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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. What does the term “political football” mean?

[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”]”Political football” refers to a topic that becomes heated between two or more political factions and made more important than it might otherwise be.  For example, some critics say that the American debate over Syrian refugees is becoming a “political football.”[/toggle]

2. This state recently decided to abandon Common Core testing.

[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”]Massachusetts.  The state has traditionally been a leader in education initiatives, but last week its state Board of Education agreed to create a new statewide test to measure student progress.  Education observers say that Massachusetts decision may lead to other states following suit.[/toggle]

3. What are the dates for the Paris climate summit?

[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”]November 30-December 11.  The meeting will feature appearances from business executives, climate activists, and more than 100 heads of state.  The goal will be to create a new climate accord that can take the place of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.[/toggle]

4. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen recently defended seven years of low interest rates in a letter to this American activist.

[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”]Consumer activist and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader.  Nader was part of a group that submitted a letter pleading for higher interest rates to benefit American savers, who tend to be older and nearing (or in) retirement age.[/toggle]

5. Who won Sunday’s Argentinian presidential election?

[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”]Mauricio Macri.  Macri is a former engineer and the mayor of Buenos Aires who defeated Daniel Scioli, the favored candidate of outgoing President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.  Macri’s win is a victory for the pro-business Latin American right and it ends twelve years of Kirchner rule in the country.  Macri has promised to cut spending and reverse economic controls that Kirchner put in place during her presidency.[/toggle]

6. Citing security concerns, Canada has decided to exclude this group of people from its refugee plan.

[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”]Single men.  Canada has said that it will turn away unaccompanied men and only accept women, children, and families as part of its refugee policy.  After Justin Trudeau and the Liberals won Canada’s parliamentary elections last month, the government announced that it would accept 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year.  However, 51% of Canadian voters disapprove of the plan and 60% say they worry about security risks.[/toggle]

7. What is the name that has been given to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy demonstrators?

[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”]”Umbrella Soldiers.”  The name comes from demonstrations last year where acivists used umbrellas to shield themselves from tear gas and pepper spray.  The demonstrators want full democracy in Hong Kong rather than only being allowed to select their leader from a series of candidates that China approves of.[/toggle]

8. According to reports, the Islamic State disguised the bomb that brought down Russian MetroJet Flight 9268 as this type of object.

[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 soda can.  The Islamic State released a photograph showing various parts of the device and experts argue that the device could work.  Some have theorized that it was a bomb with a timer and could have been detonated by a suicide bomber.[/toggle]

9. Name at least four of the states that will hold their presidential primaries or caucuses on Super Tuesday.

[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”]Alabama, Alaska (Republican-only), Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia.  The large number of Southern states that are awarding delegates on Super Tuesday, which will take place on March 1, explains why some pundits have called it the “SEC Primary.”[/toggle]

10. Which GOP presidential candidate dropped out of the race 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”]Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.  Jindal’s campaign was never able to break out of the lower tier of Republican candidates.  He is the third candidate – and the third governor – to drop out of the race.[/toggle]