2017–18 Season: Week 16 – 13 March 2018
Specialist Rounds
Set by the Harrington Academicals.
Round 1: Dumb Britain
The following questions have been asked in UK quiz shows as reported in Private Eye. Give either the correct answer or the answer
given by the contestant.
1 |
Which saint is regarded by Christians as the forerunner of Jesus Christ? |
|
John the Baptist or St. Nicholas |
2 |
Who awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Joe Biden in January 2017? |
|
Barack Obama or George Washington |
3 |
The female flowers of humulus lupulus give beer a bitter flavour. How are they better known? |
|
Hops or hydrangeas |
4 |
What was signed to bring World War I to an end in 1918? (the treaty was actually signed in 1919, but this is how the question
was asked) |
|
Treaty of Versailles or Magna Carta |
5 |
What name is given to the condition where the sufferer can fall asleep at any time? |
|
Narcolepsy or nostalgia |
6 |
Which is the largest Spanish–speaking country in the world? (ie has largest number of speakers of Spanish) |
|
Mexico or Barcelona |
7 |
Name a film starring Bob Hoskins that is also the name of a famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci |
|
Mona Lisa or Who Framed Roger Rabbit? |
8 |
In Italian history, in 1919 which former journalist set up the Fascist Party? |
|
Benito Mussolini or Silvio Berlusconi |
Supplementaries:
1 |
In which European city was the first opera house opened in 1637? |
|
Venice or Sydney |
2 |
What word for an ancient Roman marketplace is also a site on the internet for open discussion? |
|
Forum or chatroom |
3 |
What is origami? |
|
The Japanese art of paper folding or a herb |
4 |
What are "cherrypickers" and "cheesemongers"? (asked on University Challenge) |
|
Regiments in the British Army or homosexuals |
Round 2: UK History Through The Millenia
1 |
In which century did the Romans withdraw from Britain? |
|
The 5th (410) |
2 |
Bede completed his Ecclesiastical History of the English people in which century? |
|
The 8th (731) |
3 |
Which major conflict began in 1337? |
|
The Hundred Years War |
4 |
In 1381, who led the Peasants Revolt following the introduction of the Poll Tax? |
|
Wat Tyler |
5 |
What is regarded as the first main battle of the English Civil war, fought on October 23rd 1642. |
|
Edgehill |
6 |
Similarly, which battle of 1513 saw the death of the Scottish king James IV? |
|
Flodden |
7 |
In 1620, on which vessel did the Pilgrim Fathers set sail for America? |
|
The Mayflower |
8 |
The Act of Union between England, Scotland and Wales was passed in which year? |
|
1707 (accept 1705 – 1715) |
Supplementaries:
1 |
The repeal of what in 1846 made Britain a Free Trade nation? |
|
The Corn Laws |
2 |
What name was given to the pandemic which claimed 200,000 UK lives in 1918? |
|
Spanish flu |
3 |
What was the name of the ship which in 1948 brought 500 Jamaican immigrants to the UK? |
|
Empire Windrush (accept Windrush) |
Round 3: Geography – This Sceptred Isle
1 |
What is the most westerly county in Wales? |
|
|
Pembrokeshire (accept Dyfed, although this is a
"ceremonial county" rather than an administrative area) |
2 |
What is the highest mountain to be found in Northern Ireland? |
|
Slieve Donard |
3 |
Which river joins with the Trent at Trent Falls to form the Humber? |
|
Ouse |
4 |
What is the most southerly of the Scottish counties? |
|
|
Dumfries and Galloway |
5 |
Granted official status in 2010, what is the most recent of the UK's National Parks? |
|
South Downs |
6 |
In terms of area, what is the largest body of water in the UK? |
|
|
Lough Neagh |
7 |
What's the most southerly city in the UK? |
|
Truro |
8 |
Of the UK's 69 official cities, which has the smallest population? |
|
St David's (approximately 2000) |
Supplementaries:
1 |
In 1951, what became the first of the UK's designated National Parks? |
|
The Peak District |
2 |
With some leeway, what was the official population of the UK in the 2011 census? |
|
63.2 million (accept 62 million to 64.4 million) |
Round 4: Sport – Gender Equality Rules (Women's Sport)
1 |
What is the surname of the current captain of the England Women's Football Team? Her name sounds like the current manager
of Brighton and Hove Albion. |
|
Steph Houghton (Chris Hughton) |
2 |
