South America Today Quizzes

Question 1

The first European explorers came to Brazil from ______

Answer 1

Portugal

Question 2

Scientists hope to use the rare plants of Amazonia to develop new _________

Answer 2

medicines

Question 3

True or False

The Jesuits missionaries of Salvador de Bahia enslaved the native population

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Brasilia, located in the Highlands region of Brazil, is well known for its _________ architecture

Answer 4

futuristic

Question 5

What natural source would Brazil need to import from other countries?

Answer 5

oil

Question 6

Iguacu Falls helps Brazil’s economy by _________

Answer 6

attracting tourists

Question 7

Bolivia’s altiplano region is known _________

Answer 7

to be heavily populated

Question 8

True or False

Hydrofoils have replaced reed boats as the main carriers of cargo and passengers on Lake Titicaca

Answer 8

True

Question 9

What has changed the symbol of oppression into a Bolivia symbol of cultural pride?

Answer 9

the bowler hat

Question 10

The least-populated area of Bolivia is_________

Answer 10

the lowlands

Question 11

What extreme type of action has tried to stop the democratic government of Bolivia

Answer 11

military coups

Question 12

What is buried in the cornerstones of most buildings in Bolivia to bring good luck?

Answer 12

a dried llama fetus

Question 13

What major Bolivian export took the place of silver in the early 1800s?

Answer 13

tin

Question 14

What makes the highland valleys of Sucre and Cochabamba ideal places to live in Bolivia?

Answer 14

the climate

Question 15

Some people believe that Tiahuanaco may be the _______ city in the world

Answer 15

oldest

Question 16

Chile is South America’s _________ country

Answer 16

longest

Question 17

What has provided upward mobility for many middle-class and some lower-class Chilean citizens?

Answer 17

secondary education

Question 18

How did Augusto Pinochet become leader of Chile?

Answer 18

though a military coup

Question 19

True or False

Though Chile grows many of its own vegetables, some must be imported from other countries

Answer 19

False

Question 20

Empanadas are Chile’s version of ____________

Answer 20

fast food

Question 21

What does the long coastline allow Chile to be

Answer 21

one of the top ten fishing regions

Question 22

Why is Puerto Montt so important for travel to the far southern region?

Answer 22

It is impossible to travel the route by land

Question 23

Why have so many Germans immigrated to the lake district of Chile?

Answer 23

The region has many similarities to their homeland

Question 24

Though Paraguay and Uruguay are different in many ways, they have similar _____________

Answer 24

landscapes

Question 25

"Gaucho" is another word for___________

Answer 25

cowboy

Question 26

Why did the Jesuit priests organize the Guarani Indians into townships?

Answer 26

to protect them from slave traders

Question 27

Why is nearly 95% of the population of Paraguay mestizo?

Answer 27

Spanish settlers were encouraged to take indian wives

Question 28

The Itaipu Dam will make Paraguay the world's leading exporter of_______________

Answer 28

electricity

Question 29

What is the biggest reason Paraguay is one of South America's least industrialized nations?

Answer 29

lack of good transportation

Question 30

Unlike most other Latin American nations, only 66 percent of the people of Uruguay claim to be____________

Answer 30

Roman Catholics

Question 31

The permanence if institutions in Uruguay is demonstrated by___________

Answer 31

having the longest tradition of democratic government in South America

Question 32

True or False The main base of Uruguay's economy comes from tourism

Answer 32

False

Question 33

Both Paraguay and Uruguay share a similar economic problem. What is it?

Answer 33

their small size

Question 34

Peru is located in which region of South America?

Answer 34

the western region

Question 35

The wooden balconies of Lima's colonial buildings, several countries old, have not rotted away. What is the reason?

Answer 35

the dry coastline climate

Question 36

True or False The Incas built terraces on steep slopes to make it easier to grow crops.

Answer 36

True

Question 37

Peru's transportation system is limited by its __________.

Answer 37

geography

Question 38

What makes Iquitos a unique city in Peru?

Answer 38

It can be reached only by air or water

Question 39

The Jivaro tribes were popularized in Hollywood movies for their____________.

Answer 39

poison blowguns

Question 40

Lake Titicaca is the ___________ navigable lake in the world.

Answer 40

highest

Question 41

In the 1920s, Peru gained a freedom that the United States has always enjoyed. Which freedom is it?

Answer 41

freedom of religion

Question 42

What fabled "lost city" was the center of the Incan religion?

Answer 42

Machu Picchu

Question 43

Why does the sun rise and set in Ecuador at six o'clock every day, 365 days a year?

Answer 43

because its on the equator

Question 44

True or False Petroleum makes up the bulk of Ecuador's production and income

Answer 44

False

Question 45

The southern part of the ___________ region of Ecuador is an arid desert.

Answer 45

Costa

Question 46

what is slowly forcing the Indians of Ecuador from their native lands?

Answer 46

modern civilization

Question 47

What is the official language of Ecuador?

Answer 47

Spanish

Question 48

What features makes it easy to figure out to which tribe an Otovalo Indian belongs?

Answer 48

their hats

Question 49

Half of Ecuador's population is employed in______________.

Answer 49

agricultural work

Question 50

How did Ecuador solve its transportation problem between the Sierra and the Costa?

Answer 50

It built a railroad

Question 51

The Galapagos Islands inspired Charles Darwin to formulate his theory of_______

Answer 51

evolution