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Questions
2016–17 Season
Week 12

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Specialist Rounds
General Knowledge

2016–17 Season: Week 12 – 31 January 2017

All questions set by the Dolphin.

Specialist Rounds

Round 1: Arts & Entertainment

1Two activities feature frequently as the subject of paintings by Edgar Degas. One is ballet, what is the other? Click to show or hide the answer
2 Two cities feature frequently in the paintings of Giovanni Antonio Canaletto. One is Venice, which is the other? Click to show or hide the answer
3 Peter Schaffer's play The Royal Hunt of the Sun is set mainly in which country? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
4 Graham Greene's novel The Quiet American is set in which country? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
5 Whose 2016 chart–topping album is entitled Blue and Lonesome? Click to show or hide the answer
6 In the Cole Porter song Miss Otis Regrets, why was Miss Otis "unable to lunch today"? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
7 The Disney animated film Tangled is based on which of Grimm's fairy tales? Click to show or hide the answer
8 Which actress played Roberta Waterbury, the eldest of the railway children in the 1970 film of that name? Click to show or hide the answer

Supplementaries:

9 In which musical would you hear the songs "Happy Talk" and "I'm gonna wash that man right outa my hair"? Click to show or hide the answer
10 Actor, singer and dancer Virginia Kate McMath is better known by which stage name? Click to show or hide the answer

Round 2: Sport

1 England's record goal scorer in Women's Football has just announced her retirement from professional football. Who is she? Click to show or hide the answer
2 In 2010, who became the youngest ever winner of the Formula 1 world motor racing championship? Click to show or hide the answer
3 Which major world sporting event is contested annually in July, over 21 stages? Click to show or hide the answer
4 In rowing, what name is given to the rower closest to the stern, who sets the rate and rhythm for the rest of the crew? Click to show or hide the answer
5 Which England batsman scored a century on his debut in December at Mumbai? Click to show or hide the answer
6 Who won the Dafabet Snooker Masters Championship this month? Click to show or hide the answer
7 Who won the 2017 BDO Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship? Click to show or hide the answer
8 Which sporting venue is the oldest in Britain, continually in use for sporting events since 1539? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer

Supplementaries:

9 Three England football managers have been knighted; Walter Winterbottom and Alf Ramsay are two; who is the third? Click to show or hide the answer
10 What was the ski jumper Eddie the Eagle's surname? Click to show or hide the answer

Round 3: Three of a Kind

Many things come in threes. You will be given two of a set and you have to name the third.

1 Lord Reith laid down three principles for the output of the BBC; to inform, to entertain and to....what? Click to show or hide the answer
2 The Three Choirs Festival features the choirs of Hereford, Worcester and which other cathedral? Click to show or hide the answer
3 South Africa has three capitals. Cape Town and Pretoria are two; which is the other? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
4 The three historic divisions of Lincolnshire are Holland, Kesteven and what? Click to show or hide the answer
5 The three ossicles, or tiny bones, of the inner ear are the hammer, the anvil, and what other? (The Latin name is acceptable). Click to show or hide the answer
6 There are three snakes native to Britain. Two are the adder and the grass snake; what is the third? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
7 London had three traditional food markets. For fruit and vegetables, Covent Garden; for fish Billingsgate; what was the market for meat? Click to show or hide the answer
8 The Three Peaks of Yorkshire are Whernside, Pen–y–Ghent and what? Click to show or hide the answer

Supplementaries:

9 The three daughters of King Lear were Goneril, Cordelia and...? Click to show or hide the answer
10 The three ingredients of gunpowder are charcoal, sulphur and...? Click to show or hide the answer

Round 4: What's New?

The word "new" appears in all the Qs or As.

