CFPT World History and Affairs 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The Bretton Woods Conference of 1944 established which international financial institutions?
- The United Nations and the World Bank
- The IMF and the World Bank (Correct answer)
- The WTO and the IMF
- The G7 and the World Bank
Correct answer: The IMF and the World Bank
The 1944 Bretton Woods Conference created the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank).
Question 2: Which event is most directly associated with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991?
- The Berlin Wall falling in 1989
- The failed August Coup against Gorbachev (Correct answer)
- The signing of the Helsinki Accords
- The Solidarity movement in Poland
Correct answer: The failed August Coup against Gorbachev
The failed August 1991 coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev accelerated the dissolution of the USSR, leading to its formal end in December 1991.
Question 3: The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was founded in 1961 primarily to represent countries that:
- Opposed nuclear weapons testing globally
- Sought to remain neutral between the US and Soviet blocs during the Cold War (Correct answer)
- Advocated for decolonization through armed struggle
- Established a third economic bloc against Western capitalism
Correct answer: Sought to remain neutral between the US and Soviet blocs during the Cold War
The Non-Aligned Movement was founded in Belgrade in 1961 by leaders including Tito, Nasser, and Nehru to keep developing nations independent of both Cold War superpowers.
Question 4: The Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 secretly divided the Middle East into spheres of influence between which two powers?
- Germany and Austria-Hungary
- Britain and France (Correct answer)
- Russia and Britain
- France and Italy
Correct answer: Britain and France
The 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement between Britain and France divided much of the Arab Middle East into British and French zones of influence, shaping modern borders.
Question 5: The Marshall Plan (1948–1952) primarily aimed to:
- Rebuild Western European economies after World War II (Correct answer)
- Contain communism in Southeast Asia
- Establish NATO's military infrastructure
- Fund the creation of the state of Israel
Correct answer: Rebuild Western European economies after World War II
The Marshall Plan provided over $13 billion in US economic assistance to rebuild war-devastated Western European economies and reduce the appeal of communism.
Question 6: Which treaty formally ended World War I and imposed heavy reparations and territorial losses on Germany?
- Treaty of Versailles (Correct answer)
- Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
- Treaty of Locarno
- Treaty of Trianon
Correct answer: Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (1919) formally ended WWI, assigned war guilt to Germany, imposed reparations, and stripped Germany of territory and colonies.
Question 7: The Rwandan Genocide of 1994 primarily involved mass killings of which ethnic group?
- Hutu by Tutsi militias
- Tutsi by Hutu extremists (Correct answer)
- Both groups equally by a third party
- Twa by government forces
Correct answer: Tutsi by Hutu extremists
In 1994, Hutu extremist militias and government forces killed an estimated 500,000–800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu in approximately 100 days.
The Bretton Woods Conference of 1944 established which international financial institutions?