What is the surname of the current captain of the England Women's Rugby team? Her name is shared with a well known centre back
for Leeds United with tendency to knee biting. |
|
|
Sarah Hunter (Norman Hunter) |
3 |
Team GB won the gold and bronze medals in the women's skeleton at the 2018 winter Olympics. What was the name of the bronze
medallist? |
|
Laura Deas |
4 |
What is the popular name for the Australian Women's Rugby League team? |
|
The Jillaroos |
5 |
Who are the current women's football super league champions? |
|
Chelsea |
6 |
Team GB contained the reigning world champion at 1500m and 1000m speed skating who either failed to finish or was disqualified in
her Olympic events. What is her name? |
|
Elise Christie |
7 |
Who won a rowing gold medal in the 2005 World Championship Quad Sculls and went on to win gold in the individual and team cycling
pursuit in 2008 World Championships in Manchester? |
|
Rebecca Romero |
8 |
Amongst this woman's sailing achievements are setting a woman's single handed transatlantic record in 1976 and becoming
the first woman to skipper a yacht in the Whitbread round the world race in 1977–8. She is also the author of eight international fiction
bestsellers |
|
Clare Francis |
Supplementaries:
1 |
The current Chair of UK Sport has won five Olympic medals in five successive Olympics 2000 – 2016. What is her name? |
|
Katherine Grainger |
2 |
Managing Director of Birmingham City at 23, currently vice chairman of West Ham: who is known as the first lady of football? |
|
Karren Brady |
3 |
Who was skipper of the first all–female crew in the 1989 Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race? |
|
Tracy Edwards |
4 |
Who is the only woman ever to score points in a formula 1 championship race? |
|
Lella Lombardi |
Round 5: Science
1 |
Who is regarded is the founder of the modern system of classification of plants and animals? |
|
Carl Linnaeus |
2 |
Apiology is the scientific study of which creatures? |
|
Bees (particularly honey bees) |
3 |
In mathematics, a surface of revolution with a hole in the middle like a doughnut is called what? |
|
|
A toroid (accept torus) |
4 |
What is the medical term for the process which causes bleeding to stop? |
|
|
Haemostasis |
5 |
What is the name of the band of frozen objects that is found outside the orbit of Neptune? |
|
The Kuiper Belt |
6 |
In mathematics, what is the study of length of sides and angles of triangles called? |
|
Trigonometry |
7 |
What is a boomslang? |
|
A snake |
8 |
DNA consists of carbon, hydrogen,oxygen, nitrogen and which other element? |
|
Phosphorus |
Supplementaries:
1 |
How many radians are there in an angle of 180 degrees? |
|
Pi |
2 |
What is the medical term for an infection of the inner layers of the skin? (It mostly affects the leg) |
|
Cellulitis |
3 |
Methamphetamine is better known as what? |
|
Crystal meth |
Round 6: Food and Drink
1 |
What are carnaroli, vialone nano and arborio types of? |
|
Risotto rice (accept rice) |
2 |
What are Verdelho, Sercial, Bual and Malmsey types of? |
|
Madeira (accept grape varieties) |
|
Extra question for no points: Who was reputedly drowned in a butt of Malmsey? |
|
|
Duke of Clarence |
3 |
What country's food is served at Portobello restaurant in Macclesfield? |
|
Sri Lankan |
4 |
What is the nearest Michelin starred restaurant to Macclesfield in the 2017 guide? Give either the name of the
restaurant or the place. |
|
Fischers of Baslow |
5 |
Which Macclesfield brewery provides a special canned beer for Virgin Trains? |
|
Red Willow |
6 |
Which Macclesfield bakery shut in January after trading in town for over 70 years? |
|
Brassingtons |
7 |
What meat is pastrami usually made from? |
|
Beef |
8 |
In an Italian restaurant, what are arancini? |
|
Fried balls of cooked rice – usually left–over
risotto stuffed with cheese |
Supplementaries:
1 |
Which local pub is named after a commander in the American War of Independence, particularly noted for his victory over the
French at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782? |
|
The Admiral Rodney |
2 |
In which modern country is Shiraz, from where the grape variety originates? |
|
|
Iran |
3 |
On which Scottish island is the Talisker distillery? |
|
Skye |
Round 7: Arts & Entertainment – What's the Story?
