Name: Class: Date: Southwest Asia Practice Test/Review
Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1. Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon have populations that are each over 90 percent Arab, while Israel’s population is
about 75 percent Jewish. What can you conclude from this data?
a. The population in each of the region’s countries is diverse and multicultural.
b. The population in each of the region’s countries is greatly influenced by ethnicity.
c. Ethnicity and religion play little to no role in the region’s population pattern.
d. Significant Jewish minorities live in mostly Arab countries of the region.
2. Generalize the social status trends of women in the Arab nations of the Eastern Mediterranean.
a. Women have more rights and opportunities than men, but men are slowly gaining more rights.
b. Women have about the same rights and opportunities as men, although this varies from region to region.
c. Women have fewer rights and opportunities than men, but in some instances and regions, they are slowly
gaining more rights.
d. Women have fewer rights and opportunities than men, and their social situation is growing worse due to
the Arab Spring.
3. Which water body connects the Eastern Mediterranean nations with the Red Sea and Indian Ocean to the south?
a. the Euphrates River
b. the Jordan River
c. the Dead Sea
d. the Gulf of Aqaba
4. Followers of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam have a shared belief in
a. the teachings of Jesus.
b. the text of the New Testament.
c. the concept of monotheism.
d. the text of the Old Testament.
5. Which describes a population pattern of the Eastern Mediterranean?
a. Most people live along coastal areas.
b. Most people live in inland areas.
c. People are equally divided between coastal and inland areas.
d. People are equally divided between inland river valleys and coastal areas.
6. How are overgrazing and desertification related?
a. overgrazing is an effect of desertification
b. overgrazing is a cause of desertification
c. both are effects of deforestation
d. both are causes of deforestation and erosion
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Name: Class: Date: Southwest Asia Practice Test/Review
7. Under which category do the terms kibbutz and moshav best fit?
a. service economy
b. manufacturing
c. cottage industry
d. agriculture
8. After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, which European colonial powers divided the Eastern Mediterranean?
a. Italy and Spain
b. France and Italy
c. Great Britain and Spain
d. France and Great Britain
9. Why do most people in the Eastern Mediterranean live along the coast?
a. The coastal climate is more moderate than that of inland desert regions, and the land there is more suitable
for agriculture due to higher rainfall.
b. The manufacturing-based industrial economy demands most people live and work near ports to facilitate
the import and export of trade goods.
c. The inland areas are too mountainous to allow transportation infrastructure necessary for urban growth.
d. The service economy is primarily based on tourism, which draws most visitors to the coastal beaches.
10. Why are some Eastern Mediterranean economies, such as Syria and Jordan, less developed than others, such as
Lebanon and especially Israel?
a. overreliance on industry and high-tech sectors
b. constant ethnic tension, including political instability and armed conflict
c. lack of economic diversity, uneven distribution of critical natural resources
d. scarcity of water, lack of coastal ports, isolation due to mountainous terrain
11. Iran and Iraq joined with several oil-producing neighbors to form OPEC, which agreed to regulate oil production
in order to
a. prevent harm to wetlands.
b. keep oil prices high.
c. impose safety restrictions.
d. lower oil prices.
12. The Persian Empire arose to the east of Mesopotamia, across the Zagros Mountains in present-day ________,
before spreading across the region.
a. Kurdistan
b. Turkey
c. Iraq
d. Iran
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Name: Class: Date: Southwest Asia Practice Test/Review
13. Due to the mountains’ impact on climate, inland western and southern Iraq and eastern and southern Iran are
mostly covered by
a. farmland.
b. marshes.
c. forests.
d. deserts.
14. Much of the oil shipped from the Persian Gulf must pass through the
a. Dardanelles.
b. Sea of Marmara.
c. Turkish Straits.
d. Strait of Hormuz.
15. ________ populations in Syria, Turkey, and Iran continue to push for more political autonomy and a country of
their own.
a. Arab
b. Persian
c. Kurdish
d. Iraqi
16. Push and pull factors refer to
a. the annual process of planting and harvesting in the eastern lowlands.
b. the reasons people leave and are drawn to the Arabian Peninsula.
c. the process of drilling and extracting oil from the vast deposits under the deserts.
d. the political give and take between nations as they negotiate trade agreements.