1 Which police TV drama series of the 1960s and '70s was set in the fictional town of Newtown? Click to show or hide the answer
2 Which TV talent show of the 1970s and '80s was originally hosted by Derek Hobson? Click to show or hide the answer
3 In which county does most of the New Forest lie? Click to show or hide the answer
4 A highly regarded BBC documentary of 1980 presented by art critic Robert Hughes, and addressing the development of modern art since the Impressionists, had what title? Click to show or hide the answer
5 Which American boy band had a Billboard Hot 100 number 1 hit in 1989 with "I'll be loving you (forever)? Click to show or hide the answer
6 Which pop group, formed in 1969, had hits such as "I'd like to teach the world to sing" and "Beg, steal or borrow"? Click to show or hide the answer
7 Which 1990 horror/comedy film sequel was subtitled "The New Batch"? Click to show or hide the answer
8 Which university is located in New Haven, Connecticut? Click to show or hide the answer

Supplementaries:

9 New Britain is a Pacific island, part of which other island state? Click to show or hide the answer
10 Which Football League club play their home games at Rodney Parade? Click to show or hide the answer

Round 5: Science & Nature

1 Deuterium and tritium are isotopes of which element? Click to show or hide the answer
2 Which gaseous element, atomic number 17, takes its name from its greenish–yellow appearance? Click to show or hide the answer
3 A lepidopterist specializes in the study of what? More about the answer Click to show or hide the answer
4 A coleopterist specializes in the study of what? Click to show or hide the answer
5 Which is the only British mammal to have a prehensile tail? Click for more information More about the answer Click to show or hide the answer
6 Which bird of the genus Motacilla has, among other, yellow, grey and pied species? Click to show or hide the answer
7 Name any one of Jupiter's four Galilean moons. Click to show or hide the answer
8 What is the mythologically appropriate name of the spacecraft currently orbiting Jupiter? Click to show or hide the answer

Supplementaries:

9 Which acid is produced when milk goes sour? Click to show or hide the answer
10 Betelgeuse is a star in which constellation? Click to show or hide the answer

Round 6: Geography

1 What strait separates Australia from New Guinea? Click to show or hide the answer
2 2 What strait separates Iceland from Greenland? Click to show or hide the answer
3 In which country is the province of Katanga? Click for more information More about the answer Click to show or hide the answer
4 In which country is the province of Mato Grosso (pron. Matoo grosoo)? Click to show or hide the answer
5 Which is the only London borough whose name begins with the letter G? Click to show or hide the answer
6 Which is the only London borough whose name begins with the letter I? Click to show or hide the answer
7 The city of Perth in Scotland stands on which river? Click to show or hide the answer
8 The city of Lincoln in England stands on which river? Click to show or hide the answer

Supplementaries:

9 What is the largest city on the White Sea? More about the answer Click to show or hide the answer
10 The Farne Islands lie off the coast of which English county? Click to show or hide the answer

Round 7: History

1 Where did King James IV of Scotland die in 1513? Click to show or hide the answer
2 Where did General James Wolfe die in 1759? Click to show or hide the answer
3 Ogham is important in the history of ancient Ireland; what is it? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
4 The cities of Tyre and Sidon, in modern day Lebanon, were important centres of which ancient civilization? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
5 What was the name of the special operations unit created to fight the Japanese during the 2nd World War by Major–General Orde Wingate? Click to show or hide the answer
6 Where, in 1813, did Napoleon suffer his first defeat in a battle known as "the Battle of the Nations"? Click to show or hide the answer
7 What reforms were introduced by both Julius Caesar in 46 BC and Pope Gregory XIII in 1582? Click to show or hide the answer
8 Which was the last city in Spain to be ruled by the Moors? (They were driven out in 1492.) Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer

Supplementaries:

9 Where is Henry VIII buried? Click to show or hide the answer
10 Which British prime minister had the shortest period in office? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer

Round 8: Measuring Up

A round about measures, some of them rather old.

1 What commodity was formerly measured in crans? Click for more information More about the answer Click to show or hide the answer
2 What commodity was formerly measured in ells? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
3 Troy weight is a system used for weighing precious metals and gemstones. How many ounces are there in a troy pound? Click to show or hide the answer
4 The chain is an old measurement of length, still used in which sport? Comments on the question Click to show or hide the answer
5 What naval measurement is equal to a tenth of a nautical mile? Click to show or hide the answer
6 What name is given to a 1½ litre bottle of champagne, equivalent to two standard 750 ml bottles? Click to show or hide the answer
7 What ancient unit of length, mentioned in the Bible, is based on the distance from the elbow to the middle finger tip? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
8 What term is used by astronomers for a measurement equal to the distance between the centre of the earth and the centre of the sun? Comments on the question Click to show or hide the answer

