GED Practice Quiz

Directions:

Choose the one best answer to each question. When you have finished the quiz, click on Submit Answers to receive feedback and results. You may also choose to e-mail your results to your instructor.

Questions 1 and 2 refer to the following information.

In a sense the Social Security system pits wage earners against senior citizens. The system was originally sold to wage earners as a way to provide for their old-age and also to relieve them from financial responsibility for their parents. As the life expectancy of Americans increased over the years, the cost of providing benefits for retirees also rose. In addition, Congress steadily increased Social Security benefits in an attempt to keep up with rising costs of living for retirees. Congress also added benefits such as disability payments and Medicare, a system of health insurance for older Americans, which is paid from Social Security taxes and from direct contributions by the beneficiaries.


1	Which of the following statements is NOT supported by evidence in the passage?
		A)	Retirees are living longer.
		B)	Wage earners are struggling to pay their family expenses.
		C)	Social security taxes now partially fund Medicare.
		D)	Congress has added benefits such as disability payments.
		E)	Congress has increased payment to keep up with the rising cost of living.


2	Which of the following statements best explains why the Social Security system "pits wage earners against senior citizens"?
		A)	Older Americans feel they aren’t receiving enough benefits while wage earners think they’re paying too much in Social Security taxes.
		B)	Wage earners are unwilling to pay for a system that will never benefit them.
		C)	Wage earners and senior citizens must compete for aid from the federal government.
		D)	Wage earners are opposed to retirement and the Social Security system because they want to keep working.
		E)	Workers would rather spend Social Security contributions on family expenses than for the support of aging retired workers.

Questions 3 through 5 refer to the following information and map.

The true discovers of the American continent were ancestors of the people Christopher Columbus called Indians. It is believed that they came from Asia to America across the Bering Strait. Today the Bering Strait is a 60-mile-wide stretch of water, but at several periods during the last Ice Age, some 10,000 to 40,000 years ago, much of the world’s water was frozen in glaciers, and the sea level was very low. It would have been possible to walk on dry land from Siberia to North America. Although much of North America was covered with ice, a broad ice-free strip to the east side of the Rocky Mountains stretched from Alaska southward. As the great herds of game animals moved south, so did the migrating people.


3	According to the passage and the map, what path did migrating tribes follow?
		A)	Migrating tribes crossed the Bering Strait from North America into Asia.
		B)	Migrating hunters from South and Central America followed herds of game across the North American glaciers and into Asia.
		C)	Migrating tribes crossed the Bering Strait from Asia to North America and traveled south along its east coast.
		D)	Migrating tribes traveled north from South America into North America and up along its east coast.
		E)	Migrating tribes crossed the Being Strait from Asia to North America and traveled southward into North, Central, and South America.


4	Which of the following is a fact according to the article?
		A)	The Native Americans came across the Bering Strait from Asia to North America.
		B)	Today the Bering Strait is a 60-mile-wide stretch of water.
		C)	Migrating peoples built roads and villages as they traveled south.
		D)	During the last Ice Age, all of what is now the United States was covered by glaciers.
		E)	Migrating peoples traveled southward along a huge glacier west of the Rocky Mountains.


5	Which of the following is the most likely reason why migrating people followed the game herds?
		A)	They probably hunted the animals for food.
		B)	Animal herds created paths and trails for the people to follow.
		C)	People used animals to carry their belongings as they crossed the ice.
		D)	They knew that migrating animals had a good sense of direction.
		E)	They probably knew the animals would lead them to areas of mild temperatures and abundant vegetation.

Questions 6 through 8 refer to the following information.

Historians sometimes give names to certain periods of time in which events or attitudes make them distinct, or different, from other time periods. Listed below are some time periods that have been important in world and United States history.
Age of Discovery—the 1400s, when Europe sought to expand trade with the East. Improvements in navigation and sailing methods made possible the great sea voyages of Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, and others and led to the European discovery of the Americas.

Federalist Era—the period of influence of the Federalists, a political party formed in 1787 to promote ratification (approval) of the U.S. Constitution and a strong federal government. In 1801 they lost the presidency to the Republican party, which favored states’ rights over the federal government.

Age of Reform—a time of intense social change from about 1820 to 1850 that saw religious revival; reforms in education, the treatment of prisoners, and the disabled; crusades for temperance (no drinking of alcohol), the abolition of slavery, and promotion of women’s rights.

Gilded Age—an economic boom period after the Civil War noted for its extravagant display of wealth and political corruption.

Jazz Age—the 1920s, also called the Roaring Twenties, when people adopted a "live for the moment" attitude that emphasized spontaneity, freedom, and self-indulgence.


6	"The men who framed this plan are Americans as much interested in good government as any of us. They saw it would be impossible to agree on a plan that would exactly suit the local policy and goals of each state, and they thought it best to compromise." The quotation above is most likely from which historical period?
		A)	Age of Discovery
		B)	Federalist Era
		C)	Age of Reform
		D)	Gilded Age
		E)	Jazz Age


7	"Sir, forasmuch as I know that you will take pleasure in the great triumph with which Our Lord has crowned my voyage, I write this to you, from which you will learn how, . . . I reached the Indies. . . . And there I found very many islands filled with people without number, and of them all have I taken possession for Their Highnesses, by proclamation and with the royal standard displayed, and nobody objected." The quotation above is most likely from which historical period?
		A)	Age of Discovery
		B)	Federalist Era
		C)	Age of Reform
		D)	Gilded Age
		E)	Jazz Age


8	"Resolved. That all laws which prevent woman from occupying such a station in society as her conscience shall dictate, or which place her in a position inferior to that of a man, are contrary to the great precept (rule) of nature, and therefore of no force or authority." The quotation above is most likely from which historical period?
		A)	Age of Discovery
		B)	Federalist Era
		C)	Age of Reform
		D)	Gilded Age
		E)	Jazz Age

Questions 9 and 10 refer to the following population maps.

The following maps refer to data for Tucson, AZ taken from the 2000 U.S. Census.


9	In 2000 which of the three ethnic groups was the most represented on the western edge of Tucson?
		A)	All three ethnic groups are evenly spread along the western edge of Tucson.
		B)	African-American
		C)	Hispanic
		D)	Asian
		E)	None of the three ethnic groups live on the western edge of Tucson.


10	In 2000 which of the three ethnic groups lived along Interstate 10?
		A)	Asian
		B)	All three ethnic groups lived along Interstate 10.
		C)	African-American
		D)	Hispanic
		E)	None of the three ethnic groups lived along Interstate 10.

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