50s Exam

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Which of the following best characterizes the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union in the early 1980s?

a) A period of increased cooperation and trade.

b) A time of heightened tension and the arms race.

c) An era of relaxed diplomatic relations and cultural exchange.

d) A period of neutrality and non-alignment.

2. What was the name of the defense plan proposed by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s?

a) Operation Desert Storm

b) "Star Wars"

c) The New Deal

d) The Marshall Plan

3. Which two countries were at war over the Falkland Islands during the 1980s?

a) United States and Brazil

b) Great Britain and Brazil

c) Great Britain and Argentina

d) The Netherlands and Germany

4. Which country did the Soviet Union invade in December 1979 and occupy throughout the 1980s?

a) Iraq

b) Iran

c) Afghanistan

d) Syria

5. Which Canadian became the first woman to serve as Governor General?

a) Geraldine Ferrero

b) Adrienne Clarkson

c) Jeanne Sauve

d) Bertha Wilson

6. Who was the first Canadian in space?

a) Chris Hadfield

b) Marc Garneau

c) Jeff Watson

d) Steven Trask

7. Who introduced the policies of glasnost and perestroika in the Soviet Union?

a) Georgy Malenkov

b) Boris Yeltsin

c) Mikhail Gorbachev

d) Nikita Khrushchev

8. What major nuclear accident occurred in the 1980s?

a) Kazakhstan

b) Armenia

c) Chernobyl

d) Azerbaijan

9. Which US President was in office when the Berlin Wall came down?

a) Jimmy Carter

b) Ronald Reagan

c) George H.W. Bush

d) Bill Clinton

10. In 1992, which U.S. presidential candidate was the most significant third-party contender?

a) Bill Clinton

b) George H.W. Bush

c) H. Ross Perot

d) Al Gore

11. What event is considered the official end of the Cold War?

a) The fall of the Berlin Wall

b) The signing of the NAFTA agreement

c) Boris Yeltsin announcing that Russia is going to stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons

d) The collapse of the Soviet Union

12. The L.A. Riots in 1992 were a result of what event?

a) A major economic downturn

b) The acquittal of police officers accused of excessive force in the beating of Rodney King

c) A controversial political election

d) A major natural disaster

13. What was the Charlottetown Accord in Canada?

a) An international trade agreement

b) A package of constitutional amendments

c) A new environmental policy

d) A military alliance

14. Who was the first Canadian woman in space?

a) Julie Payette

b) Roberta Bondar

c) Jeanne Sauve

d) Adrienne Clarkson

15. Which Canadian team won the World Series for the first time in 1992?

a) Montreal Expos

b) Toronto Blue Jays

c) Vancouver Canucks

d) Calgary Flames

16. Who became Canada's first female Prime Minister in 1993?

a) Kim Campbell

b) Jean Chretien

c) Alexa McDonough

d) Jeanne Sauve

17. Who was inaugurated as the 42nd President of the USA in 1993?

a) George H.W. Bush

b) Bill Clinton

c) George W. Bush

d) Al Gore

18. What event occurred at the World Trade Center in 1993?

a) A major fire

b) A bombing that killed six and injured thousands

c) A large-scale protest

d) A terrorist attack on a subway

19. What was the focus of the raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas?

a) Drug trafficking

b) Federal firearms violations

c) Tax evasion

d) Immigration violations

20. In 1994, who was elected president of South Africa?

a) Desmond Tutu

b) Nelson Mandela

c) F.W. de Klerk

d) Thabo Mbeki

21. What major infrastructure project opened between England and France in 1994?

a) The Golden Gate Bridge

b) The Panama Canal

c) The Channel Tunnel (The Chunnel)

d) The Suez Canal

22. What event led to the arrest of O.J. Simpson in 1994?

a) Tax evasion

b) Two murders – his wife Nicole and Ron Goldman

c) A high-profile robbery

d) A political scandal

23. Which conflict was characterized by ethnic cleansing and mass rape in the 1990s?

a) The Gulf War

b) The Bosnian War

c) The Rwandan Civil War

d) The Falklands War

24. What tragic event, involving the slaughter of an estimated 800,000 people, began in Rwanda in 1994?

a) The Balkan Wars

b) The Rwandan Genocide

c) The Cambodian genocide

d) The Darfur conflict

25. What legal defense was used by Lorena Bobbitt after she attacked her husband?

a) Self-defense

b) Insanity

c) Temporary insanity

d) Duress

26. What event led to the banishment of Tonya Harding from the U.S. Figure Skating Association?

a) Doping

b) Her involvement in the attack on Nancy Kerrigan

c) Disrespecting judges

d) Not adhering to dress code

27. What was the Ipperwash Crisis in Canada?

a) An Indigenous land dispute in Ontario

b) A major economic downturn

c) A political scandal

d) A health crisis

28. What was the outcome of the referendum in Quebec in 1995?

a) Quebec seceded from Canada.

b) The motion on whether Quebec should secede from Canada was defeated by a small margin.

c) Quebec was granted new constitutional powers

d) The motion to secede was withdrawn

29. What was the significance of the case of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka?

a) A major political scandal

b) A notorious series of kidnappings, rapes, and murders in Canada

c) A high-profile corporate corruption case

d) A significant international trade dispute

30. What major event occurred at the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995?

a) A major fire

b) A bombing that killed 168 people

c) A terrorist attack on a subway

d) A large scale protest

31. What was the result of the O.J. Simpson trial?

a) Simpson was found guilty of murder

b) Simpson was found not guilty of murder.