Supplementaries:

9 Surveyors used to use a measure of a quarter of a chain, 5½ yds. Give one of the three alternative names for this length. Click to show or hide the answer
10 In Imperial measurements, what term is used for a quarter of a pint? Click to show or hide the answer

General Knowledge

1 Which government minister resigned in September 1992, following lurid (and largely mendacious) revelations of his affair with actress Antonia de Sancha? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
2 In which Carry On Film is the action focussed on a firm named W. C. Boggs? Click to show or hide the answer
3 According to the saying, what is "a dish best served cold"? Click to show or hide the answer
4 What is the more common name for the bird sometimes called the windhover? Click to show or hide the answer
5 In Shakespeare's Henry IV, Pt. 2, to whom does the new king, Henry V, say "I know thee not, old man"? Click to show or hide the answer
6 In which sport do teams compete for the Calcutta Cup? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
7 The Russian currency, the Rouble, is divided into 100 what? Click to show or hide the answer
8 Used in both sculpture and ceramics, what type of earthenware has a name which is Italian for cooked or baked earth? Click to show or hide the answer

9 The recent film "Sully", starring Tom Hanks, tells the true story of airline pilot Chesley Sullenberger's landing of his Airbus A320 on which body of water, after a bird strike wrecked his engines in 2009? Click to show or hide the answer
10 Who was the father of King Edward the Confessor? More about the answer Click to show or hide the answer
11 Who, in a poem by Edward Lear, "went to sea in a sieve"? Comments on the question Click to show or hide the answer
12 Which US Rock band scored their first Top 40 hit – "Carry on wayward son" – in 1976? (The song has also scored over 2 million downloads in the digital era). Comments on the question Click to show or hide the answer
13 Which current British IBF super–middleweight world champion fought a controversial draw in an intended unification match with WBC champion Badou Jack on 14th January this year? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
14 A centaur with a bow and arrow is the symbol of which sign of the Zodiac? Click to show or hide the answer
15 Which footpath is England's longest national trail? More about the answer Click to show or hide the answer
16 The Cavendish Laboratory, a world–renowned centre for experimental physics, is located in which city? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer

 

17 Which geological period gets its name from a range of mountains on the French/Swiss border? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
18 Where has £285 million of British taxpayers' money recently been spent building an airport that cannot function because local conditions are too windy for large aircraft to land safely? More about the answer Click to show or hide the answer
19 In Greek mythology, who was the husband of Clytemnestra? Click to show or hide the answer
20 Whose diary entry, in 1912, included the line "Great God this is an awful place"? More about the answer Click to show or hide the answer
21 Which long–billed wading bird was sacred to the Egyptian god Thoth? Click to show or hide the answer
22 Which government minister was forced to resign in October, 1983, after it became known that his secretary, Sara Keays, was pregnant with his child? Click to show or hide the answer
23 Which oratorio by Haydn is set to texts taken from the book of Genesis, the Psalms and Milton's Paradise Lost? Click to show or hide the answer
24 Which volcanic island, off the north coast of Sicily, has been called "the Lighthouse of the Mediterranean" because of its frequent eruptions, highly visible at sea? Click to show or hide the answer

25 Which 7th century BC Persian emperor was considered by the Israelites to be a God–given Messiah because he allowed them to return to Judah and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem? More about the answer Click to show or hide the answer
26 The most famous work by the ancient Greek sculptor Myron is a statue of a sportsman in action. What is his sport? More about the answer Click to show or hide the answer
27 In the Northumbrian folksong "Bobby Shaftoe", what distinctively decorative feature of Bobby's clothing is mentioned? Click to show or hide the answer
28 In Shakespeare's play, of whom does Julius Caesar say, he "hath a lean and hungry look; he thinks too much, such men are dangerous"? Click to show or hide the answer
29 For what offence might someone have been imprisoned in the Marshalsea Prison? More about the answer Click to show or hide the answer
30 Dr. Samuel Mudd was imprisoned for life in 1865 for his alleged part in which assassination? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
31 In the nursery rhyme "The House that Jack Built", what did the rat eat? More about the answer Click to show or hide the answer
32 Which veteran politician, former holder of numerous ministerial offices, and known for his interest in jazz music, has recently brought out a volume of memoirs entitled Kind of Blue? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer

