IT SHOULD BE THE VOTING EXAM TOO:

Entrance exam: Could you pass the test given to would-be U.S. citizens? (Jane Clifford, November 9, 2002, San Diego Union Tribune)

The following questions come from the Immigration and Naturalization Service Web site and mirror the actual test.

1. Who elects the president of the United States?

a) Senate
b) Congress
c) the Cabinet
d) the electoral college

2. What is the introduction to the Constitution called?

a) the Bill of Rights
b) the Articles of Confederation
c) the Preamble
d) the Declaration of Independence

3. How many times may a Senator be re-elected?

a) there is no limit
b) once
c) four times
d) six times

4. How many changes or amendments are there to the Constitution?

a) 10
b) 27
c) 13
d) 9

5. How many Senators are there in Congress?

a) 100
b) 50
c) Based on the size of the population
d) 435

6. Who is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court today?

a) George W. Bush
b) Thomas Jefferson
c) Janet Reno
d) William Rehnquist

7. What special group advises the president?

a) the executive branch
b) the Cabinet
c) the electoral college
d) the Supreme Court

8. What is the executive branch of our government?

a) the president, Cabinet, and departments under the Cabinet
b) the House of Representatives and the Senate
c) the Supreme Court
d) the states

9. Who has the power to declare war?

a) Congress
b) the president
c) Chief justice of the Supreme Court
d) Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

10. Whose rights are guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?

a) everyone (citizens and noncitizens living in the United States)
b) registered voters
c) the president
d) natural-born citizens

11. Who becomes president if the president should die?

a) his/her spouse
b) the speaker of the House
c) vice-president
d) the secretary of state

12. What are the duties of the Supreme Court?

a) to serve the president as Cabinet members
b) to write laws
c) to interpret laws
d) to execute laws

13. How many representatives are there in Congress?

a) 100
b) 50
c) 435
d) 102

14. Who selects the Supreme Court justices?

a) the electoral college
b) the people
c) they are appointed by the president
d) the Senate

15. Which list contains three rights or freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights?
a) right to life, right to liberty, right to the pursuit of happiness
b) freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion
c) right to protest, right to protection under the law, freedom of religion
d) freedom of religion, right to elect representatives, human rights

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 9, 2002 8:50 PM