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Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.  Good luck!

To accesquiz-01s a list of all our old quizzes, click here.

1. Which GOP presidential candidate dropped out last week?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Former New York Governor George Pataki.  Pataki had failed to generate sufficient momentum for his candidacy and had never been a part of the “main” Republican debates.  Pataki’s departure leaves eleven candidates in the GOP field.[/toggle]

2. How many people were killed in the West African Ebola epidemic?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]11,000 people.  The nations of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone were worst hit.  The World Health Organization (WHO) declared that Guinea was free of Ebola last Tuesday, but public health officials will continue to look out for the re-emergence of the virus.[/toggle]

3. What is the strategic significance of the Strait of Hormuz?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]The Strait is an important sea route for oil tankers, with 35% of the world’s maritime petroleum trade passing through the area.  War games simulations show that Iran would probably move to block the Strait in the event of a war with the United States and other Western powers.  Last week the U.S. said that Iran carried out a “highly provocative” rocket test near American warships in the Strait.[/toggle]

4. What is a “unicorn” company?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]A “unicorn” company is a privately held startup that is valued at more than $1 billion.  These include firms such as Instacart (a grocery-delivery company) and Uber.  Market analysts expect some of these firms to be absorbed by larger competitors or to go under in 2016 since many continue to show very low profitability.[/toggle]

5. Where did Iran recently ship eleven tons of low-enriched uranium?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Russia.  As part of its agreement with Western powers, Iran is obligated to send the material to Russia so that it cannot be used for bomb-making purposes.  The move will help Iran chip away further at international sanctions levied against it as a result of its clandestine nuclear program.[/toggle]

6. What is the attitude of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party when it comes to relations with China?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]The DPP advocates for a distinct Taiwanese identity and favors Taiwanese independence from China.  The DPP are expected to win the island’s presidential and parliamentary elections next week, which could heighten tensions in East Asia.[/toggle]

7. What is El Nino?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]El Nino is a band of warm ocean water that develops in the Pacific Ocean that produces temperature and rainfall changes in areas surrounding the Pacific.  It occurs every two to seven years and it has recently been blamed for causing flooding in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.[/toggle]

8. How much will Japan pay to a South Korean fund for “comfort women”?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]$8.3 million (or one billion yen).  Japan is trying to make amends for its human rights abuses during the Second World War.  The “comfort women” dispute has long harmed Japan’s relations with South Korea.  “Comfort women” were Korean women that were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during the war.[/toggle]

9. Prior to Narendra Modi’s visit to Pakistan two weeks ago, when was the last time that an Indian prime minister visited Pakistan?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]2004.  Modi has just completed his first year in office and he is making moves to thaw relations with neighboring Pakistan.  Both nations are still wrestling over the disputed province of Kashmir, but they have agreed to resume high-level talks that have not taken place since 2012.[/toggle]

10. According to the Global Index on Terrorism, compiled by the Institute for Economics and Peace, which five countries accounted for 78% of the lives lost in terrorist attacks in 2015?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Syria.  The Institute noted that terrorism spread to more countries in 2015, with the Islamic State and Boko Haram accounting for 51% of all terrorist-related deaths.[/toggle]