1. Flag1Brazil is the largest country in South America -- so big that it shares a border with all but two South American nations. Chile is one, and the other is:
    A. Ecuador
    B. Bolivia
    C. Paraguay
    D. Guyana
  2. True or false: Vatican City, the site of the Holy See, is one of the twenty official regions of Italy.
  3. Which of these South American cities is on the same longitude as New York City?
    A. Buenos Aires, Argentina
    B. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
    C. Bogotá, Colombia
    D. Caracas, Venezuela
  4. The United States of America has expanded enormously from its original thirteen colonies. Some of this expansion came through war, some through sales. Match the purchase with the country that sold it to the United States.
    A. Louisiana Purchase 1. Mexico
    B. Alaska 2. Spain
    C. Gadsden Purchase 3. Russia
    D. Florida 4. France
  5. One of the most famous directions given in children's literature is "Second star to the right, and straight on till morning." While the destination of this book's journey is fictional, the starting point is not. True or false: That starting point is in England.
  6. It's time for a vacation, so you spin the globe, close your eyes, stick out your finger, and hit an island at approximately nineteen degrees north latitude. You call your travel agent to book some R & R. Which one of the following islands is not at nineteen degrees north latitude?
    A. Haiti
    B. Hawaii
    C. Dominican Republic
    D. Trinidad
  7. No se habla ingles. What is the only country in Central America where English is its official language?
    A. Panama
    B. El Salvador
    C. Guatemala
    D. Belize
  8. Oh Canada! Put these Canadian provinces in order from west to east.
    A. Saskatchewan
    B. British Columbia
    C. Manitoba
    D. Alberta
    E. Ontario
  9. True or false: Sweden used to own Norway.
  10. After World War II, the former Soviet Union occupied these islands claimed by Japan.
    A. Kyushu
    B. Malvinas
    C. Kurils
    D. Okinawa

Answers

  1. A. Ecuador only shares borders with Colombia and Peru.
  2. False. Vatican City is a separate sovereign nation that covers 109 acres.
  3. C. Bogotá, Colombia. Both cities are at about seventy-four degrees longitude. From east to west, the cities are Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Caracas, and Bogotá.
  4. A, 4. France sold the Louisiana Purchase to the United States in 1803 for $15 million.
    B, 3. Russia sold Alaska to the United States in 1867 for $7.2 million.
    C, 1. Mexico sold the Gadsden Purchase to the United States in 1854 for $10 million.
    D, 2. Spain reluctantly sold Florida to the United States in 1819 for $5 million.
  5. True. The book is J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, and these are the directions from the Darling home in London to Never Land. Captain Kirk liked the directions so much he used them in a Star Trek movie.
  6. D. Trinidad, which lies off the coast of Venezuela, is between ten and eleven degrees north latitude.
  7. D. Belize, which used to be known as British Honduras.
  8. B, D, A, C, E
  9. True. Sweden and Norway broke up in 1905.
  10. C. The Kuril Islands, which are made up of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai group, were occupied by the former Soviet Union in 1945 and are still a matter of international dispute.