1 |
Opera: around 1830, in Paris, France, the poet Rodolfo and three friends live in an old attic. They are poor, but happy.
Rodolpho falls in love with Mimi. Mimi gets TB and dies. |
|
La Bohème |
2 |
Opera: in Act 1 the title character commits rape and murder followed by multiple seductions. After more sex in Act 2, he is
dragged down to Hell. |
|
Don Giovanni |
3 |
TV series: a once loyal father and chemistry teacher, Walter White, turns to producing crystal meth due to developing stage
3 terminal lung cancer |
|
Breaking Bad |
4 |
TV series: drama providing excuse for B list actors to holiday in Guadeloupe while performing in episodes of a light hearted
murder mystery series |
|
Death in Paradise |
5 |
Ballet: Duke Albrecht of Silesia, a young nobleman falls in love with a shy and beautiful peasant girl. He seduces and dumps
her, then is nearly danced to death by vengeful spirits |
|
Giselle |
6 |
Novel: the characters are involved in a long running legal case caused by conflicting wills. By the time the case is settled
there is no money left in the estate |
|
Bleak House (the case is Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce) |
7 |
Novel: a plane carrying a group of British schoolboys is shot down over the Pacific. The surviving boys find themselves deserted on
an uninhabited island, where they are alone without adult supervision They turn to savagery |
|
Lord of the Flies |
8 |
Ballet (often performed as a concert work): after various primitive rituals are celebrated, a young girl is chosen as a sacrificial
victim and dances herself to death There was nearly a riot after the first performance in Paris |
|
The Rite of Spring |
Supplementaries:
1 |
Opera: American naval officer gets Japanese girl pregnant. He marries a blonde from back home and returns to Japan to take the baby
away Japanese girl commits suicide |
|
Madame Butterfly |
2 |
Novel: British agent is sent to East Germany as a faux defector to sow disinformation about a powerful East German intelligence
officer. He allows himself to be recruited by the East Germans, but soon his charade unravels and he admits to still being a British agent—a revelation
that perversely achieves the ultimate objective of the mission. |
|
The Spy who Came In from the Cold |
Round 8: Famous Australians
1 |
Which TV personality, singer and artist was released from Stafford Prison in May 2017 after being convicted of a variety of sexual
offences? |
|
Rolf Harris |
2 |
Who wrote The Female Eunuch and has held a senior position in the English department at Warwick University? |
|
Germaine Greer |
3 |
Who wrote The Fatal Shore and presented the arts TV series The Shock of the New? |
|
Robert Hughes |
4 |
Who was best known for being the first non–American to win the coveted America's Cup sailing trophy, and as the biggest
corporate fraudster in Australian history? |
|
Alan Bond |
5 |
Which actor achieved fame in Hollywood after 1935? He was known for his romantic swashbuckling roles in Hollywood films, as well
as allegedly being particularly well endowed. |
|
Errol Flynn |
6 |
Who played the role of Mad Max, and Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon? |
|
Mel Gibson |
|
Extra question for no points: Who said, "I like a drink as much as the next man. Unless the next man is Mel
Gibson"? |
|
Ricky Gervais |
7 |
Who was the aunt of Barry McKenzie, whose persona was subsequently adopted by her creator, Barry Humphreys? |
|
Dame Edna Everage |
8 |
Who played the role of Crocodile Dundee and went on to work for the Australian Tourist Board? |
|
Paul Hogan |
Supplementaries:
1 |
Who directed Picnic at Hanging Rock? |
|
Peter Weir |
2 |
Which gay rights activist was selected as the Labour Party's parliamentary candidate for Bermondsey in 1981? He was then
denounced by party leader Michael Foot. |
|
Peter Tatchell |
3 |
Which cricketer reputedly drank 52 cans of beer on the flight to England for the 1989 Ashes series? |
|
|
David Boon |
4 |
Who is the writer best known for the creation of Mary Poppins? |
|
P. L. Travers |
General Knowledge
Set by the Park Taverners.
