Directions

Each question below is taken from a familiar children’s story or piece of well-known history. Each has one or more blank spaces, each of which indicates that a word or short series of words has been omitted. Beneath each sentence are three words or sets of words labeled (A) through (C) that might complete the sentence. Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, makes the history, fable, or cultural artifact accurate.

1. Krishna Janamastami was _________ in his childhood days, _________ as a young man, and proved to be a profound _________ in his adulthood.

(A) naughty … romantic … philosopher

(B) clever … adventuous … statesman

(C) illiterate … studied … teacher

2. Because King Philip's desire to make Spain the dominant power in sixteenth-century Europe ran counter to Queen Elizabeth's insistence on autonomy for England, _______ was _______.

(A) diplomacy … obvious

(B) conflict … desirable

(C) disaster … inevitable

3. On May fifth of every year, Mexicans in Mexico and the United States celebrate a day of national ________. Cinco de Mayo commemorates Mexico’s ___________ the invading French army, then the strongest army in the world.

(A) mourning … defeat by

(B) pride … defeat of

(C) rest … rout of

4. “If the _____ was not _______, the master would not ____,” was said of Confucius by his disciples.

(A) mat … straight … sit

(B) floor … level … stand

(C) sky … clear … walk

5. Most kivas are ___________ rectangular or circular stone rooms, built along clefts on the edge of the mesa with the ___________ the ground surface.

(A) shallow … floor near

(B) subterranean … roof below

(C) semisubterranean … roof level with

6. Among other tribes in the region, the Miami had the reputation of being ________ and _______ who liked _________ and tattooing.

(A) slow-spoken … polite … fancy dress

(B) fast talkers … traders … shiny jewelry

(C) quick thinkers … talkers … hair ornaments

7. Hayy Ibn Yaqzan was an infant boy stranded on an uninhabited desert island. He was nursed and fed by a _________ and grew to speak the language of the birds and animals. This story is thought to be the inspiration for ___________ famous _________.

(A) lioness … Rudyard Kipling’s … Jungle Book

(B) gazelle … Daniel Dafoe’s … Robinson Crusoe

(C) gorilla … Edgar Rice Burroughs’ … Tarzan

8. All Inuit children play Ac Sa Raq. They start _____ on _______ facing one another, legs are _______, and feet are placed against the opponent's feet. The intent is to pull the opponent _________.

(A) sitting …the ground … straight … up off the ground

(B) standing … an ice mound … bent … off balance

(C) crouching … a mat or skin … bent … off the mat

9. Prince Ivan bowed to _________ and took leave of him for good. Then Prince Ivan rode home on the _________________ and brought his father the ________ and himself a bride—Yelena the Fair.

(A) The Sorcerer … Horse with the Speed of the Wind … Magical Scepter

(B) White Dove … Camel with the Hump of Gold … Golden apple

(C) Grey Wolf … Horse with the Golden Mane … Fire-Bird

10. Little Kasumi’s favorite story was the tale of the _________ sparrow.

(A) wing-clipped

(B) tongue-cut

(C) blue-winged

11. Poor Mick Purcell, he sold his _____ to a ______ for an empty _______. He was told, when he got home, have his wife set the table out right, and spread a clean cloth over it; then put the _____ on the ground, saying these words: “______________.”

(A) horse … leprechaun … satchel … satchel … satchel release your bounty

(B) cow … dwarf … bottle … bottle … bottle do your duty

(C) mule … stranger … jar … jar … jar … jar give me your treasure

12. Once upon a time, ___________ stole the ______ from the tundra dwellers. And in the everlasting ________ that followed, all the birds and beasts stumbled about seeking their food by _______.

(A) mischievous fairies … sun … dark … thought

(B) malevolent sprites … moon … night … smell

(C) evil spirits … sun … gloom … touch

13. Fatima’s favorite tale was the one where the suitor traveled at the request of his father-in-law-to-be to the _________________ for ___________________ to cure his fiancée’s ____________ – but learned when he returned that the cure was really for her mother all along.

(A) Well of Sweetness … three drops of water … bad temper

(B) Mountain of Magic … a stone from the very top … halitosis

(C) Fragrant Valley … the seeds of the golden pear … impatience

14. Old Madame Sirovátka scolded her son, saying, “Every schoolchild knows that when ________ meets ________, ________ runs away so ____________ can pass.”

(A) Reason … Fortune, Reason … Fortune

(B) Fire … Water, Fire … Water

(C) Chance … Faith, Chance … Faith

15. The king issued a proclamation over the whole kingdom, that whosoever should __________ to the ______ of the ___________, should win the princess for his wife.

(A) run barefoot … center … magic hailstorm

(B) ride fully armed … top … glass mountain

(C) walk safely … bottom … Troll’s cavern