Geography Quiz 6 Answers

1. Is the Great Wall of China the only man- made object that can be seen from space?
Besides the Great Wall of China, there are many other man- made structures such as urban areas and highways that are easy to locate from air, nevertheless , the naked eye could not see one of them from outer space.

2. How long have Communists been in power in China?
China’s communist revolution took place in 1949, and Mao Zedong became the country’s first “chairman”. Communists has been the doctrine ever since.

3. What is the world’s most commonly spoken language?
Over one billion people around the world speak Mandarin, the official language of China. The world’s next most-common language, Hindi, is spoken by only half as many people. Other languages spoken in China include Yue, Wu and other minority languages such as Minbei, Minnan, Xiang Gan, and Hakka dialects.

4. What is pinyin?
Pinyin is a new system for transliterating Chinese into the Roman alphabet. Is replaced the Wade- Giles system in 1958. It has gradually gained acceptance, and is the reason why we now call the Chinese capital Beijing instead of Peking

5. How much rice does China produce?
China is the world’s leading rice producer, and is responsible for over one- third of the world’s rice, about 190 million metric tons. Thailand, however, is the world’s leading rice exporter; they ship about a third of the world’s rice exports.

6. What is the least- densely populated country in the world?
Mongolia, with its tiny population of two and a half million people. Mongolia’s destiny is limited because only one percent of the country can be used for agriculture, Mongolia was originally established in the 13th century when Genghis Khan overtook and unified much of mainland Asia.

7. Why did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan?
In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in an attempt to install a pro- Soviet government. A civil war ensued, killing two million people. The war lasted a decade, until Soviet troops withdrew in 1989.

8. What is in the Taj Mahal?
Located in Agra, India, the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum for the wife of the Mogul emperor Shan Jahan. After Arjuman Banu Bagam’s death in 1631, her husband began construction of the mausoleum in 1632. Over 300 feet tall, the white marble mausoleum is a grandiose and striking memorial to her life and death.

9. Where did Bombay go?
In 1996, India changed the name of the world’s fifth- largest metropolitan area from Bombay to Mumbai.

10. What is Bollywood?
Known as “Bollywood”, Mumbai, India, is the world’s movie capital. The entertainment industry in India produces more films than the United States.

11. Where is Dum Dum airport?
Each year, over two and a half million passengers pass trough Dum Dum International Airport in Calcutta, India.

12. Where is the world’s second- highest mountain?
K2, at 28,250 feet, is the world’s second- tallest mountain. K2 sits in the disputed Kashmir region of northern Pakistan.

13. What is the world’s most visited mountain?
Japan’s Mount Fuji, a sacred and important volcano to the Japanese, is the country’s most popular tourist spot and the world’s most visited mountain. Mount Fuji, which is shaped almost like a perfect cone, rises to 12,388 feet and last erupted in 1708.

14. Where is the land of the rising sun?
The Japanese name for Japan, Nippon, which means “origin to the sun”, evolved into “land of the rising sun”. The name probably derived from the fact that for centuries, Japan was the easternmost known land, and thus where the sun seemed to rise.

15. How does Japan get its oil?
Having no oil itself, Japan must import all the oil it needs. To accommodate the amount of oil necessary, there is a constant stream of oil tankers, spaced approximately 300 miles apart, that bring oil to Japan 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

16. What is a bullet train?
Bullet trains are similar to traditional passenger trains but have been enhanced to travel at speeds of up to 215 miles per hour. Bullet trains have been used in Japan since 1965.

17. Where is Indochina?
Indochina is the peninsula in Southeast Asia composed of Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and the mainland portion of Malaysia. During the colonial era, the eastern portion of Indochina was ruled by France and the west was ruled by Britain.

18. When did Burma become Myanmar?
In 1989, the name of Burma changed to Myanmar when the military took control of the country, following the President’s resignation as a result of riots and national turmoil.

19. How many islands make up Indonesia?
Indonesia is composed for over 13,500 islands. Of these, only 6,000 are inhabited. Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago and was formerly known as the Dutch East Indies. The area had been under the control of the Netherlands since around 1,600, but declared its independence in 1945.

20. What is the Southeast Asia’s largest oil- producing country?
Indonesia produces about 2.5 percent of the world’s petroleum. In 1995, this member of OPEC produced 550 million barrels of oil.