

A. Only superior individuals could break free of the constraints of modern life.

B. The mechanisms of rational thinking and traditional moral values could be too strong.

C. Western civilization was progressing toward social perfection.

D. Existence was fundamentally meaningless.

A

Most modernists would likely agree with which of the following statements?

A. The artist's job is to discover new kinds of expression.

B. Art is for the artist, not for the audience.

C. The artist's job is to recover the past and return it to its former glory.

D. Art has no "message." It simply is.

B

Proponents of the Chicago School of architecture embraced what principle?

A. Nihilism

B. Functionalism

C. Traditionalism

D. Impressionism

B

When the architect Le Corbusier said that "a house is a machine for living in," he was expressing his commitment to the principle of

A. nihilism.

B. functionalism.

C. traditionalism.

D. impressionism.

D

What was the Bauhaus?

A. A school of art and design dedicated to the proposition that art's only purpose is to enlighten the viewer

B. An artistic movement that grew out of the backlash against modernism

C. A German artists' collective that promoted revolutionary politics

D. A school of art and design committed to the principle of functionalism

B

What did Louis H. Sullivan and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe have in common?

A. Rejection of key elements of modernist architecture

B. Construction of important examples of modernist architecture in Chicago

C. Attraction to radical right-wing politics

D. Obscurity in their lifetimes despite later fame

C

Taken together, the new artistic movements that emerged in the decades surrounding the First World War challenged the notion that art

A. should serve a social function.

B. was about lines, shapes, and colors.

C. should strive to represent reality as accurately as possible.

D. was for everyone.

A

Which statement describes the typical impressionist?

A. An impressionist draws inspiration from everyday life.

B. An impressionist focuses on line and shape.

C. An impressionist chooses traditional subjects but presents them in new ways.

D. An impressionist rejects both realism and abstraction.

C

Postimpressionists and expressionists built on impressionist motifs of color and light by adding

A. an emphasis on social and political themes.

B. a realism that harkened back to the naturalists.

C. a deep psychological element to their pictures.

D. a determination to transform the mentality of society as a whole.

D

Pablo Picasso is best known for his role in the establishment of what artistic movement?

A. Expressionism

B. Impressionism

C. Futurism

D. Cubism

C

Which artistic movement was most focused on modern technology?

A. Expressionism

B. Impressionism

C. Futurism

D. Cubism

A

Which statement reflects a core belief of the Dadaists?

A. Life is meaningless, so art should be meaningless as well.

B. Art is the only path to individual enlightenment.

C. Art is worthwhile only in so far as it reinforces social conventions.

D. A performance, painting, or sculpture should reflect the essence of its creator.

D

Which statement helps explain why New York replaced Paris and Berlin as the global capital of modern art after 1945?

A. The U.S. government was more committed to public funding of art than the governments of France and Germany.

B. New York patrons used their financial power to attract European artists.

C. The artistic scenes in Paris and Berlin gradually returned to traditionalism.

D. Between 1933 and 1945, hundreds of artists and intellectuals fled to the United States to escape World War II and the repressive Nazi state.

B

What aspect of futurist thought did Filippo Tommaso Marinetti express when he declared that "a racing car whose hood is adorned with great pipes, like serpents of explosive breath [...] is more beautiful than the 'Victory of Samothrace'"?

A. The rejection of the very idea of beauty

B. The embrace of modern technology and rejection of traditional culture

C. The celebration of absurd inversions

D. The commitment to functionalism

A

In contrast to the great nineteenth-century novelists, many twentieth-century authors

A. adopted the limited, often confused viewpoint of a single individual.

B. wrote as all-knowing narrators.

C. avoided engagement with the harsh realities of life.

D. produced works with a wide historical sweep.

B

Virginia Woolf's "Jacob's Room" provides an example of what artistic movement?

