Question 1

Intelsat I, the first commercial communications satellite, was launched in 1965 and was an example of

Accepted Answer

Intelsat I, also known as Early Bird, was indeed a pioneering commercial communications satellite that marked the beginning of global satellite communications. It was primarily a product of international collaboration, with the United States playing a leading role in its development and launch. This initiative was not specifically about U.S.-Soviet cooperation, nor was it a result of poor planning or directly related to the European Space Research Organization's efforts in imaging technology.

Question 2

In 1952, scientists Francis Crick and James Watson made which of the following discoveries?

Accepted Answer

Francis Crick and James Watson are credited with discovering the double helix structure of DNA in 1952, which was a monumental step in understanding genetic information and biological inheritance.

Question 3

What medical advance of the 1960s that was first marketed in the United States revolutionized sexual behavior in the industrialized West?

Accepted Answer

The birth-control pill, first marketed in the 1960s, revolutionized sexual behavior by providing an effective and convenient method of contraception, thereby giving women greater control over their reproductive health.

Question 4

In 1978, Louise Brown, the first "test-tube baby," was born in Britain after being conceived through what complex process?

Accepted Answer

Louise Brown was conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF), a process where an egg is fertilized by sperm outside the body, in a laboratory dish. This was a groundbreaking moment in reproductive technology.

Question 5

New multinational corporations opened factories and employed workers in impoverished areas of the world beginning in the 1960s, but they brought little wealth to such countries. Why?

Accepted Answer

The corporations paid low wages, and profits were repatriated to shareholders in wealthier countries, limiting local economic benefits.

Question 6

The Airbus project was an example of the

Accepted Answer

The Airbus project is a prime example of cooperation among government, business, and science within the countries of the Common Market (now the European Union), showcasing how these entities worked together to create a competitive aerospace industry.

Question 7

How did the new working class in postindustrial society undermine old socioeconomic distinctions?

Accepted Answer

The emergence of a new working class in postindustrial society blurred old socioeconomic distinctions partly because the compensation for service work or managerial roles was not always higher than that for traditional blue-collar jobs, challenging the conventional hierarchy of occupations based on income.

Question 8

Which of the following is an example of how postindustrial life in the Soviet bloc differed from life in the West?

Accepted Answer

The Soviet bloc maintained a higher percentage of farmers compared to Western Europe, reflecting differences in economic structure and agricultural policies.

Question 9

Why did Soviet-bloc nations often have great difficulty applying their achievements in science to commercial applications?

Accepted Answer

The bureaucratic inefficiencies in the Soviet-bloc nations often led to delays in the approval process for innovations, causing scientific findings to become obsolete before they could be applied commercially.

Question 10

Historians have observed that, whereas early modern families focused their efforts on independent subsistence production and the teaching of craft skills to younger generations, postindustrial families

Accepted Answer

C) is correct because it highlights the shift in family roles from economic and skill transmission in early modern families to emotional support and reliance on formal education for skill development in postindustrial families.

Question 11

What prompted the Western media to announce the arrival of a "sexual revolution"?

Accepted Answer

Greater openness about sexuality, particularly within youth culture during the postindustrial period, was a key factor that led the Western media to announce the arrival of a "sexual revolution." This period saw significant shifts in attitudes towards sex, including more liberal views on premarital sex and the increased visibility of sexual content in media and public discourse.

Question 12

What new style in the visual arts featured images from everyday life and employed the glossy techniques and products of mass advertising?

Accepted Answer

Pop art emerged in the 1950s and 1960s, focusing on images from popular culture and mass media, such as advertising, comic books, and mundane cultural objects. It employed the glossy techniques and imagery of advertising, contrasting with the more introspective and abstract approaches of previous art movements.

Question 13

Which of the following was one of the most famous postwar practitioners of pop art?

Accepted Answer

Andy Warhol was one of the most famous postwar practitioners of pop art, known for his works that explored the relationship between artistic expression, culture, and advertisement.

Question 14

Musical innovations in the 1960s and 1970s included

Accepted Answer

The 1960s and 1970s saw a rise in minimalism in music, characterized by the use of repetition, sustained notes, silence, and sometimes unconventional sounds produced by striking ordinary objects. This was a significant shift from the complex structures of earlier music, focusing instead on simplicity and exploring the texture and timbre of sounds.

Question 15

Why did the study of anthropology become attractive to many university students during the postindustrial era?

Accepted Answer

Anthropology became attractive because it offered the opportunity to study cultures that were relatively untouched by modernization and industrialization, appealing to students interested in understanding diverse human societies.

Question 16

Which of the following was one of the major changes in religious life in western Europe?

Accepted Answer

The rise in the number of non-Christian and non-Jewish places of worship in Western Europe reflects the growing diversity of religious life, influenced by immigration and changing societal values. This change indicates a broadening of religious practice beyond the traditionally dominant Christian and Jewish faiths.

Question 17

The West German foreign minister Willy Brandt's anti-cold war policy of opening up trade with Communist East Germany in the late 1960s was known as what?

Accepted Answer

Ostpolitik was the term used to describe West German Chancellor Willy Brandt's policy aimed at improving relations with East Germany, Poland, and the Soviet Union in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This policy included initiatives to increase trade and communication with these communist states during the Cold War.

Question 18

Which of the following measures did French president Charles de Gaulle undertake in an effort to assert French independence in a world increasingly dominated by superpower rivalry?

Accepted Answer

Charles de Gaulle withdrew French forces from NATO's integrated military command structure and pursued an independent nuclear capability for France, aiming to enhance French sovereignty and reduce reliance on the US for defense.

Question 19

Which of the following was a system through which government-banned literature was secretly published and distributed in the Soviet Union?

Accepted Answer

Samizdat was a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader. This grassroots practice was crucial for circulating banned literature and information.

Question 20

Which U.S. president successfully shepherded the 1964 Civil Rights Act through the U.S. Congress, legislation that forbade job discrimination based on race, color, religion, or sex and outlawed segregation in public accommodations?

Accepted Answer

Lyndon B. Johnson was the U.S. President who successfully pushed for the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, a landmark piece of legislation that aimed to end segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Quiz 28: Postindustrial Society and the End of the Cold War Order, 1960s-1989