Quiz Answers
The World Trade Center Quiz
This quiz is designed to help you test your knowledge of the issues surrounding the creation, destruction and rebuilding of the World Trade Center. Answers available on this page.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
(Please choose one answer for each question.)
1 If the Statue of Liberty was destroyed:
a Its original purpose and the reason for its destruction would be ignored and "The Statue of Liberty Site" would be redesigned into a shopping mall with a goofy wind turbine.
b Its original purpose and the reason for its destruction would be ignored and it would be made into a cemetery in honor of the people who died in its destruction.
c Its original purpose and the reason for its destruction would be ignored and it would be made into a vacant lot, in fear that if it was rebuilt, "it would just become a target and who wants to go through that again?"
d It would be rebuilt like it was before only better.
ANSWER: d. This is self-evident, especially after New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on April 5, 2004 that the Statue of Liberty, which has remained closed since September 11, 2001, must be reopened because it's "a symbol of America. C'mon, let's stand up and have some guts...You can't let terrorists win." We, therefore, invite the mayor to apply these same principles to rebuilding and reopening the world's pre-eminent symbol of peace and freedom - the World Trade Center. As the mayor says, "C'mon, let's stand up and have some guts...you can't let terrorists win."
2 The Statue of Liberty would be rebuilt because:
a It is a symbol of America.
b It is a symbol of human liberty.
c It would be a signal that civilization prevails over barbarism.
d All of the above.
ANSWER: d.
3 "The World Trade Center is a living symbol of man's dedication to world peace... a representation of man's belief in humanity, his need for individual dignity, his beliefs in the cooperation of men, and through cooperation, his ability to find greatness." Who said it?
a Kofi Annan
b Nelson Rockefeller
c Minoru Yamasaki
d Beverly Willis
ANSWER: c. Minoru Yamasaki was the primary architect of the World Trade Center. His entire comment on this subject: "I feel this way about it. World trade means world peace and consequently the World Trade Center... had a bigger purpose than just to provide room for tenants. The World Trade Center is a living symbol of man's dedication to world peace...beyond the compelling need to make this a monument to world peace, the World Trade Center should, because of its importance, become a representation of man's belief in humanity, his need for individual dignity, his beliefs in the cooperation of men, and through cooperation, his ability to find greatness."
4 "Those awesome symbolic towers that speak of liberty, human rights, and humanity have been destroyed. They have gone up in smoke." Who said it?
a George Bush
b John Ashcroft
c Osama bin Laden
d Dennis Miller
ANSWER: c. Osama bin Laden made these remarks in an interview with Tayseer Alouni of the Arabic-language satellite television network al-Jazeera in October 2001. It was printed in the Feburary 7, 2002, Washington Post article, "Interview Sheds Light on Bin Laden's Views," by Howard Kurtz.
5 "We can't look at (rebuilding the World Trade Center). We've already gone through the selection process. We've already made a decision." Who said it?
a Michael Bloomberg
b Larry Silverstein
c George Pataki
d Sara Banda, Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC)
ANSWER: d. LMDC spokesperson Sara Banda made these remarks to a Staten Island Advance reporter in his March 28, 2004, article, "WTC Plan: Too late, and too insensitive?" Banda said LMDC refused to entertain the notion of rebuilding the World Trade Center, even though LMDC's own January 2004 Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) says "This GEIS has been prepared by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), and provides a full discussion of the significant environmental impacts arising from the World Trade Center Memorial and Redevelopment Plan (the Proposed Action) and its alternatives to inform decision-makers and the public of the reasonable alternatives that would avoid or minimize adverse impacts or enhance the quality of the human environment."
6 Who established a design competition that ignored the reasons the WTC was both created and destroyed?
a George Bush
b George Pataki
c Michael Bloomberg
d Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC)
ANSWER: d.
7 Who was responsible for selecting a design that ignored the reasons the World Trade Center was both created and destroyed?
a John Kerry
b Rudy Giuliani
c Jay Leno
d Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC)
ANSWER: d.
8 Complete the sentence: Twenty years from now, we'll tell our children and grandchildren: "When the World Trade Center was destroyed,
a its original purpose and the reason for its destruction were ignored and 'The World Trade Center Site' was redesigned into a shopping mall with a goofy wind turbine."
b its original purpose and the reason for its destruction were ignored and 'The World Trade Center Site' was made into a cemetery in honor of the people who died in its destruction."
c its original purpose and the reason for its destruction were ignored and the 'World Trade Center Site' was turned into a vacant lot in fear that if it were rebuilt, "it would just become a target and who wants to go through that again?"
d it was rebuilt like it was before only better, reclaiming its place as the world's pre-eminent symbol of and monument to world peace, human freedom and the triumph of civilization over barbarism."
ANSWER: d. We can hope, can't we? But seriously, folks, it's not too late to rebuild the World Trade Center like it was, only better.
9 The World Trade Center should be rebuilt because:
a It is a symbol of America.
b It is a symbol of human liberty.
c It would be a signal that civilization prevails over barbarism.
d All of the above.
ANSWER: d.
10 Why do the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) officials think their job is to "restore the World Trade Center Site in the commercial life of the city, state and nation?"
a They think "World" is another name for lower Manhattan.
b They think "World Trade Center Site" is Realtor talk for a big development in lower Manhattan.
c They flunked English grammar and sentence construction.
d All of the above.