A. Functionalism

B. The stream-of-consciousness technique

C. Use of the all-knowing narrator

D. The politicization of early twentieth-century literature

B

Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, and William Faulkner all produced examples of

A. functionalist literature.

B. the stream-of-consciousness technique.

C. the use of the all-knowing narrator.

D. the merger of socialism and literature.

C

T. S. Eliot's poem "The Waste Land" expressed

A. the optimism of the early twentieth century.

B. Eliot's hopes for spiritual rebirth following World War I.

C. the widespread despair that followed the First World War.

D. Eliot's disdain for the sterility of elite culture.

D

The ballet "The Rite of Spring" by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky

A. reflected the traditionalism of Russian ballet music.

B. employed no percussion instruments at all.

C. was universally acclaimed by music critics.

D. practically caused a riot when it was first performed.

C

The opera "Wozzeck" by Alban Berg reflected

A. Berg's commitment to merging traditional music with unconventional subject matter.

B. the backlash against modernism that began to grow and intensify in the 1920s.

C. the irrationality and violence that seemed to pervade the modern world.

D. Berg's right-wing politics.

D

Arnold Schönberg is best known for what achievement in music?

A. His revolutionary ballet music

B. His harsh criticism of Stravinsky

C. His opera "Wozzeck"

D. His experiments with atonal music

D

How did most early twentieth-century observers view contemporary mass culture?

A. As an unqualified good

B. As an unqualified evil

C. As little different from traditional culture

D. As something new and distinctly modern

A

Industrialized manufacturing, improvements in transportation, and the rise of professional advertising experts all contributed to

A. the emergence of mass culture.

B. migration from rural areas to cities.

C. a shift from a mercantilist to a capitalist economy.

D. the intensification of nationalism.

B

Department stores epitomized the emergence of what phenomenon in the twentieth century?

A. Autonomous local economies

B. Consumer society

C. The urban proletariat

D. Multinational corporations

C

What effect did the emergence of modern consumer culture have on society?

A. It undermined existing social differences.

B. It reinforced existing social differences.

C. It both undermined and reinforced existing social differences.

D. It had little impact on existing social divisions.

C

In the 1920s, a variety of changes in the lives of women led observers to speak about the arrival of what female archetype?

A. The "new woman"

B. The "new Eve"

C. The "modern girl"

D. The "mass-produced girl"

D

The "modern girl" of the 1920s was

A. embraced by defenders of traditional family values.

B. despised by the feminists of the 1920s.

C. a myth with little basis in reality.

D. in some ways a stereotype created by advertising companies.

C

Which group was most likely to worry that consumer culture would alter the political values of the working class?

A. Conservative critics

B. Religious leaders

C. Socialist writers

D. Urban business people

C

Where and when did cinema first emerge?

A. In Germany around 1920

B. In Britain around 1870

C. In the United States around 1880

D. In France around 1910

A

How did World War I contribute to the growth of cinema as a form of mass entertainment?

A. Governments could it as a powerful vehicle for propaganda.

B. War departments invested in developing military applications for movie cameras.

C. War made cinema the only affordable form of popular entertainment.

D. Men brought together by military service exchanged opinions on the latest films.

B

Cinema became a true mass medium in what decade?

A. The 1880s

B. The 1920s

C. The 1930s

D. The 1900s

D

Which country dominated the international film industry in the 1920s?

A. France

B. Germany

C. Britain

D. The United States

A

The films of Leni Riefenstahl

A. used cutting-edge cinematic techniques to produce Nazi propaganda.

B. were banned by the Nazis as subversive and immoral.

C. celebrated Germany's socialist tradition.

D. were subsidized by the Nazis but in no way supported their agenda.

B

Radio became a true mass medium in what decade?

A. The 1880s

B. The 1920s

C. The 1930s

D. The 1900s

C

The national radio networks that formed in Europe as radio emerged as a mass medium were characterized by

A. private ownership and financing.

B. private ownership supported by government subsidies.

C. direct government control.

D. national ownership but international financing.