Lesson 4.2.1.1

4.2.1.1 Context: WW1 and its aftermath (imperialism to memorials) Quiz: AQA English Literature A, Unit 2

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.2.1.1, Context: WW1 and its aftermath (imperialism to memorials): 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA English Literature A (7712), Unit 2: Texts in shared contexts, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What event in June 1914 is usually identified as the immediate trigger of the First World War?

    • The sinking of the liner Lusitania by a U-boat
    • The Russian Revolution that overthrew the Tsar
    • The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo
    • The German invasion of neutral Belgium in August

  2. Which of these is a long-term cause of the war linked to imperial rivalry?

    • The discovery of penicillin by a British scientist
    • The construction of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
    • Competition among European powers for colonies and markets
    • The founding of the League of Nations after the war

  3. Which slogan and recruitment poster of 1914 is associated with Lord Kitchener?

    • We Will Remember Them All
    • Your Country Needs You
    • Britain Expects Every Man
    • Keep Calm and Carry On

  4. Which 1915 campaign in the Dardanelles ended in a costly withdrawal?

    • Gallipoli, which failed to take Istanbul
    • Verdun, a long siege on the Meuse
    • Passchendaele, a battle in the Flanders mud
    • Ypres, a city defended in several battles

  5. The Battle of the Somme began on which date in 1916?

    • 1 July
    • 28 June
    • 3 September
    • 11 November

  6. When did the Armistice ending the fighting on the Western Front take effect?

    • 1 July 1916, at dawn on the Somme
    • 11 November 1918, at the eleventh hour
    • 28 June 1919, at the signing in Versailles
    • 4 August 1914, at midnight in London

  7. Which treaty of 1919 imposed heavy reparations and territorial losses on Germany?

    • The Treaty of Utrecht in the Netherlands
    • The Treaty of Westphalia that ended a religious war
    • The Treaty of Versailles
    • The Treaty of Tordesillas between Spain and Portugal

  8. Which memorial in Whitehall, designed by Edwin Lutyens, commemorates the dead of the war?

    • The Cenotaph, unveiled in 1920
    • The Marble Arch near Hyde Park Corner
    • The Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens
    • The Monument to the Great Fire of London

  9. What does the Unknown Warrior buried in Westminster Abbey in 1920 symbolise?

    • a politician killed in the closing weeks of the war
    • a single famous general who led the British armies
    • the site where the Armistice negotiations were held
    • the mass loss of ordinary soldiers whose names were never known

  10. Which group opposed the war on moral or religious grounds and was often treated harshly?

    • newspaper proprietors who supported the government's policy
    • conscientious objectors and pacifists who refused military service
    • members of the Royal Navy stationed in the colonies
    • army officers from the upper classes of the country

  11. Which Act introduced conscription in Britain in 1916?

    • the Representation of the People Act
    • the Military Service Act
    • the Elementary Education Act
    • the Defence of the Realm Act

  12. What aftermath of the war is shown by the rise of nationalist and extremist movements in interwar Europe?

    • the end of all political parties in the democracies
    • universal prosperity and general disarmament across Europe
    • resentment of the peace settlements and economic hardship
    • a decline in national identity and patriotic feeling

  13. Which phenomenon described psychological breakdown among soldiers after the war?

    • Spanish influenza, a pandemic that spread widely
    • trench foot, a condition caused by wet conditions
    • scurvy, a disease caused by vitamin deficiency
    • shell shock, the term for combat trauma

  14. What was the purpose of Siegfried Sassoon's 1917 Declaration?

    • to praise the war effort and the conduct of the generals
    • to request a pay rise for officers at the front
    • to condemn the continuation of the war by politicians and generals
    • to demand the abolition of the Royal Navy in peacetime

  15. The phrase 'the war to end all wars' is best understood as:

    • a line from a Romantic poem about the love of a nation
    • a legal term used in the clauses of the peace treaties
    • a hope, later shown to be false, that the war would prevent future conflict
    • an accurate prediction that peace would last for ever

  16. Which factor best explains the large number of war memorials across Britain?

    • the unprecedented scale of loss, which affected communities everywhere
    • the high cost of marble in the years after the war
    • a national competition run by the Royal Academy of Arts
    • a law requiring every town to build a memorial

  17. Which technology of the war changed the nature of combat and produced new kinds of death?

    • telephones in private homes and offices in the cities
    • radio broadcasting to the home front in every town
    • machine guns and artillery, used across static trench lines
    • television, which was only invented after the war ended

  18. Which statement best describes the impact of the war on civilians at home?

    • civilians faced rationing, changing work and the loss of loved ones
    • civilians were largely untouched by the war in their daily lives
    • civilians were affected only after the Armistice was signed
    • civilians gained complete freedom from the control of the state

  19. What does the phrase 'lost generation' describe in the war's aftermath?

    • sailors who survived the Battle of Jutland in the North Sea
    • young men killed or damaged by war, whose absence shaped later decades
    • children born during the war who grew up in poverty
    • a political party formed by veterans after the Armistice

  20. Which question is most useful when evaluating the impact of propaganda on recruitment?

    • Did propaganda persuade men to enlist, and how far did it conceal the front's reality?
    • What colour of paper was used to print the posters?
    • How much did the printer charge the government for the work?
    • Which typeface was used on the cover of the poster?

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