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.
