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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why did the Spaniards not exterminate the Indians after they were conquered?
(a) They needed labor.
(b) Their Catholicism prevented mass slaughter.
(c) They respected the Indians.
(d) They wanted to learn from the Indians.

2. During the Revolution, whom did the intelligentsia make the focal point of its activities?
(a) Their new leaders.
(b) Itself.
(c) The new poets.
(d) The common people.

3. Why did the Mexican Revolution have to begin before the beginning?
(a) The people still held a feudalistic mindset.
(b) The cities were not large enough to house the farmers-turned-workers.
(c) In the early 20th Century, Mexico was far behind the advanced world.
(d) Mexico did not have the basic electricity and resources needed to transform her cities.

4. What is one factor that drives world markets?
(a) The low cost of raw materials, and the high cost of manufactured products.
(b) The unchallenged advantages of advanced countries.
(c) The inability of third-world markets to compete.
(d) The unequal distribution of raw materials.

5. In Jose Gaos' thought, what unique opportunity do young people have through their education?
(a) Creating their own philosophy.
(b) Moving Mexico into the world sphere.
(c) Modifying Spanish to meet the needs of the South Americans.
(d) Rebuilding their political system.

6. What has happened to the former plurality of ideas and customs? (Chapter Seven).
(a) It has been replaced by a single civilization.
(b) It has grown to accommodate special-interest groups.
(c) It has splintered into even more segments.
(d) They have become richer.

7. According to Paz, what philosophical fact defines much of Mexico's history?
(a) They had only two great thinkers.
(b) The people adopted some ideas and invented others.
(c) The people adopted ideas, but did not invent their own.
(d) They overturned several of Spain's philosophical treatises.

8. Why did the Church support Spanish power?
(a) The Church was bribed by the Spanish monarch.
(b) The Church owned large portions of land.
(c) The Church owed its Mexican existence to the Spanish Conquest.
(d) The Church was threatened by Spain.

9. Why was unemployment high in Mexico at the time that Paz was writing?
(a) The labor unions made it difficult for workers to get jobs.
(b) The two biggest factories were experiencing lay-offs.
(c) The population grew more quickly than industry.
(d) The economy was going through a recession.

10. On what does Paz blame "the rather zigzag progress of the state"? Chapter Eight, page 181).
(a) The conflict between national capitalism and international capitalism.
(b) The difficulty of dealing with a large work force.
(c) The struggle between capitalist ideals and socialism.
(d) The necessity of making revolutionary ideals work for practical living.

11. How did liberalism and democracy function in South American countries?
(a) As an impetus to move the countries into modernity.
(b) As the breath of fresh air, politically speaking.
(c) As the new structure of governments around the continent.
(d) As a veneer for the workings of colonialism.

12. When Paz sees that Mexicans return to their tradition, what do they remember?
(a) That they do not belong to a greater universal tradition.
(b) That they are part of Spain's tradition.
(c) That their tradition is rooted in conquest and slavery.
(d) That their tradition is mostly Indian.

13. What is the value of Sor Juana's poem, "First Dream"?
(a) A philosophical look at the depth of reality.
(b) A comprehensive history of the Indians before Cortez.
(c) A penetrating analysis of the effects of European influence.
(d) A philosophical look at Catholicism.

14. How did the Spanish Conquest treat religion?
(a) The Conquest did not relate to religion.
(b) Spain was protecting the Mesoamerican religions.
(c) Spain was integrating Mesoamerican religions.
(d) Spain was defending the faith.

15. According to Paz, who is most fascinated by death?
(a) The dying.
(b) The youth.
(c) The infant.
(d) The old.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did the Spaniards find when they arrived in South America?

2. What did Moctezuma think as the Spaniards approached?

3. What does Paz mean by the word, "community"?

4. What was the motto of positivism?

5. What event precipitated Spain's complete loss of power?

(see the answer keys)

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