Multiple Choice Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. 1. Which of the following describes one effect of Marco Polo s journey to China? a. Marco Polo became the emperor of China. b. Marco Polo was made a government official in China. c. Marco Polo helped protect travelers and traders on the trade route to China. d. Marco Polo became an important banker. 2. Venice was famous for a. producing silk cloth. c. manufacturing woolen cloth. b. manufacturing weapons. d. producing glass. 3. The Mongols helped to increase trade between Europe and Asia by a. staying isolated from people from other countries. b. increasing the prices of goods. c. making the Silk Road safe to travel again. d. building ports and harbors. 4. One important feature that Venice and Genoa shared was that a. both were located near the Silk Road. b. both were important port cities on the Mediterranean Sea. c. both produced fine glass, weapons, and silk. d. both were centers of learning during the Middle Ages. 5. The printing press affected the spread of ideas during the Renaissance the same way that a. the Internet affects the spread of ideas today. b. the cellular phone affects the spread of ideas today. c. digital photographs affect the spread of ideas today. d. e-mail allows people to exchange ideas today. 6. Which event occurred first? a. Marco Polo and his family travel from Venice to China. b. Marco Polo visits India and Southeast Asia. c. Kublai Khan appoints Marco Polo to be a government official. d. The Mongol dynasty takes over China and makes the roads safer. 7. Which of the following best describes Cosimo dé Medici? a. a wealthy merchant who supported the arts b. a ruler of the Papal States c. a Renaissance scientist who helped build the foundations of modern astronomy d. a powerful ruler of Florence who valued education and culture 8. Which artist made prints that are famous for realistic detail? a. Albrecht Dürer c. Leonardo da Vinci b. Johann Gutenberg d. Filippo Brunelleschi
9. Which of the following is a characteristic of Dante s The Divine Comedy? a. Dante wrote in Greek to honor the traditions of the great Greek poets. b. Dante used persuasive writing to craft an essay about current problems. c. Dante used the vernacular, or common language, to describe Italian society. d. Dante wrote in Latin to make his views known to other scholars. 10. Which of the following is not true of perspective? a. People in the front of the painting are portrayed larger than those in the background. b. Distant places are painted in hazy colors. c. People, places, and scenery are painted to appear one-dimensional. d. Straight lines, such as floor tiles, appear as diagonal lines. 11. How do prices affect trade? a. When prices are low, trade decreases. b. When prices are high, trade does not change. c. When prices are high, trade increases. d. When prices are low, trade increases. 12. Which of the following had a major role in spreading Renaissance ideas from Italy to northern Europe? a. the banks c. the manufacturing centers b. the universities d. the Mongols 13. What is one way that Leonardo da Vinci used science to make his art more realistic? a. Da Vinci studied and sketched human bones and muscles. b. Da Vinci studied measurements of Earth to make realistic scenes. c. Da Vinci used a microscope and made sketches from what he observed. d. Da Vinci used astronomy to sketch the sun. 14. Which of the following ideas was not part of humanism? a. Ancient Greek and Roman writings were sources of inspiration. b. The only purpose of art is to glorify God. c. Poetry, history, and public speaking were important subjects to study. d. Talented writers and artists were honored. 15. Which of the following describes how Brunelleschi combined art and mathematics? a. He designed buildings based on formulas from his mapmaking work. b. He used formulas from his work as a town planner. c. He developed many new mathematical formulas. d. He found a way to build a dome supported by the walls of a cathedral.