17. How have countries in the Arabian Peninsula managed freshwater, their most precious resource?
a. Most have drawn too heavily from aquifers and wasted it with poor irrigation methods.
b. Most have maintained strict limitations on the use of freshwater so little is wasted.
c. Most have refused to switch to desalination as a source because it is too expensive.
d. Most use much less water per person than western countries with greater freshwater resources.
18. The ________ industry produces the most soil, air, and water pollution in the region.
a. water desalination
b. construction
c. mining
d. agriculture
19. The actions of ________ threaten the stability of the region.
a. unions, NGOs, and protesters
b. women’s rights advocates, foreign oil companies, and bedouins
c. insurgents, al-Qaeda militants, and pirates
d. immigrants, religious extremists, and the European Union
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Name: Class: Date: Southwest Asia Practice Test/Review
20. To reduce the environmental impact of agriculture, countries in the region are
a. importing fertile topsoil and applying fertilizers judiciously.
b. converting deserts to farmland with new irrigation techniques.
c. building hydroponic gardens that float on the waterways surrounding the peninsula.
d. buying farmland overseas and building greenhouses at home.
21. In the next few years, the city of Sanaa in Yemen is expected to run out of
a. oil.
b. gas.
c. water.
d. money.
22. The Arabian Peninsula’s natural freshwater supply is mostly from
a. a limited number of rivers that flow through major cities.
b. bottled water imported from other regions.
c. groundwater deep beneath the sandy deserts.
d. rainfall in the mountains that is captured and delivered by aqueducts to the cities.
23. The major source of conflict between the two branches of Islam is disagreement over
a. whether to keep to traditional shari’ah restrictions or to move toward openness and equality.
b. whether relatives of Muhammad should be his successors.
c. whether to allow non-Muslim immigrants to live in the holy city of Makkah.
d. whether the government should pay for every citizen’s hajj.
24. The Red Sea is getting ________ as a result of tectonic activity.
a. wider
b. longer
c. narrower
d. more shallow
25. Countries in the Arabian Peninsula who rely on “guest” workers have laws of migration that
a. protect the rights of immigrants and ensure they feel welcomed.
b. allow employers to treat migrants poorly.
c. discourage uneducated immigrants from coming into the region.
d. mandate a minimum wage, reasonable hours, and freedom to change jobs.
26. Grains that are grown for food—such as barley, oats, or wheat—are known as
a. fruits.
b. produce.
c. graziers.
d. cereals.
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Name: Class: Date: Southwest Asia Practice Test/Review
27. When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, they encountered resistance from ________, or Islamic guerrilla
fighters.
a. Taliban
b. expatriates
c. mujahideen
d. al-Qaeda
28. In what two Central Asian countries is the majority of the population Christian?
a. Afghanistan and Uzbekistan
b. Armenia and Georgia
c. Tajikistan and Turkmenistan
d. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
29. Despite small amounts of ________ land, nearly half the workforce in Central Asia lives by farming.
a. arable
b. arid
c. landlocked
d. irrigated
30. After September 11, 2001, the United States overthrew the government of
a. Afghanistan.
b. Turkmenistan.
c. Armenia.
d. Uzbekistan.
31. Turkmenistan continues to operate as a ________ economy, in which the government owns the land and tells
farmers what to grow.
a. traditional
b. socialist
c. command
d. free market
32. In what former Soviet republic has high industrial pollution been linked to increased infant mortality?
a. Turkmenistan
b. Uzbekistan
c. Tajikistan
d. Kazakhstan
33. The Armenians who live in the Nagorno-Karabakh area of Azerbaijan are an example of an
a. enclave.
b. immigrant group.
c. exclave.
d. emigrant group.
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Name: Class: Date: Southwest Asia Practice Test/Review
34. Who was the leader of the Mongol forces who invaded Central Asia in the A.D. 1200s?
a. Yakub Beg
b. Tamerlane
c. Genghis Khan
d. Cyrus the Great
35. The ________ is the largest inland body of water on Earth.
a. Aral Sea
b. Black Sea
c. Caspian Sea
d. Dead Sea
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