1. What is the main reason many people stop working on farms in Mexico?
* poor health
* not enough farm work
* new labor laws
* land is too valuable
2. A problem facing all people living in Mexico City is
* increased pollution.
* having only a few farms.
* a lack of education.
* no place to buy food.
3. During the Civil War that began in Guatemala about 1960, _________________.
* the Mayas gained political power.
* the Mayas benefitted from land reform.
* many Mayas lost all of their belongings.
* the Mayas agreed to share political power.
4. Most of the land in Guatemala belongs to
* indigenous people.
* foreign investors.
* a few rich families.
* the government.
5. The Panama Canal is the only way to sail from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without going around
* Cuba.
* North America.
* Hispaniola.
* South America.
6. Which statement best describes the Panama Canal?
* Its entire length is at sea level.
* The workers who built the canal were mostly from Panama.
* It is thousands of miles long.
* Ships pass through the Panama Canal at all hours all year long.
7. What event in 1959 changed the relationship between Cuba and the United States?
* Cuba’s sugar production dropped.
* Cuba became popular as a tourist resort.
* Fulgencio Batista came to power.
* Fidel Castro came to power.
8. Which of the following statements about modern Cuba is true?
* Most Cubans are rich.
* The majority of Cubans cannot read.
* The economy is near collapse.
* Some businesses are now privately owned and run.
9. Haiti is the only nation in the Americas formed
* when it fought the Dominican Republic for independence.
* from a successful revolt of enslaved Africans.
* when Spain granted the country independence.
* by democratic means.
10. Why is it hard for farmers to grow crops in Haiti?
* Jean-Bertrand Aristide does not support farming in Haiti.
* It is illegal to grow most crops.
* The land has been overused and the topsoil washed away.
* Most of the farmers left.
11. The ancestry of most Puerto Rican people is a combination of
* African and Spanish.
* American and French.
* Italian and Portuguese.
* Mexican and Spanish.
12. Why did the government of Brazil move the country’s capital?
* Portugal took over the old capital.
* Brazil wanted to encourage people to move to the coast of the country.
* Brazil wanted to encourage people to move to the interior parts of the country.
* There was too much pollution in the old capital.
13. Which expression best describes the climate of the selva?
* cold and dry
* cold and wet
* hot and dry
* hot and wet
14. What is unusual about the islands of Lake Titicaca?
* The islands sink and then reappear every one to two weeks.
* The islands contain some of the richest farmland in Peru.
* The islands were made by Native Americans from totora reeds.
* The islands are home to a rare species of tropical lizard.
15. Farmers in Chile raise
* a variety of fruits and vegetables.
* only coffee beans.
* only potatoes.
* grass and small shrubs.
16. Until recently, Chile’s economy depended heavily upon
* mineral exports.
* fishing.
* farming.
* manufacturing products for export.
17. What caused many Venezuelans to lose their jobs in the mid–1980s?
* several years of violence
* a military takeover of the government
* poor weather for growing crops
* a drop in the price of oil