PRACTICE TEST 1-22  OCTOBER 2012

 

Multiple Choice

Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

 

____    1.   The fact that the rich are taxed more heavily than the poor and that amendments that gave voting rights to minorities were passed by large majorities suggests that

a.	few people pay close attention to political processes.
b.	government does not always adopt policies that are to the narrow advantage of those who hold political offices.
c.	power is distributed in such a manner that very few people can exercise it in a meaningful fashion.
d.	Who governs? and To what ends? are really the same question.
e.	Knowing who governs is usually a good predictor of what policies will be adopted.

 

 

____    2.   A survey of political scientists and historians resulted in which of the following being listed as the top achievement of the government since 1950?

a.	Promoted financial security in retirement
b.	Rebuilt Europe after World War II
c.	Reduced disease
d.	Reduced workplace discrimination
e.	Reduced the federal budget deficit

 

 

____    3.   By authority, the authors mean

a.	the right to use power.
b.	the manner in which power is spread.
c.	the use of power for good causes.
d.	the desire to have power.
e.	the desire to give power to others.

 

 

____    4.   The primary source of legitimate political authority in the United States is the

a.	Bill of Rights.
b.	will of the people.
c.	U.S. Constitution.
d.	concept of civil liberty.
e.	notion of civil rights.

 

 

____    5.   The text suggests that in the United States, no government at any level would be considered legitimate if it were not in some sense

a.	democratic.
b.	altruistic.
c.	humanitarian.
d.	elitist.
e.	aristocratic.

 

 

____    6.   At the time of the Constitutional Convention, the view that a democratic government was desirable was

a.	already waning.
b.	close to unanimous.
c.	beyond debate.
d.	held by an elite only.
e.	far from unanimous.

 

 

____    7.   The term democracy was originally associated with

a.	Saint Augustine.
b.	Vladimir Lenin.
c.	Aristotle.
d.	Thomas Jefferson.
e.	Søren Kierkegaard.

 

 

____    8.   The term participatory democracy applies most accurately to which of the following societies?

a.	Greece in the fourth century B.C.
b.	Modern China
c.	The United States since 1787
d.	The Soviet Union between 1917 and 1990
e.	The southeastern United States before the Civil War

 

 

____    9.   In recent times, Aristotle’s ideal of democracy has been most closely approximated by

a.	the AFL-CIO.
b.	the U.S. House of Representatives.
c.	the New England town meeting.
d.	the Constitutional Convention.
e.	the southeastern United States before the Civil War.

 

 

____  10.   Representative democracy allows individuals to gain political power through

a.	media campaigns.
b.	quadrennial elections.
c.	nonpartisan elections.
d.	reciprocal elections.
e.	competitive elections.

 

 

____  11.   The bureaucratic view of political elites is associated with

a.	Marx
b.	Mills
c.	Weber
d.	Truman
e.	Dahl

 

 

____  12.   According to Tocqueville, Americans are fond of explaining their actions in terms of

a.	self-interest.
b.	moral precepts.
c.	religious commitments.
d.	disinterested and spontaneous impulses.
e.	philosophical skepticism.

 

 

____  13.   During the 1920s, the federal government was expected to play a small role in our lives. The fact that there was a dramatic change in expectations from the 1930s to the 1970s suggests that

a.	the Marxist view of power is probably the most accurate.
b.	no simple theory of politics is likely to explain both sets of expectations.
c.	Weber’s speculations concerning bureaucracy were largely correct.
d.	the assumptions of both Marx and C. Wright Mills concerning power were wildly incorrect.
e.	elite theories do not adequately take into account the self-interested nature of politics.

 

 

____  14.   Which of the following statements is incorrect?

a.	During the 1920s, it was widely assumed that the federal government would play a small role in our lives.
b.	From the 1930s to the 1970s, it was generally believed that the federal government should try to solve social and economic problems.
c.	Reagan sought to reverse the trend of expanding governmental power.
d.	No simple theory of politics is likely to explain both the growth and cutback of federal power.
e.	None of the above

 

 

____  15.   Which of the following statements about political power, or “who governs?” is most accurate?

a.	The key to understanding power is understanding the monetary costs of different political decisions.
b.	Political power can usually be inferred by knowing what laws are on the books.
c.	Political power can usually be inferred by knowing what administrative actions have been taken.
d.	Power cannot be realized without institutional arrangements.
e.	Most power derives from psychological and social factors such as friendship, loyalty, and prestige.