16. How are the ideas of the Middle Ages and the ideas of the Renaissance different? a. Both periods had thinkers who were interested in religion, but Renaissance thinkers were interested in other ideas, too. b. Both periods had thinkers who thought the sun revolved around Earth, but Renaissance thinkers thought Earth was the center of the universe. c. Thinkers during the Middle Ages valued Latin texts, while thinkers during the Renaissance valued Greek texts. d. During the Middle Ages artists focused on common people, while during the Renaissance artists focused on religious figures. 17. Which of these subjects would be considered most important during the Renaissance? a. how to show perspective in drawing and painting b. the study of new breakthroughs in astronomy c. classical writings of ancient Greece and Rome d. banking 18. What did Dante and Desiderius Erasmus have in common? a. Both were members of the clergy. b. Both had studied ancient classical writings. c. Both wrote about problems they observed in their societies. d. Both lived in Northern Europe. 19. Machiavelli wanted to have an effect on a. religion. c. art. b. politics. d. literature. 20. Which of these Italian port cities was the wealthiest? a. Genoa c. Venice b. Milan d. Florence 21. How did the growth of trade affect mapmaking? a. As trade increased, Italian merchants worked with Chinese scholars to make accurate maps. b. As trade increased, Renaissance scholars used measurements taken by merchants to make accurate maps. c. As trade with Asia increased, merchants made better maps of Italian cities. d. As trade in Italy increased, people from Asia made more accurate maps. 22. How are classical and Renaissance statues alike? a. Both feature figures with clothing that is still and without motion. b. Both focus on animal figures. c. Both feature a few details of human figures. d. Both feature realistic and lifelike poses.
23. What was one difference between humanism in Italy and humanism in northern Europe? a. Scholars in northern Europe were more interested in the history of Christianity. b. Scholars in northern Europe were more interested in the history of Greece and Rome. c. Scholars in northern Europe were more interested in the history of the Middle Ages. d. Scholars in northern Europe were more interested in the history of Italy. 24. The translation of the Bible from Latin to vernacular languages caused a. painters to fight strenuously against it. b. more people to learn to read. c. more people to follow the ideas of church leaders. d. church leaders to stop performing church rituals. 25. Which word best summarizes the Renaissance? a. perspective c. change b. astronomy d. monarchy 26. Miguel de Cervantes is best known for a. Romeo and Juliet. c. the Sistine Chapel. b. Don Quixote. d. the Mona Lisa. 27. What major body of water allowed the port cities of Genoa and Venice to thrive? a. the Mediterranean Sea c. the Pacific Ocean b. the Atlantic Ocean d. the North Sea 28. What caused scholars to long for a renewal of classical culture? a. the discovery of classical writings such as the work of Plato and Thucydides b. the translation of the Bible from Latin to vernacular languages c. the architecture of the Mongol dynasty d. the art of ancient China 29. Petrarch s ideas helped people understand the importance of a. history, and his ideas affected education for many years. b. religious history, but his ideas lasted for only a short time. c. art history, but his ideas lasted for only a short time. d. science, and his ideas affected education for many years. 30. The Sistine Chapel was painted by a. Titian. c. Botticelli. b. Michelangelo. d. Raphael. 31. The word vernacular means a. the belief that all planets and stars move around Earth. b. a technique in art that gives paintings a sense of depth. c. an angle created by a line intersecting another line. d. the language used by people in everyday life.
32. Where were ancient Latin texts discovered? a. in the court of Kublai Khan c. in Florence b. in Greece and Rome d. in monasteries in Europe 33. How did the Turks conquest of the Byzantine Empire help contribute to the Renaissance? a. Turkish nobles paid artists and architects to beautify the Byzantine Empire. b. Scholars fled to Italy with ancient Italian and Greek writings that had been thought lost. c. The Turks reopened sections of the Silk Road, allowing increased trade with Asia. d. Byzantine doctors had a cure for the Black Death. 34. Northern European artists were known for all of the following except a. lifelike detail in painting plants and animals. b. scenes that showed the everyday lives of workers and farmers. c. the use of oil paint. d. the use of classical Greek and Roman figures as the models for people. 35. Which of Cosimo dé Medici s personal values helped to bring about the Renaissance? a. the belief that Italy s major cities should unite to form one democratic body of government b. the belief that Italy s port cities could be as important as Asia s Silk Road c. the wish that Florence should be the world s most beautiful city d. the belief that Italian art and wealth should be shared with northern Europe