33 In snooker what term is used for a shot in which one red ball is played onto another, sending it into a pocket? Click to show or hide the answer
34 Which singer has recorded duets with his younger self on the albums entitled "One Voice" and "One Voice at Christmas"? Click to show or hide the answer
35 Which cyclist was named Sunday Times sportswoman of the year for 2016? More about the answer Click to show or hide the answer
36 In the folk traditions of the British Isles, and elsewhere in Europe, which bird is "the King of all Birds"? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
37 Apart from butter, what ingredient would a cook require to make a beurre manié? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
38 What disastrous mistake was made by both Orpheus in Greek mythology and Lot's wife in the Bible? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
39 In the novel Treasure Island, who gives the Black Spot to Billy Bones, who thereupon falls down dead? Click to show or hide the answer
40 The Indian currency, the Anna, is divided into 100 what? Click to show or hide the answer

41 The rivers Thames and Cherwell meet in which English city? Click to show or hide the answer
42 Which river is spanned by the Vasco da Gama bridge, the longest bridge in Europe? Click for more information Comments on the question Click to show or hide the answer
43 The 1965 debut feature film of director John Boorman, "Catch us if you can" was designed as a vehicle for which Pop band, whose popularity at the time rivalled that of the Beatles? Comments on the question Click to show or hide the answer
44 Who is the political editor of ITV? Click to show or hide the answer
45 Mary Anne McLeod, born in 1912 to a Gaelic–speaking family in Tong on the Isle of Lewis, was the mother of which famous politician? Click for more information Comments on the question Click to show or hide the answer
46 Which application, which provides video chat and voice call services, was created in 2003 by the Swede, Niklas Zennström and the Dane, Janus Friis? Click to show or hide the answer
47 Why, in December 2016, was former education secretary Nicky Morgan banned from meetings about Brexit at No 10, Downing Street? Click for more information Comments on the question Click to show or hide the answer
48 Which RAF base in Berkshire was the site of a 19 year long women's peace camp, protesting against the presence of nuclear weapons, from 1981 to 2000? Click to show or hide the answer

 

49 The abbreviations BCE and CE are increasingly being used instead of BC and AD in dating years. What does the C in BCE stand for? Click to show or hide the answer
50 Of considerable value to palaeontologists, what are coprolites? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
51 If the company's advertising is to be believed, what product is "made in Scotland from girders"? Click to show or hide the answer
52 In the late 12th century, who was the Kurdish general, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, who defeated the crusaders at the battle of Hattin (1187), and drove them out of Jerusalem? He later fought Richard the Lionheart at the battle of Arsuf. Click to show or hide the answer
53 Of whom did Queen Victoria write "I wish we had her in the War Office"? Click to show or hide the answer
54 Which dramatic cantata by German composer Karl Orff is a setting of medieval secular songs found in the monastery of Bendiktbeurn, (or simply Beuern) in Bavaria, in 1803? Click to show or hide the answer
55 The Sheffield Shield is a trophy which teams compete for in which sport? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
56 In billiards, what name is given to a shot in which the player's cue ball strikes both the red and the opponent's ball? Click to show or hide the answer

57 Which bass guitarist and singer, who died in December, 2016, was a founder member of progressive rock band King Crimson in 1968? Click to show or hide the answer
58 In the nursery rhyme about the crooked man who walked a crooked mile, what did he find upon a crooked stile? Comments on the question Click to show or hide the answer
59 Which Indian state has a name which means "five rivers"? Click to show or hide the answer
60 In September, 2016, Jamie Oliver was attacked by Spanish food writers for adding what ingredient to his Paella recipe? Click to show or hide the answer
61 Which freshwater fish of the salmon family is known to anglers as "the Lady of the Stream"? Click to show or hide the answer
62 Which geological period gets its name from a Russian city in the region of the Ural Mountains? Click to show or hide the answer
63 According to tradition, what do you get if you kiss the Blarney Stone? Click to show or hide the answer
64 An award–winning children's book by Margery Williams, first published in 1922 with the subtitle "How Toys become real", concerns a rabbit made of what material? Click to show or hide the answer

