UPSC World History – Chapter 13: The United Nations and the Cold War (20 MCQs)

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UPSC World History – Chapter 13: The United Nations and the Cold War (20 MCQs) – 20 questions, subject: History. Every question has the correct answer with a one-line explanation; tap "Show Answer". Free practice for TNPSC, UPSC, SSC, Bank and RRB exams – Shanmugam IAS Academy, Coimbatore.

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1.  

The UN came into existence on:

Correct Answer: D [24 October 1945]

Explanation:

The Charter came into force on 24 October 1945 after ratification by the five permanent members and most signatories; the date is now UN Day.

2.  

The "Iron Curtain" speech (1946) was delivered by:

Correct Answer: A [Winston Churchill]

Explanation:

at Fulton, Missouri.

3.  

The Marshall Plan was meant to:

Correct Answer: B [rebuild western Europe]

Explanation:

The Marshall Plan (European Recovery Programme, from 1948) gave large-scale US aid to rebuild the war-damaged economies of western Europe.

4.  

NATO was founded in:

Correct Answer: D [1949]

Explanation:

4 April 1949.

5.  

The Korean War armistice was signed in 1953 at:

Correct Answer: C [Panmunjom]

Explanation:

The armistice was signed at Panmunjom on 27 July 1953, ending the fighting and leaving Korea divided near the 38th parallel.

6.  

The first artificial satellite, Sputnik, was launched in:

Correct Answer: B [1957]

Explanation:

USSR.

7.  

The Cuban Missile Crisis took place in:

Correct Answer: C [1962]

Explanation:

In October 1962 the US found Soviet missiles in Cuba; thirteen days of tension ended with their withdrawal.

8.  

The Soviet Union's economic answer to the Marshall Plan, set up in 1949 to co-ordinate the economies of the Eastern bloc, was:

Correct Answer: B [COMECON]

Explanation:

COMECON, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, was formed in 1949 as the Eastern bloc's reply to the Marshall Plan.

9.  

The Helsinki Final Act (1975) is associated with:

Correct Answer: D [détente in Europe]

Explanation:

The Helsinki Final Act (1975) accepted Europe's post-war borders and promised respect for human rights – the high point of détente.

10.  

Consider the following statements:

1. The Berlin Blockade lasted from 1948 to 1949.
2. The Berlin Wall was built in 1961.
3. West Germany was a founding member of NATO in 1949.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: B [1 and 2 only]

Explanation:

The blockade ran from June 1948 to May 1949 and the Wall went up in August 1961; West Germany joined NATO only in 1955.

11.  

Assertion (A): The Soviet Union formed the Warsaw Pact in 1955.

Reason (R): West Germany had been admitted to NATO in 1955.

Correct Answer: A [Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A]

Explanation:

West Germany entered NATO in May 1955, and days later the USSR formed the Warsaw Pact in direct response.

12.  

Which of the following countries was NOT a member of SEATO?

Correct Answer: D [India]

Explanation:

India stayed non-aligned.

13.  

The policy of "containment" of Soviet expansion is associated with:

Correct Answer: D [George Kennan]

Explanation:

The American diplomat George Kennan's 'Long Telegram' (1946) and 'X' article (1947) argued for containing Soviet expansion.

14.  

Which one of the following countries was NOT a member of the Baghdad Pact (later CENTO)?

Correct Answer: D [Afghanistan]

Explanation:

Afghanistan never joined; the members were Britain, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and Iraq.

15.  

The People's Republic of China was proclaimed on:

Correct Answer: A [1 October 1949]

Explanation:

Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949 after the Communists won the civil war.

16.  

The first woman President of the UN General Assembly (1953) was:

Correct Answer: D [Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit]

Explanation:

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was elected President of the eighth session of the UN General Assembly in 1953, the first woman to hold the post.

17.  

Arrange the following in chronological order:

1. Berlin Blockade begins
2. Cuban Missile Crisis
3. Helsinki Final Act
4. United Nations comes into existence

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Correct Answer: C [4-1-2-3]

Explanation:

1945, 1948, 1962, 1975.

18.  

India has not signed the NPT mainly because it regards the treaty as:

Correct Answer: C [discriminatory between nuclear and non-nuclear States]

Explanation:

India holds that the NPT divides the world into five recognised nuclear-weapon States and the rest, without a time-bound commitment by them to disarm.

19.  

Which country's revolt was crushed by Soviet tanks in 1956?

Correct Answer: A [Hungary]

Explanation:

The Hungarian uprising of October–November 1956 against Soviet control was crushed when Soviet tanks entered Budapest.

20.  

The International Court of Justice is located at:

Correct Answer: B [The Hague]

Explanation:

The ICJ, the principal judicial organ of the UN, sits in the Peace Palace at The Hague in the Netherlands.

➤ Full notes, maps, tables, a reason for every option and Mains PYQs – U05 · World History (UPSC book, ₹249): www.shanmugamiasacademy.in/study-materials/upsc-world-history

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