c) The trial ended in a hung jury

d) Simpson was found guilty in civil court

32. In 1996, which Canadian politician launched a small controversy over the "Shawinigan Handshake"?

a) Kim Campbell

b) Brian Mulroney

c) Jean Chrétien

d) Stephen Harper

33. Which disease had a major outbreak in Great Britain in 1996?

a) Avian Flu

b) Ebola

c) Mad Cow Disease (BSE)

d) SARS

34. What was significant about Dolly the Sheep in 1996?

a) She was the first mammal to be successfully cloned from an adult cell.

b) She was the first mammal to travel into space

c) She was the first mammal to be genetically modified

d) She was the first mammal to have a successful organ transplant

35. Who was known as the "Unabomber" and was finally caught in 1996?

a) Ted Bundy

b) Ted Kaczynski

c) Jeffrey Dahmer

d) Gary Ridgway

36. What was the name of the comet that made its closest approach to Earth in March 1997?

a) Halley's Comet

b) The Hale–Bopp Comet

c) Comet Ison

d) Comet Hyakutake

37. Which Princess died from injuries suffered in a car crash in Paris in 1997?

a) Princess Anne

b) Princess Margaret

c) Princess Diana

d) Princess Beatrice

38. Which U.K. politician became Prime Minister in 1997?

a) Margaret Thatcher

b) Tony Blair

c) John Major

d) Gordon Brown

39. What major scandal involved President Bill Clinton and a White House intern in 1997?

a) The Iran-Contra Affair

b) The Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal

c) Watergate

d) The Whitewater Controversy

40. What was the outcome of the civil trial involving O.J. Simpson in 1997?

a) Simpson was found not liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

b) The trial ended in a hung jury

c) Simpson was found liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

d) Simpson was found guilty in criminal court.

41. What major crisis did Saddam Hussein negotiate in 1998?

a) The Iran Hostage Crisis

b) The Iraq Disarmament Crisis

c) The Gulf War

d) The Cuban Missile Crisis

42. What legal precedent was established by the Supreme Court of Canada regarding Quebec in 1998?

a) Quebec can secede at any time.

b) Quebec has the right to its own currency

c) Quebec cannot legally secede from Canada without the federal government's approval.

d) Quebec must be a bilingual province.

43. What was the significance of the Belfast Agreement, also known as the Good Friday Agreement, in 1998?

a) It was the end of the Cold War

b) It was a major step in the Northern Ireland peace process.

c) It was the start of the conflict in Afghanistan

d) It was a trade deal between Ireland and Great Britain

44. What was the major concern of the "Y2K" bug in 1999?

a) The potential for a global pandemic

b) The fear that the world's computer systems would cease to operate correctly

c) A major financial crisis

d) The threat of nuclear war

45. Which conflict continued between Pakistan and India in 1999?

a) The Tamil Tigers Conflict

b) Renewed fighting over the territory of Kashmir

c) The Rwandan Civil War

d) The Bosnian War

46. Who succeeded Boris Yeltsin as President of Russia in 1999?

a) Dmitry Medvedev

b) Nikita Khrushchev

c) Vladimir Putin

d) Mikhail Gorbachev

47. What significant event took place at Columbine High School in 1999?

a) A major earthquake

b) A school shooting where two students went on a rampage.

c) A political protest

d) A major fire

48. What currency was established by the European Union in 1999?

a) The Pound

b) The Yen

c) The Euro

d) The Franc

49. What was the main issue in the US v. Microsoft case in 1999?

a) Tax evasion

b) Monopoly power

c) Copyright infringement

d) Environmental violations

50. Which Canadian Prime Minister was re-elected in 2000?

a) Brian Mulroney

b) Jean Chretien

c) Paul Martin

d) Kim Campbell

51. Who was defeated by George W. Bush in the 2000 U.S. Presidential election?

a) John Kerry

b) Al Gore

c) John McCain

d) Mitt Romney

52. Which Russian politician was elected President in 2000?

a) Boris Yeltsin

b) Vladimir Putin

c) Dmitry Medvedev

d) Mikhail Gorbachev

53. What was the name of the computer virus that spread quickly around the world in 2000?

a) Melissa

b) Stuxnet

c) ILOVEYOU

d) WannaCry

54. Which US President was sworn into office in 2001?

a) Bill Clinton

b) George W. Bush

c) Barack Obama

d) Donald Trump

55. Which country was invaded by US forces in 2001?

a) Iraq

b) Afghanistan

c) Iran

d) Syria

56. What was the name of the act signed into law by President George W. Bush, weeks after 9/11?

a) The Patriot Act

b) The Homeland Security Act

c) The USA Patriot Act

d) The Secure Fence Act

57. What was the name given to the letters containing spores that were mailed in the USA in 2001?

a) The Anthrax Attacks

b) The Ricin Attacks

c) The Anthrax Attacks

d) The Sarin Attacks

58. Which Canadian became the first to perform a spacewalk?

a) Marc Garneau

b) Roberta Bondar

c) Chris Hadfield

d) Julie Payette

59. Which Canadian politician was Premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and was known for the "Common Sense Revolution?"

a) Ernie Eves

b) Mike Harris

c) Dalton McGuinty

d) Kathleen Wynne

60. What significant event involving the US military occurred in Yemen in 2000?

a) The USS Cole was badly damaged by Al-Qaeda suicide bombers.

b) A major training accident resulted in several casualties.

c) A terrorist attack at a US base

d) An international incident with a foreign navy