"83. During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?"
–—ONE OF 100 CIVICS QUESTIONS FROM THE UNITED STATES' REDESIGNED NATURALIZATION TEST, WHICH GOES INTO EFFECT OCT. 1, 2008; THE CORRECT ANSWER — ACCORDING TO U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES — IS "COMMUNISM"
"47. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?"
–—ANOTHER QUESTION ON THE TEST; THE ANSWER IS "(NANCY) PELOSI"
"Condoleezza Rice, I think? Gee whiz, I can't think of it. Oh no. I've been a volunteer election judge, but gee whiz. I don't know."
–—A MAN INSIDE THE CHICAGO CULTURAL CENTER, ASKED THE ABOVE QUESTION BY THE NEW YORK TIMES' MONICA DAVEY
"People who take this seriously will have a good chance of passing. Indeed, their knowledge of American history may even exceed the knowledge of millions of American-born citizens."
–—VANDERBILT PROFESSOR OF AMERICAN HISTORY GARY GERSTLE, QUOTED IN A TIMES ARTICLE BY JULIA PRESTON
Source: uscis.gov, nytimes.com.
This article appears in Oct 3-9, 2007.
