Factual Information Questions

6th Question

Cold War Terminology

Cold War terminology was developed during the Cold War era (1945–1980). Familiar and still used by many, it involves classifying countries into first world, second world, and third world nations based on respective economic development and standards of living. When this nomenclature was developed, capitalistic democracies such as the U.S. and Japan were considered part of the first world. The poorest, most undeveloped countries were referred to as the third world and included most of sub- Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The second world was the in-between category: nations not as limited in development as the third world, but not as well off as the first world, having moderate economies and standard of living, such as China or Cuba. Later, sociologist Manual Castells added the term fourth world to refer to stigmatized minority groups that were denied a political voice all over the globe (indigenous minority populations, prisoners, and the homeless, for example).

Q. According to the paragraph, which of the following is true about the U.S. and Japan?

• a. They categorized countries into the first, second, and third world

• b. They were among the poorest and most undeveloped countries at the time

• c. They were both part of the Cold War from 1945-1980

• d. They were classified as first world nations at the time this categorization system was created

D is correct because when we look for the keywords from the question in the passage, the sentence that contains the “the U.S. and Japan” explains how they were considered first world countries. Since they are not mentioned again, there is no need to look further.