A. In the course of human history, many civilizations have risen and fallen—China, India, Greece, Rome, and before them, the ancient civilizations of the Middle East. During the centuries that in European history are called medieval, the most advanced civilization in the world was undoubtedly that of Islam. Islam may have been equaled—or even, in some ways, surpassed—by India and China, but both of those civilizations remained essentially limited to one region and to one ethnic group, and their impact on the rest of the world was correspondingly restricted. The civilization of Islam, on the other hand, was ecumenical in its outlook, and explicitly so in its aspirations. One of the basic tasks bequeathed to Muslims by the Prophet was jihad. This word, which literally means "striving," was usually cited in the Koranic phrase "striving in the path of God" and was interpreted to mean armed struggle for the defense or advancement of Muslim power. In principle, the world was divided into two houses: the House of Islam, in which a Muslim government ruled and Muslim law prevailed, and the House of War, the rest of the world, still inhabited and, more important, ruled by infidels. Between the two, there was to be a perpetual state of war until the entire world either embraced Islam or submitted to the rule of the Muslim state.

Choose the best definition for each vocabulary item, using context clues in the passage,

1			surpassed
			A)	matched
			B)	reduced
			C)	went beyond
			D)	defeated
2			ecumenical
			A)	restricting access to a particular religion
			B)	promoting unity among religions
			C)	causing divisiveness among religions
			D)	limiting people to a particular region and ethnic group
3			explicitly
			A)	openly and clearly
			B)	vaguely and generally
			C)	emotionally and passionately
			D)	totally and completely
4			aspirations
			A)	teachings
			B)	goals
			C)	punishments
			D)	sacred items
5			bequeathed
			A)	assigned or required
			B)	desired, hoped for
			C)	emphasized, stressed
			D)	passed or handed down
6			prevailed
			A)	triumphed, won
			B)	lost, was defeated
			C)	slowly developed
			D)	taught, instilled
7			infidels
			A)	those who strongly defend a particular religion
			B)	those who are conservative or orthodox members of a particular religion
			C)	those who are faithful to a particular religion
			D)	those who are unbelievers