1 |
What was the number of the last Apollo mission to fly? |
|
17
(18, 19 & 20 were cancelled) |
2 |
What major attraction at Alton Towers (due to open later this year) is based upon a 1973 cult film? |
|
The Wicker Man |
3 |
What English word comes from two French words meaning sour wine? |
|
Vinegar |
4 |
Who is the current Chief Scout? |
|
Bear Grylls |
5 |
King Harald and Queen Sonja are the monarchs of which country? |
|
|
Norway |
6 |
What word is a Japanese military dictator, later used by Mitsubishi to name one of its vehicle models? |
|
Shogun |
7 |
What 'A' number did Airbus give its double decker plane? |
|
380 |
8 |
Which iconic building has the address 350 Fifth Avenue, New York? |
|
The Empire State Building |
9 |
Artist Salvador Dali made a sofa inspired by the lips of which Hollywood actress? |
|
Mae West |
10 |
Which western, directed by Clint Eastwood, won the best picture Oscar in 1993? |
|
Unforgiven |
11 |
How many bones are there in the human neck? |
|
7 |
12 |
From which song are the following lyrics taken? "Young teacher, the subject of schoolgirl fantasy ... " |
|
Don't Stand So Close to Me (The Police) |
13 |
In the Harry Potter films, who played Professor McGonagall? |
|
Dame Maggie Smith |
14 |
What name is missing: Baby, Ginger, Posh, Scary? |
|
Sporty (Spice Girls' nicknames) |
15 |
How old was King Edward VI when he died? |
|
15
(accept 14-16) |
16 |
Who created the Muppets ? |
|
Jim Henson |
17 |
Who wrote The World According to Garp? |
|
John Irving |
18 |
On French autoroutes, what are the toll collection areas known as? |
|
Péages |
19 |
In Bingo calling, which number is 'the Brighton Line'? |
|
59 |
20 |
The M3 links London to which other city? |
|
Southampton |
21 |
What is the name of the poker hand containing three of a kind and a pair? |
|
Full house |
22 |
On London Underground maps, which line is coloured yellow? |
|
Circle |
23 |
In which month does the quarter day of Michaelmas fall? |
|
September
(29th) |
24 |
In which English county is Chequers, the Prime Minister's country house? |
|
Buckinghamshire |
25 |
How long in feet is the average adult human small intestine? |
|
|
20 (accept 18–22) |
26 |
Who is currently the Secretary of State for Northern
Ireland? |
|
Karen Bradley |
27 |
Whose forthcoming album is entitled Golden? |
|
Kylie Minogue's |
28 |
Who is the only Englishman to be top scorer in a FIFA World Cup? |
|
Gary Lineker |
29 |
In which American state is Amarillo? (as made famous in the song by Tony Christie) |
|
Texas |
30 |
What four–letter acronym is used to remind people of the symptoms of a stroke? |
|
FAST (Face, Arms, Speech, Time) |
31 |
What song was the 2017 Christmas No 1? |
|
Perfect (Ed Sheeran) |
32 |
What did the crocodile swallow in Peter Pan? |
|
A clock |
|
33 |
In which ballet would you find the Waltz of the Flowers? |
|
The Nutcracker |
34 |
From which company does Wile E. Coyote source all his Road Runner capturing contraptions? |
|
Acme |
35 |
What nationality was painter Frida Kahlo? |
|
Mexican |
36 |
In the film Finding Nemo, what sort of fish is Nemo? |
|
Clownfish |
37 |
From which song are the following lyrics taken:? "I got my first real six string
/ Bought it at the 5 and dime" |
|
Summer of '69 (Bryan Adams) |
38 |
What letter is on the right of a B on a QWERTY keyboard ? |
|
N |
39 |
Surrealist painter René Magritte was born in which country? |
|
Belgium |
40 |