ANSWER: We're not sure either, but we suspect the answer is "d." Call them up and ask if you want to know for sure, though we doubt you'll get much of an answer...
TRUE OR FALSE QUESTIONS
11 It's not too late to rebuild the World Trade Center as it was, only better.
True False
ANSWER: True. The World Trade Center can, in fact, still be rebuilt and, in fact, is probably more likely - even now - to be built than the office park with shopping mall and goofy wind turbine.
1 The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) says rebuilding the Twin Towers is still an active option.
True False
ANSWER: True. See the LMDC GEIS, pages S-1, 23-1, and 23-11 to 23-18 (Section 23.4: Restoration Alternative: The Restoration Alternative would restore the WTC Site (sic) substantially as it existed before September 11, 2001, with updated technology and likely relocated footprints for the Twin Towers.
1 The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) has not given its final approval for the goofy wind turbine.
True False
ANSWER: True. The public record and media accounts clearly state that on February 26, 2003, the LMDC selected the "World Cultural Center," conceived by Raphael Vinoly of THINK. This was reported in a NY Daily News article, Dispute over WTC Choice. The LMDC indeed announced its winning selection that evening to the media. Later that night, through an act of gubernetorial fiat with the support of Mayor Bloomberg, Gov. Pataki, overrode the LMDC's selection and mandated Libeskind's plan.
Given that the LMDC's January 2004 Generic Environmental Impact Statement still lists rebuilding the WTC site "substantially as it was" as an alternative to the "Proposed Action" (The Libeskind/Childs master plan and associated designs), it is fair to say that the "Proposed Action" has not yet received final approval.
1 Larry Silverstein has enough money to build the goofy wind turbine.
True False
ANSWER: False. Mr. Silverstein was severely under-insured on September 11, 2001, and even if he wins his court case and gets $7 billion instead of $3.5 billion to rebuild (which he in all likelihood won't win), he'll still won't have anywhere near the money to build either the office park with shopping mall and goofy wind turbine or a rebuilt World Trade Center. The difference is: If he was rebuilding the World Trade Center, he'd have a chance to raise the money from private citizens, corporations and even national governments.
1 Rebuilding the World Trade Center is a profound act of counter-terrorism through peace not war.
True False
ANSWER: True. Rebuilding the WTC is the pre-eminent way to pro-actively and peacefully do the counter-terror dance without pulling triggers or dropping bombs (or supporting those who do).
Face it: there are millions of people who know civilization must do something to resist and prevail over barbarism, but they just don't like being barbarians themselves to do it (or support barbarian action like war). For this enormous group of energized people with no constructive productive outlet, joining the effort to rebuild the World Trade Center becomes the proactive part of the counter-terror equation that's just as important (and even more so in strategic terms) than shooting and bombing. It is literally the most profound example of peaceful, proactive counter-terrorism that's focused on the root causes, not the operational exigencies.
Rebuilding the World Trade Center also underscores the difference between counter- and anti-terrorism. In a nutshell:
Counter-terrorism is what you do to prevent terrorists from even starting their attacks: You hunt down their leaders, you bomb their training camps, you invade countries that support them - AND you build wells, schools and hospitals and create economic development and greater cooperation and understanding between cultures and peoples so that you eliminate the breeding grounds for terror, thus drying up the recruits even as you blow away the ones already in action. Rebuilding the World Trade Center restores and reopens the world's pre-eminent symbol of peace and human rights through trade and cooperation.
Anti-terrorism is what you do when the genie's already out of the bottle: You try to search every airline passenger, fortify government buildings, try to search every shipping container that enters the country, spy on citizens, do wiretaps, etc etcÖ and have jet fighters to shoot down hijacked airliners if all else fails.
The principal difference? Counter-terrorism is way cheaper than anti-terrorism - it's the equivalent of the old saying "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Another old saying is the political campaign saw that "a dollar early is worth ten dollars late." In this case, a million dollars of counter-terror action is worth a billion dollars of anti-terrorism. Or to put it another way: The estimated $15 billion it would take to rebuild, restore and reopen the World Trade Center is just one-sixth of what the U.S. government will spend in one year trying to fix Iraq.
1 What went up in smoke should go back up in steel.
True False
ANSWER: True. Rebuilding the WTC is the pre-eminent way to pro-actively and peacefully do the counter-terror dance without pulling triggers or dropping bombs (or supporting those who do).
Face it: there are millions of people who know civilization must do something to resist and prevail over barbarism, but they just don't like being barbarians themselves to do it (or support barbarian action like war). For this enormous group of energized people with no constructive productive outlet, joining the effort to rebuild the World Trade Center becomes the proactive part of the counter-terror equation that's just as important (and even more so in strategic terms) than shooting and bombing. It is literally the most profound example of peaceful, proactive counter-terrorism that's focused on the root causes, not the operational exigencies.
SCORING KEY:
16 correct: Wow. Please call us. Your mission, should you choose to accept it...
13-15 correct: You are highly educated about the general, specific and deeper issues surrounding the rebuilding of the World Trade Center.
9-12 correct: You know more about the World Trade Center than Governor Pataki.
5-8 correct: You know more about the World Trade Center than Mayor Bloomberg.
1-4 correct: You know more about the World Trade Center than the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC).
0 correct: You work for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC).
Thank you for taking the World Trade Center Quiz and visiting teamtwintowers.org to check your answers. We hope you will join us in the effort to rebuild the world's most important symbol of peace and human freedom - the Center of World Trade.
