Historic Events for Test

Read each historical event and answer the following questions: (12th grade)

1.Who are the main characters of the event?

2. What makes this event so important in history?

3. Where does this event took place?

4. When this event happened?

5.Why do you think is part of history?

6. How the event began to develop?

7. Describe the event in your own words.

* You must answer the questions in complete sentences and give enough details about your answers.

* Grammar and punctuation will be taken in consideration for grading purposes. 

1. The Life of Jesus of Nazareth

Whether you are a Christian or not, you cannot honestly say that the life of Jesus of Nazareth did not dramatically impact history. If you follow the dating system that we use today, you acknowledge his impact. This article is published in 2010 A.D. because approximately 2010 years ago, Jesus lived in Israel. At the time of his life, it might not have seen so dramatic to the world at large. He never traveled more than a few days' journey from his hometown. It was only after he left earth that his teachings spread beyond his homeland and began to cause trouble for the ruling power of the time: Rome. When Roman rulers began to persecute the followers of Jesus, Christians, his life really began to ripple out around the globe. Over time, Christianity was accepted by the Roman rulers, which allowed it to spread even further. Today, Christianity is one of the largest religions of the world. Jesus set off an atomic religious bomb that is still felt today.

2.Tearing Down of the Berlin Wall

Tearing down a wall might not seem like much, but when you realize what all else came down with that wall, you begin to see it in a whole new light. At the end of World War II, there was relief at the downfall of a disturbed man who wanted to dominate the earth. However, there was also suspicion between countries and a desire to control as much land as possible. The nations that defeated Hitler and his friends began to quarrel amongst themselves. Should the defeated lands be democratic in nature or communist? The end result was a lesson from King Solomon: split the spoils down the middle. Germany was the embodiment of the war, and therefore, it became the most disputed area. In the end, it was split in half with one part under a communist government and the other under a more democratic style. Through the middle of Berlin, a large wall was built to separate the capital city and symbolize the wall that separated the communist world from everyone else. When the wall came down in 1989, it signified the end of communist rule and birth of the voice of the people.

3.1992 NBA All-Star Game

On November 7, 1991, Earvin “Magic” Johnson announced that he had HIV. When this happened, much of the world had no idea how to process the information. The HIV virus outbreak had only been first observed in 1981 and the early exposures were limited to a small group of gay men and intravenous drug users.

The prevalence of HIV infections has been slowly spreading across the United States since 1985. In 1989, the New York Times was describing the AIDS crisis as an epidemic that had “the children of the underclass dying in the inner city”. By 1990, the Center for Disease Control was desperately trying to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS, but there was still a major stigma.

The disease was primarily seen as something that only affected marginalized populations. The only thing that outweighed the public’s fear of HIV was their lack of understanding.

When Magic Johnson told the public that he had contracted the virus, basketball fans were shocked. The Lakers superstar announced his immediate retirement and it seemed, for a moment, that the former champion would become just another prominent victim of this terrible illness.

Then something wonderful happened: Even though he had publicly retired, fans voted Magic Johnson into the 1992 All-Star Game.

There were many critics, including several NBA players, who said Johnson should not play. Players feared they would get infected during the game and some fans were vocally against the idea, but the critics would all be silenced when February 9 rolled around.

Magic came back from retirement with the fury of a hurricane. A game that was meant to be a farewell performance turned into one of the greatest returns in all of sporting history. Johnson was playing against an Eastern All-Star team that featured Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Dominique Wilkins, Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen, yet Magic managed to make them all look like foolish children.

The Eastern All-Stars scored 113 points, but Magic’s team scored 153.

With fourteen second left on the clock, Magic hit a three pointer, but the game was already well over by that point. As the clock ran down, players from both teams ran onto the court and began hugging Johnson.

The AIDS epidemic would continue to ravage a large number of people across the globe, but Magic showed people that there was still hope. From that moment forward, Earvin Johnson became one of the HIV awareness movement’s most outspoken activists.

4.USA vs USSR, 1980 Olympic Hockey Match

For many years, there was one national hockey team so fierce that they dominated the entire sport. From 1953 to 1979, the Soviet Union’s National Hockey team won 13 world championships and 7 Olympic gold medals. They were called “The Red Army” and no one could stand in their way.

The Soviets were known to inspire anger and frustration in their enemies. So much so that, in 1987, a meeting with the Canadian National Team ended in violence. A brawl broke out between both teams and the game ended with the lights cut out inside the arena. This level of tension was a regular part of playing against the USSR.

On the other end of the spectrum were the Americans. When the US National Hockey team entered the 1980 Olympic Games, they had only won two gold medals in the last sixty years, and the last one was two decades old. When the Americans found themselves set to play against the USSR in the final round, they were clearly the underdogs.

At the time, the Soviets had just invaded Afghanistan. Though the United States had established diplomatic relations with China, we’d also lost the Vietnam war only a few years earlier. Now the US were covertly engaged in suppressing Soviet-sponsored communism in South America. This was the political climate as the American team faced-off against the mighty Red Army.

The game was fast and furious, but the third period, the score was tied. America was barely holding on before a late match goal from Mike Eruzione gave the US a one-goal lead. For the first time, the USSR’s player became desperate; the Red Army began recklessly firing the puck toward the American goal but it was no use. The mighty Soviets had fallen.

Before the match, Dave Anderson of the New York Times had said that USA were destined to lose unless the team could perform “a miracle” and that’s how the game came to be known as “The Miracle on Ice“.

While the tournament was not technically over yet, the victory was already the highlight of the Olympics and, for the first time in hockey history, the US stood up to Soviet aggression.