Geography: capital cities - pre-test

The countries and capital cities of the UK

In a single domesticated grain seed, one might see the bud of great civilizations. The birth of agriculture was a turning point in humans' social development, as stable food supplies enabled people to transcend the constraints of food gained by hunting and gathering. After that, people were able to settle down and experience population booms. As one of the major areas around the globe where agriculture originated, China has contributed to the world's domesticated rice, millet, buckwheat and soybeans. Archaeological studies have unveiled that the planting of rice originated around 10,000 years ago in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, leading to the eventual replacement there of hunting and gathering practices dating back 5,000 to 6,000 years. "It marked the formation of a rice-based agricultural society in the area," said Zhao Zhijun, an archaeologist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Archaeological studies of the origins of rice-based agriculture are an important part of a national project tracing the origins of Chinese civilization itself. President Xi Jinping has greatly valued the project. At a group study session of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on May 27, 2022, Xi, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, emphasized the significance of the project and the role that archaeological studies play in better understanding Chinese civilization. The project to trace the origins of Chinese civilization, in addition to finding signs of human activity more than 1 million years ago, has also proved that China's history includes 10,000 years of culture and more than 5,000 years of civilization. The project has provided clear knowledge of the origins and formation of Chinese civilization, the history of its development, the process of the formation and development of its pluralistic and integrated pattern, and the characteristics of the civilization and why it was formed in such a way, he added. This was not the first time that Xi emphasized the importance of the origin-tracing project. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC in 2012, Xi has toured more than 100 historical and cultural locations and issued many instructions related to archaeology and the origin-tracing project. During the 23rd group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in 2020, Xi called for giving more attention to archaeological research and letting historical facts speak for themselves. "This will provide strong support for our efforts to carry forward the best of traditional Chinese culture and increase our cultural confidence," said Xi. The origin-tracing project has been carried out since 2002. Its ongoing fifth phase, which started in 2020, involves the participation of more than 500 researchers from 29 institutes across the country. It primarily centers on several ancient capital sites, including the Liangzhu site in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, the Taosi site in Xiangfen county, Shanxi province, the Shimao site in Shenmu, Shaanxi province, and the Erlitou site in Luoyang, Henan province, from 3,500 to 5,500 years ago, as well as other settlements mainly along the basins of the Yellow, Yangtze and Liaohe rivers. The project has also expanded to a wider geographic and chronological framework to decode how Chinese civilization emerged and how its diverse elements formed a unity. Excavation of the Liangzhu site, which is over 5,000 years old and is one of the major sites covered in the origin-tracing project, has yielded an inner city covering 3 million square meters and an outer city of 6.3 million sq m, making it the world's largest capital at the time. It also had a giant water control system, which contributed to the formation of a rice-based agricultural society. By calculating the earthwork volume, archaeologists found that building the entire ancient city, the water control system and Mojiaoshan — a 10-meter-tall man-made terrace in the center of the city — required 10,000 people working daily for seven-and-a-half years. The discoveries show that Liangzhu had a kingship able to organize people for large-scale public construction, and its social differentiation, emergence of the city concept and existence of a kingship prove that it became a civilized society, said Wang Wei, a veteran archaeologist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Significant topic Wang said that tracing the origins of a civilization is a significant topic in the research of human history. Over the years, the Chinese project has provided China's answer to how to define civilizations. In 2022, Xi commended the efforts and stressed that the project has made creative contributions to the research on tracing the origins of the world's civilizations. Wang said: "International academia has proposed three indispensable elements for a civilized society based on features of Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations: written characters, metallurgy and the city concept. But we can find that some of the three elements were absent in many ancient civilizations. For example, the Mayan civilization had no metallurgy, while the Incan civilization didn't have written characters." Western scholars believe that Chinese civilization began with the Yinxu Ruins in Anyang, Henan province, a capital of the late Shang Dynasty (c.16th century-11th century BC), based on the discovery of inscribed oracle bones from that time. However, Chinese archaeologists don't agree. With continued archaeological research, international academia now believes that places around the world can propose criteria for civilization based on their own ancient social development. China's archaeological studies have shaped the nation's criteria in defining a civilization: the development of productivity, an increase in population, the appearance of cities, social differentiation and the emergence of kingship and state. "These criteria are suitable for identifying other civilizations as well," said Wang. "Civilizations have in common the appearance of kingship and state. They are only different in the ways of imposing kingship and the forms of state." In China, kingship and state "were shown by exquisite jade and bronze ritual artifacts, grand palaces and magnificent mausoleums imitating aboveground palaces", he added. "In Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, they were demonstrated through superb stone temples, pyramids and large-scale tombs." Multidisciplinary subject President Xi said in 2020 that archaeologists should work closely with researchers from other fields to make an interpretive analysis of material remains. Zhang Chi, a professor of archaeology at Peking University, said that since material remains are often the research focus of archaeological studies, these should not only be observed with the eyes, but also studied using scientific and technological tools. Therefore, from the perspective of research methods, archaeology is by nature a multidisciplinary subject, Zhang added.

