Name Class Date

CHAPTER 14 Main Idea Activities 14.3

Northern and Western Europe

VOCABULARY Some terms to understand:

• mutual (315): reciprocal; shared; interchangeable
• eliminate (315): get rid of; do away with; abolish
• reclaim (316): take back; regain; recover
• headquarters (316): main office; center of operations
• ideal (316): perfect; as good as could be expected
• urbanized (317): having the characteristics of a city

CLASSIFYING INFORMATION For each of the following, write the letter of the correct
choice in the space provided. Answers may be used more than once.

_____ 1. Country whose people have worked hard to a. Belgium

reclaim land from the sea
b. Netherlands
_____ 2. Country that is divided into two cultural regions,
one of which is called Flanders c. Luxembourg

_____ 3. Country that has three official languages

_____ 4. Country whose capital is Brussels

_____ 5. Country that is the smallest member of the

European Union (EU)

_____ 6. Country whose cheese and tulips are world

famous

EVALUATING INFORMATION Mark each statement T if it is true or F if it is false.

_____ 1. Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg are together known as the
Benelux countries.

_____ 2. Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg are all isolated countries and so
have never been fought over by foreign powers.

_____ 3. After World War II, some European countries began forming alliances based
on mutual aid rather than on military force.

_____ 4. In 1999 the European Union introduced the euro, a new common currency.

_____ 5. The name Netherlands means “high lands.”

_____ 6. Large areas of the Netherlands are below sea level.

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Holt World Geography Today 81 Main Idea Activities
Name Class Date

Chapter 14 Main Idea Activities 14.3, continued

_____ 7. The people of the Netherlands speak a language known as Flanders.

_____ 8. The southern portion of Belgium is known as Wallonia.

_____ 9. Luxembourgian is a language related to English and French.

_____10. The Hague in the Netherlands is the headquarters for both the European
Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

_____11. Belgium is known for diamond cutting, quality carpets, and chocolate.

_____12. Luxembourg has the highest per capital GDP in the world.

UNDERSTANDING MAIN IDEAS For each of the following, write the letter of the best
choice in the space provided.

_____ 1. The original name of the European Union was

a. European Monetary Organization.
b. European Economic Community.
c. European Financial Association.
d. European Community.

_____ 2. The European Union today includes

a. 5 countries.
b. 15 countries.
c. 25 countries.
d. 35 countries.

_____ 3. Which of the following countries uses the dike and polder system?
a. Netherlands
b. Belgium
c. Luxembourg
d. All of the above

_____ 4. The people known as Walloons live in

a. Luxembourg.
b. the Netherlands.
c. Belgium.
d. none of the above.

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Holt World Geography Today 82 Main Idea Activities
 3. F 10. T CHAPTER 14
4. T 11. F
SECTION 1 ACTIVITIES
5. T 12. F
Organizing Information
6. T 13. T
Ireland—president, Roman Catholic, capital is
7. F 14. T
Dublin, republic; Britain—capital is London,
8. T 15. F
king or queen, constitutional monarchy,
9. F 16. F
Protestant
Reviewing Facts
Evaluating Information
1. Europe
1. T 7. T
2. Northern Highlands
2. F 8. T
3. fjords
3. F 9. T
4. Northern European Plain
4. T 10. F
5. Central Uplands
5. F 11. T
6. polders
6. F 12. T
SECTION 2 ACTIVITIES Reviewing Facts
Organizing Information 1. Celts
marine west coast—most of northern and 2. sequent
western Europe; humid continental—interior 3. Scotland
Norway and Sweden south to the Black Sea; 4. United States
Mediterranean—most of southern Europe 5. famine
6. Gaelic
Evaluating Information
7. parliament
1. T 7. F
8. Britain
2. T 8. T
9. nationalized
3. F 9. F
4. F 10. T
SECTION 2 ACTIVITIES
5. T 11. T
Evaluating Information
6. F 12. F
1. F 9. F
Understanding Main Ideas 2. T 10. T
1. a 3. d 3. T 11. F
2. c 4. a 4. T 12. T
5. T 13. F
SECTION 3 ACTIVITIES 6. F 14. T
Evaluating Information 7. T 15. T
1. T 8. T 8. F 16. T
2. T 9. T
Understanding Main Ideas
3. F 10. T
1. d 4. b
4. T 11. F
2. a 5. c
5. F 12. T
3. d
6. T 13. F
7. F 14. T
SECTION 3 ACTIVITIES
Understanding Main Ideas Classifying Information
1. b 1. b 4. a
2. a 2. a 5. c
3. d 3. c 6. b
4. a
Evaluating Information
5. c
1. T 3. T
6. d
2. F 4. T

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Holt World Geography Today 201 Main Idea Activities
 5. F 9. F 5. Japan
6. T 10. F 6. Ruhr Valley
7. F 11. T 7. Turkey
8. T 12. T 8. Ossis
9. Wessis
Understanding Main Ideas
1. b 3. a
SECTION 2 ACTIVITIES
2. b 4. c
Organizing Information
Austria—nearly all of its people speak
SECTION 4 ACTIVITIES
German; capital is Vienna; housed many great
Organizing Information
artists and composers; member of the EU;
Sweden—Stockholm; Denmark—
Switzerland—made up of 26 cantons, or
Copenhagen; Norway—Oslo; Finland—
states; has long been a neutral country; many
Helsinki; Iceland—Reykjavik
of its people are multilingual; capital is Bern
Evaluating Information
Evaluating Information
1. F 9. F
1. T 8. T
2. F 10. F
2. F 9. F
3. T 11. T
3. F 10. F
4. T 12. T
4. T 11. T
5. F 13. T
5. F 12. F
6. T 14. F
6. T 13. T
7. F 15. T
7. T 14. T
8. T 16. F
Understanding Main Ideas
Reviewing Facts
1. d 3. a
1. Finnish
2. a 4. b
2. Sami
3. Sweden
SECTION 3 ACTIVITIES
4. Greenland
Classifying Information
5. Iceland
1. a 4. a
6. Norway
2. d 5. c
3. b 6. a
CHAPTER 15 Evaluating Information
SECTION 1 ACTIVITIES 1. F 7. F
Organizing Information 2. T 8. F
A.D. 700s—e; 1300s—g; 1700s—b; 1871—f; 3. T 9. T
1914—d; 1920s—h; 1933—a; 1939—c 4. F 10. T
5. T 11. T
Evaluating Information
6. T 12. F
1. F 7. F
2. T 8. T Understanding Main Ideas
3. T 9. T 1. b 3. d
4. F 10. F 2. c 4. a
5. F 11. F
6. T 12. T SECTION 4 ACTIVITIES
Organizing Information
Reviewing Facts
Czech Republic—Prague; Slovakia—
1. Russia
Bratislava; Hungary—Budapest
2. West Germany
3. Berlin Evaluating Information
4. Bavaria 1. F 2. F

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Holt World Geography Today 202 Main Idea Activities