"A Mad Dash to Disaster": The First World War
1. PART A: Which TWO of the following statement best summarize the central ideas of the?
A. WWI was caused exclusively by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
B. Historian Henry Kissinger was the most accomplished U.S. Secretary of State in
American history.
C. No one nation or group can be singled out to blame for the outbreak of WWI.
D. The roots of WWI were planted long before the assassination of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand.
E. Trench warfare, because it was so deadly, was outlawed in future warfare at the
Paris Peace Convention.
F. WWI permanently brought the U.S. out of isolation, deeply involving it in future
global matters, like WWII.

2. Part B: Which TWO of the following quotes best support the answer to Part A?
A. “A history-making diplomat as well as a historian, Kissinger concluded that no
country can be singled out, because ‘[e]ach of the major powers contributed a
quota of shortsightedness and irresponsibility’” (Paragraph 2)
B. “World War I (1914-1918) — which claimed 32 million military and civilian
casualties, impoverished Europe, destroyed three empires, and set the stage for
an even more savage World War II — had many roots.” (Paragraph 3)
C. “on June 28, 1914, a radical Serbian nationalist tossed a burning match by
assassinating Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of yet another
European superpower, the Austro-Hungarian empire of the Habsburg
monarchy.” (Paragraph 7)
D. “What followed was a massacre that lasted an interminable four years, three
months, and eventually brought into the maelstrom two million American
‘doughboys.’” (Paragraph 16)
E. The heaviest and eventually decisive fighting was done on the Western front,
where French, British and eventually, American soldiers were locked in a
remorseless trench warfare with von Schlieffen’s army.” (Paragraph 18)
F. “in March 1917, President Woodrow Wilson had responded to the outrageous
sinking of four American ships by German submarines by abandoning the U.S.
policy of neutrality.” (Paragraph 21)

3. Why did the author most likely italicize the phrase “for any reason whatever” in Paragraph
4?
A. to emphasize that almost anything would provoke the allies to fight, and war
was basically inevitable
B. to propose the idea that the allied countries were eager to fight, regardless of
whom or what they would fight
C. to stress France’s and Russia’s militaristic mindsets and superiority at the time
D. to clarify that the alliance was actually very general and loose, not as binding as
it would later seem

4. PART A: What does the word “hazardous” most likely mean as used in paragraph 4?
A. unnecessary
B. risky
C. violent
D. preventative