In which naval battle did Rome decisively defeat the forces of Antony and Cleopatra? |
|
Battle of Actium |
41 |
Alphabetically, which comes last in the 6 counties of Northern Ireland? |
|
Tyrone (the others are Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh and Londonderry) |
42 |
Carnival of the Animals is a work by which composer? |
|
Camille
Saint-Saens |
43 |
What is the missing instrument in the strings section of an orchestra: cello, harp, violin, double bass? |
|
Viola |
44 |
What was the name of the US research and development project to create nuclear weapons in World War II? |
|
The Manhattan Project |
45 |
Which US artist died in a car crash in August 1956, aged 44? |
|
Jackson Pollock |
46 |
For which film did Gary Oldman win a BAFTA for best leading actor this year? |
|
Darkest Hour |
47 |
How is Hansen's disease better known? |
|
Leprosy |
48 |
Which five–times Grand Slam tennis champion tested positive for a banned substance at the 2016 Australian Open? |
|
Maria Sharapova |
49 |
What was the name of the dog in Enid Blyton's Famous Five books ? |
|
Timmy |
50 |
Odessa is a port on which body of water? |
|
The Black Sea |
51 |
Leo Varadkar is the head of government of which country? |
|
Republic of Ireland |
52 |
The painting Les Choristes was stolen from a Marseille museum in 2009 and found on a bus near Paris in February
20. Who painted it? |
|
Edgar Degas |
53 |
Who composed the music for the ballet Petrushka? |
|
Stravinsky |
54 |
In which opera do you find Lieutenant Pinkerton? |
|
Madame Butterfly |
55 |
What is the missing instrument in the brass section of an orchestra: French horn, trombone, trumpet? |
|
Tuba |
56 |
Who wrote the 2012 novel The Casual Vacancy? |
|
J. K. Rowling |
57 |
Chernobyl is located in which country? |
|
Ukraine |
58 |
What was the name of the BP oil rig that blew up in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010? |
|
Deepwater Horizon |
59 |
What is next in the following sequence: Alaskan, Pacific, Mountain, Central,
... ? |
|
Eastern (they are time zones going eastwards across the USA) |
60 |
Handel, J. S. Bach and Vivaldi were three of the key composers from what period of music? |
|
Baroque |
61 |
The majority of Britain's rhubarb crop comes from what is known as the Rhubarb Triangle. But in which English
county is it situated? |
|
(West) Yorkshire |
62 |
Who is Donald Trump's son–in–law and senior adviser? |
|
Jared Kushner |
63 |
Which populist Italian political party shares its name with a 1980s pop group? |
|
5 Star |
64 |
Who died before completing his requiem Mass? |
|
|
Mozart |
65 |
Which British author and campaigner for women's rights, born in 1880, was a pioneer of birth control? |
|
|
Marie Stopes |
66 |
How is the Roman numeral CMLXXV expressed in Arabic numerals? |
|
975 |
67 |
Of which of her Prime Ministers did Queen Victoria complain "he speaks to me as if I were a public meeting"? |
|
William Ewart Gladstone |
68 |
In which English county are the towns of Kettering, Corby and Wellingborough? |
|
Northamptonshire |
69 |
Which African lake, covering an area of nearly 27,000 square miles, straddles the equator? |
|
Lake Victoria |
70 |
The temple of Karnak is found in which modern day Egyptian City? |
|
Luxor |
71 |
In which town is the haulage firm Eddie Stobart based? |
|
Carlisle |
72 |
Five countries border Afghanistan. Pakistan and Iran are two of them; name one other. |
|
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan or Turkmenistan |