65 A pair of scales is the symbol of which sign of the Zodiac? Click to show or hide the answer
66 The headquarters of the Volkswagen Company is in which German city? Click to show or hide the answer
67 The UK Space Agency, established in 2010, is based in which Wiltshire town? Click to show or hide the answer
68 The 1939 William Wyler film of "Wuthering Heights" starred Merle Oberon as Cathy. But who played the part of Heathcliffe? Click to show or hide the answer
69 Which singer, better known for other fields of entertainment on TV, has over the last two years recorded two successful albums, entitled respectively "A Year of Songs" and "Upon a Different Shore"? Click to show or hide the answer
70 Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove and Studland Point are coastal features in which English county? Click to show or hide the answer
71 What name is given to the youngest section of the Girl Guide movement, for little girls aged 5 to 7? Click to show or hide the answer
72 What name was given to the form of punishment in which the miscreant (usually a woman) was fastened to a chair attached to a pivoted arm which could then be repeatedly lowered into a lake or river? Click to show or hide the answer

73 In his poem To the virgins, to make much of time, the poet Robert Herrick recommended that they gather what? Click to show or hide the answer
74 Brave New World, Aldous Huxley's novel of a dystopian future, is set in the year 632 AF. What does the F stand for in this dating system? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
75 What name was given to the form of punishment which consisted of a wooden framework on a post, with holes for the hands and head, to facilitate public humiliation? Comments on the question Click to show or hide the answer
76 Which town is served by the airport formerly known as Squire's Gate? Click to show or hide the answer
77 Which Hollywood screen legend celebrated his hundredth birthday in December, 2016? Click to show or hide the answer
78 Which scientist famously said "God does not play dice"? Click to show or hide the answer
79 Cinnabar is the ore of which metallic element? Click to show or hide the answer
80 What is the name of the tune of the song "Danny Boy", used by boxer Barry McGuigan as his pre–match anthem? Comments on the question Click to show or hide the answer

81 Which supermarket chain forms the food retail division of the John Lewis Partnership? Click to show or hide the answer
82 What word is used in France to describe the creeping and much resented intrusion of English words into the French language? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
83 With which field of the arts would you associate Sir Anthony Caro? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
84 The Jockey Club have recently controversially declared their intention to sell to developers which famous racecourse, venue for the prestigious King George VI Chase? Click to show or hide the answer
85 Which is the highest mountain outside Asia? Comments on the question Click to show or hide the answer
86 Which 2015 film, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon, tells the story of astronaut Mark Watney, left stranded on another planet? Click to show or hide the answer
87 Which distinguished political journalist has recently brought out a book of memoirs entitled A Life in Questions? Click to show or hide the answer
88 What name is given to the youngest section of the Boy Scout movement, for little boys aged 6 to 8? Click to show or hide the answer

89 What type of structure can be overshot, undershot or breast? Click to show or hide the answer
90 In May 2006, which footballer became England's youngest ever international? Comments on the question Click to show or hide the answer
91 Which Berkshire village, home to the Atomic Weapons Establishment, was the destination of a series of protest marches by CND in the 1950s and 60s? Click to show or hide the answer
92 In Greek mythology, who was the husband of Penelope? Click to show or hide the answer
93 Which pantomime character ends up marrying his master's daughter, Alice Fitzwarren? Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
94 Complete these lines from a poem by Kipling:"Though I've belted you and flayed you, by the livin' Gawd that made you, You're a better man than I am......" Click to show or hide the answer
95 Which scientist famously said "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants"? Click to show or hide the answer
96 According to the proverb, what will happen when the cat's away? Click to show or hide the answer

Supplementaries:

97 What is Theresa May's maiden name? Click to show or hide the answer
98 The chorus of the Hebrew slaves (va pensiero) comes from which Verdi opera? Click to show or hide the answer
99 In which city would you find the Eagles, the Owls and the Blades? Click to show or hide the answer
100 In the days before containerization, what name was given to the highly skilled dock workers who were specialists in loading and unloading cargo ships? Comments on the question Click to show or hide the answer
101 In the American cable network HBO, what does the H stand for? Click to show or hide the answer
102 What was Coco Chanel's real given name? Click to show or hide the answer

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