Geography guess the capital

Question 1 Category: Current Events Question: What was the primary demand of the Kenyan Gen Z protesters featured in the BBC documentary Unmasked: The Truth Behind the Gen Z Protests? Options: A) Free education B) Repeal of the Finance Bill 2024 C) Climate change action D) New elections Correct Answer: B) Repeal of the Finance Bill 2024 Explanation: The BBC documentary highlights that Kenyan youth protested to demand the repeal of the Finance Bill 2024, which proposed tax hikes raising $2.7 billion. Question 2 Category: Science Question: Which gas, discovered on the sun before Earth, is the second most abundant element in the universe? Options: A) Hydrogen B) Oxygen C) Helium D) Nitrogen Correct Answer: C) Helium Explanation: Helium was first detected in the sun’s spectrum in 1868 and is the second most abundant element after hydrogen in the universe. Question 3 Category: Current Events Question: Which Kenyan city was the epicenter of the Gen Z protests covered in the BBC documentary Unmasked: The Truth Behind the Gen Z Protests? Options: A) Mombasa B) Nairobi C) Kisumu D) Eldoret Correct Answer: B) Nairobi Explanation: Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, was the main hub for the #OccupyParliament protests, with significant events like the Parliament breach occurring there, as shown in the documentary. Question 4 Category: History Question: Which empire, known for its vast trade networks, was centered in modern-day Turkey and lasted until the early 20th century? Options: A) Roman Empire B) Ottoman Empire C) Mongol Empire D) Byzantine Empire Correct Answer: B) Ottoman Empire Explanation: The Ottoman Empire, spanning over 600 years until 1922, was a major trade and cultural power centered in modern-day Turkey. Question 5 Category: Current Events Question: According to the BBC documentary, what technology helped document evidence of police brutality during the Kenyan Gen Z protests? Options: A) Drones B) Smartphone videos C) Facial recognition software D) Satellite tracking Correct Answer: B) Smartphone videos Explanation: The documentary used smartphone videos from protesters and bystanders, analyzed via open-source data, to document police brutality during the 2024 protests. Question 6 Category: Geography Question: What is the smallest country in the world by land area? Options: A) Monaco B) Vatican City C) San Marino D) Liechtenstein Correct Answer: B) Vatican City Explanation: Vatican City, with an area of about 44 hectares, is the smallest sovereign state in the world by land area. Question 7 Category: Current Events Question: What hashtag became synonymous with the Kenyan Gen Z protests, as featured in the BBC documentary Unmasked: The Truth Behind the Gen Z Protests? Options: A) #KenyaRising B) #OccupyParliament C) #TaxRevolt D) #GenZFight Correct Answer: B) #OccupyParliament Explanation: The #OccupyParliament hashtag was widely used by protesters to rally against the Finance Bill 2024, as documented by the BBC. Question 8 Category: Entertainment Question: Which actor starred as the lead in the 2023 film Barbie and also played a role in La La Land? Options: A) Emma Stone B) Margot Robbie C) Zendaya D) Saoirse Ronan Correct Answer: B) Margot Robbie Explanation: Margot Robbie starred as Barbie in the 2023 film and played a supporting role in La La Land (2016). Question 9 Category: Sports Question: Which sport is played at the Wimbledon Championships? Options: A) Cricket B) Rugby C) Tennis D) Golf Correct Answer: C) Tennis Explanation: Wimbledon, held annually in London, is the oldest and one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world. Question 10 Category: Technology Question: In web development, what does the acronym “CSS” stand for? Options: A) Computer Style System B) Cascading Style Sheets C) Creative Script Syntax D) Centralized Style Standard Correct Answer: B) Cascading Style Sheets Explanation: CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is used to style and format the appearance of web pages written in HTML.

London as a capital city

Cardiff as a capital city

Geography Capitals

Related quizzes

Related quizzes