Trivia Quiz

1. Which British actress, Oscar winner in 1992 and 1996, is the daughter of Eric, the man who wrote and narrated the original TV series of The Magic Roundabout?
a) Catherine Zeta Jones
b) Nicole Kidman
c) Helena Bonham Carter
d) Emma Thompson

2. What is the capital of Syria, a city said to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world?
a) Delhi
b) Tehran
c) Damascus
d) Kabul

3. What is the name for the western part of County Galway, Republic of Ireland, an area of rocky coastline and mountainous scenery?
a) Connemara
b) Cork
c) Limerick
d) Waterford

4. Who was the French tightrope walker who crossed the Niagara Falls, then repeated the feat blindfolded, then pushing a wheelbarrow?
a) Charles Blondin
b) Phineas Barnum
c) Charles Stratton
d) Harry Houdini

5. Which character in Sheridan's play The Rivals constantly and humorously confuses similar-sounding words?
a) Lady Quinevere
b) Mrs Malaprop
c) Mr Bumble
d) Mistress Quickly

6. What is the name of the Mediterranean coastline of Alicante and Murcia provinces, eastern Spain?
a) Santander
b) Costa del Sol
c) Costa Blanca
d) Cabo de Gata

7. Which country's capital is made up from two towns, Buda on the right bank of the Danube and Pest on the left bank?
a) Hungary
b) Albania
c) Bulgaria
d) Romania

8. In German history, what name was given to the unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the dictator Adolf Hitler and overthrow the Nazi regime in 1944?
a) August Plot
b) July Plot
c) November Plot
d) March Plot

9. What chieftain of the British tribe the Catuvellauni, led the British resistance to the Romans under Caesar 54 BC?
a) Berenices
b) Boötes
c) Venatici
d) Cassivelaunus

10. What is the name for the diplomatic representative of the pope who performs the functions of a papal ambassador?
a) Propretor
b) Viceregent
c) Nuncio
d) Proconsul

11. Which ancient kingdom of southern Portugal is now a popular holiday resort in the modern district of Faro?
a) Algarve
b) Alsace
c) Alicante
d) Alderney

12. In medieval Europe, what was the name for a papal ruling on a disputed point which was sent to a bishop or abbot in reply to a request or appeal?
a) Nomological
b) Decretal
c) Codification
d) Ratification

13. Which of the following is a town in the Northern Province of the Sudan, above the third cataract on the River Nile?
a) Loka
b) Nakape
c) Dongola
d) Tor

14. Which of the following is a river in central France flowing 255 km/158 mi generally north from the Plateau des Millevaches to the Vienne River?
a) Creuse
b) Duero
c) Adda
d) Esla

15. What name was given to the US social and literary movement of the 1950s and early 1960s?
a) Group Zero
b) Gutai Group
c) Angry Young Men
d) Beat Generation

16. What was the name given to Nova Scotia by French settlers in 1604, from which the term Cajun derives?
a) Alberta
b) Labrador
c) Wellington
d) Acadia

17. Off which northern country's coast are the Outer Hebrides, also known as the Western Isles?
a) Canada
b) Scotland
c) Iceland
d) Norway

18. Which is the holiest city in the world of Islam, a city in Saudi Arabia where Muhammad was born?
a) Mecca
b) Riyadh
c) Amman
d) Damascus

19. The US city of Atlanta was the birthplace of Martin Luther King, a leader of the Civil Rights Movement. Of which state is it the capital?
a) Mississippi
b) Georgia
c) Alabama
d) Tennessee

20. In which capital city is Holyrood House, the official Scottish residence of the British monarch?
a) Aberdeen
b) Inverness
c) Edinburgh
d) Dundee

21. La Paz in the Andes, at 3,800 m/12,400 ft above sea level, is the world's highest capital city - in which country is it?
a) Peru
b) Mexico
c) Brazil
d) Bolivia

22. Which Indian state is responsible for the production of over 50% of India's annual tea crop?
a) Manipur
b) Sikkim
c) Assam
d) Bihar

23. Madeira is a popular year-round holiday destination in a group of islands off the Northwest coast of Africa. Which country do they belong to?
a) Morocco
b) Algeria
c) Portugal
d) UK

24. Which is the most important of the islands of Indonesia, on which you will find the capital Jakarta?
a) Sumatra
b) Belitung
c) Sulawesi
d) Java

25. Which of the following French districts borders the Gironde in Aquitaine region, north of Bordeaux?
a) Médoc
b) Champagne
c) Lorraine
d) Bretagne

26. Who wrote the words `Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three.`?
a) Kingsley Amis
b) Joseph Heller
c) Evelyn Waugh
d) Tom Sharpe

27. Who wrote the words `The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea In a beautiful pea-green boat.`?
a) A AMilne
b) Lewis Carroll
c) A P Herbert
d) Edward Lear

28. Who wrote the words `The mountains look on Marathon And Marathon looks on the sea; And musing there an hour alone, I dream'd that Greece might still be free.`?
a) Xenophon
b) Melina Mercouri
c) Percy Bysshe Shelley
d) Lord Byron

29. Who wrote the words `It's grand, and you canna expect to be baith grand and comfortable.`?
a) James Matthew Barrie
b) John Laurie
c) Sir Harry Lauder
d) Jimmy Shand

30. In US history, what 1941 act of Congress gave the president power to order `any defence article for the government of any country whose defence the president deemed vital to the defence of the USA`?
a) Bid-rent
b) War-trade
c) Arms-loan
d) Lend-lease

31. Which British multi-purpose tank of World War II was able to travel on land using tracks and in water using a screw propeller?
a) Leopard
b) Duplex Drive Tank
c) Sherman
d) Hawk

32. Which surname is common to Henry the US novelist; PD the thriller writer; and Jesse the US outlaw?
a) Christie
b) Taylor
c) Tudor
d) James

33. An anorak is a warm heavy jacket with a hood. Which language does the word anorak come from?
a) Inuit or Inupiaq
b) Norwegian
c) Danish
d) Swedish

34. In which 1812 battle did Russian forces achieve a partial victory over the French army retreating from Napoleon Bonaparte's abortive attempt on Moscow?
a) Battle of Berdyaev
b) Battle of Berezniki
c) Battle of Beresina
d) Battle of Berengaria

35. In Italian history, what was the southern part of the country called when it was alternately independent and united with Sicily?
a) The Papal States
b) Kingdom of Naples
c) Kingdom of Venice
d) Lombard Kingdom

36. Who wrote the words `Waldo is one of those people who would be enormously improved by death.`?
a) Dorothy Parker
b) Woody Allen
c) H L Mencken
d) Saki

37. Who wrote the words `We were put to Dickens as children but it never quite took. That unremitting humanity soon had me cheesed off.`?
a) Ben Elton
b) Alan Bennett
c) Evelyn Waugh
d) George Orwell

38. Who wrote the words `Golden slumbers kiss your eyes, Smiles awake you when you rise.`?
a) John Lennon
b) Desmond Dekker
c) Thomas Dekker
d) Paul McCartney

39. What was the treaty between Russia and China signed in 1858 at the port of Aigun in China on the Amur River?
a) Treaty of 1858
b) Treaty of Aigun
c) Amur Treaty
d) Russia China Treaty

40. What goes after `Angel`, `Victoria` and `Niagara` to make the names of three famous tourist attractions?
a) Lake
b) Valley
c) Island
d) Falls