 

 

____  16.   The trouble with trying to infer the distribution of political power from examining the laws on the books is that

a.	laws may be enacted in a great variety of circumstances.
b.	laws are made to be broken.
c.	legislative codes may be so obscure as to defy anyone's comprehension.
d.	many congressional enactments never get recorded at all.
e.	the judicial branch is rarely independent from the legislative branch.

 

 

____  17.   The Supreme Court’s most significant restriction of the government’s authority resulted from its

a.	refusal to hear cases involving business regulation.
b.	refusal to hear cases involving the federal income tax.
c.	refusal to allow the delegation of broad discretionary authority to administrative agencies.
d.	rejection of legislation that originated in the Senate.
e.	increasingly restrictive view of the contract clause.

 

 

____  18.   Which of the following is not a characteristic of what the authors call the Old System?

a.	A small agenda
b.	Low voter participation rates
c.	Dominance of states’ rights
d.	Focus on domestic affairs
e.	A small and somewhat personal presidency

 

 

____  19.   Which of the following is a characteristic of the New System?

a.	A large policy agenda
b.	The diffusion and decentralization of power in Congress
c.	The multiplication of interest groups
d.	The end of debate over the legitimacy of government action
e.	All of the above

 

 

____  20.   The same arrangements that make adopting new programs difficult have had the effect of

a.	shortening the life of programs once they are created.
b.	increasing the odds that programs will be duplicated.
c.	weakening the power of Congress and the courts.
d.	requiring greater supervision of programs once they are created.
e.	making elimination or revision of old programs equally difficult.

 

 

____  21.   After some initial complications, the legislative programs of Franklin Roosevelt began to succeed because

a.	a Supreme Court justice changed his mind.
b.	the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court was changed.
c.	his reorganization plan for the Court was passed by Congress.
d.	some Supreme Court justices retired.
e.	A and D.

 

 

____  22.   During the Johnson administration, a great majority of the members of the House of Representatives came to enjoy

a.	a bipartisan atmosphere.
b.	fewer roll-call votes.
c.	the franking privilege.
d.	exponential pay raises.
e.	relatively secure seats.

 

 

____  23.   All parts of the government are becoming more

a.	centralized.
b.	bureaucratized.
c.	automated.
d.	efficient.
e.	popular.

 

 

____  24.   Before 1960, one unspoken rule of politics was that no _____ could be elected president.

a.	Catholic
b.	general
c.	lawyer
d.	governor
e.	member of Congress

 

 

____  25.   Politicians generally assume that the mass media will never cover a story about things that are

a.	extraordinarily bad.
b.	confusing and potentially upsetting.
c.	related to Congress.
d.	related to courts.
e.	going well.

PRACTICE TEST 1-22  OCTOBER 2012

Answer Section

 

MULTIPLE CHOICE

 

            1.   ANS:  B                    PTS:   1                    REF:   4

 

            2.   ANS:  B                    PTS:   1                    REF:   5

 

            3.   ANS:  A                    PTS:   1                    REF:   5

 

            4.   ANS:  C                    PTS:   1                    REF:   5

 

            5.   ANS:  A                    PTS:   1                    REF:   6

 

            6.   ANS:  E                    PTS:   1                    REF:   6

 

            7.   ANS:  C                    PTS:   1                    REF:   6

 

            8.   ANS:  A                    PTS:   1                    REF:   7

 

            9.   ANS:  C                    PTS:   1                    REF:   7

 

          10.   ANS:  E                    PTS:   1                    REF:   8

 

          11.   ANS:  C                     PTS:   1                    REF:   11

 

          12.   ANS:  A                    PTS:   1                    REF:   11

 

          13.   ANS:  B                    PTS:   1                    REF:   12

 

          14.   ANS:  E                    PTS:   1                    REF:   12

 

          15.   ANS:  E                    PTS:   1                    REF:   13

 

          16.   ANS:  A                    PTS:   1                    REF:   13

 

          17.   ANS:  C                    PTS:   1                    REF:   574

 

          18.   ANS:  B                    PTS:   1                    REF:   575

 

          19.   ANS:  E                    PTS:   1                    REF:   576

 

          20.   ANS:  E                    PTS:   1                    REF:   576

 

          21.   ANS:  D                    PTS:   1                    REF:   576–577

 

          22.   ANS:  E                    PTS:   1                    REF:   578

 

          23.   ANS:  B                    PTS:   1                    REF:   578

 

          24.   ANS:  A                    PTS:   1                    REF:   583

 

          25.   ANS:  E                    PTS:   1                    REF:   583