73 |
Who presents the Radio 4 programme The Moral Maze? |
|
Michael Buerk |
74 |
From which country did Iceland become independent in 1944? |
|
|
Denmark |
75 |
Which gland in the human body regulates metabolism? |
|
Thyroid |
76 |
On which island was Napoleon Bonaparte born? |
|
Corsica |
77 |
Who was the admiral of the French fleet defeated by Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar? |
|
Pierre de
Villeneuve |
78 |
Which European country restored its monarchy in 1975? |
|
|
Spain |
79 |
Who or what was described as "Mr Balfour's Poodle" in 1906? |
|
The House of Lords |
80 |
Who was on the throne of England in AD 1000? |
|
Ethelred (the Unready) |
81 |
Tequila is made from which plant? |
|
(Blue) agave plant |
82 |
Which mammal takes its name from an Afrikaans word, literally meaning 'earth pig'? |
|
The aardvark |
83 |
Bobby Fischer is considered by many to be the greatest player of all time in which game? |
|
Chess |
84 |
The mean is the average of a set of numbers; the mode is the most common of those numbers. If you sort this set from
high to low, what is the middle number called? |
|
The median |
85 |
Which is the only planet in the solar system whose axis of rotation is tilted sideways, so the axis of spin is nearer horizontal
than the more traditional vertical? |
|
Uranus |
86 |
What is the square root of minus 1? |
|
i (accept –i) |
87 |
Which of the halogens has the lowest atomic number? |
|
Fluorine |
88 |
What is the branch of medicine called that is concerned with the causes and effects of disease? |
|
Pathology |
89 |
Which player scored for both sides during the 1987 FA Cup Final? |
|
Gary Mabbutt |
90 |
How many medals did GB win in the 2018 Winter Olympics? |
|
Five |
91 |
In which Polish city was the Solidarity union formed in 1989? |
|
Gdansk |
92 |
Who won the Wimbledon Men's Singles title in 1985, 1986 and 1989? |
|
Boris Becker |
93 |
Who succeeded Alf Ramsey as England (caretaker) football manager in 1974? |
|
Joe Mercer |
94 |
Who is the only African to have won FIFA's Footballer of the Year award? |
|
George Weah |
95 |
Who was the first golfer to win the Masters tournament two years in a row? |
|
|
Jack Nicklaus (1965 and 1966) |
96 |
Captain Blade is the mascot of which English football club? |
|
Sheffield United |
Supplementaries:
1 |
On what date will Good Friday fall in 2018? |
|
30 March |
2 |
In the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall, who or what is Skyfall? |
|
The childhood home (family estate) of James Bond |
3 |
Actress Emma Chambers, who died in February 2018, was best known as Alice Tinker in which BBC comedy? |
|
The Vicar of Dibley |
4 |
In the film Logan's Run, at what age was euthanasia enforced? |
|
30 (in the book it was 21) |
5 |
The sackbut was an early form of which present–day musical instrument? |
|
Trombone |
6 |
What kind of instrument is a marimba? |
|
Xylophone or glockenspiel (accept pitched
percussion instrument) |
7 |
There are 2 pieces of sporting equipment on the moon, from which sport? |
|
Golf (balls hit by Alan Shepard) |
8 |
Which team did Jose Mourinho manage before joining Manchester United? |
|
Chelsea |
9 |
Which sportsman reportedly said "In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol. It was the worst 20 minutes of my life." |
|
George Best |
10 |
In 1985, who became the first football player to be sent off during an FA Cup final? |
|
Kevin Moran |
© Macclesfield Quiz League 2018