Thursday 12 June 2008

Rahul's summer quiz

1. Connect Her serene highness, Alfred Hitchcock, lookalike latch keys and uxoricide.

2. A was the son of B and Tahmineh. He grew up unaware of his father (B) and became a great local hero. In his youth, he intended to travel to his father’s land and make his father the king of Iran, but ended up fighting and being killed by B ( his father). Identify them.


3. Connect 41&43, a cylindrical lining designed to reduce friction and wear, a reference to roadless or remote parts of Australia, Africa and the state of Alaska in the USA.


4. Malabar coast of kerala, Roman cookery, Mummification rituals of Ramasses II, Portugese search for a sea route to India-


5. William Wang once called this one of the three recognizable rings in the world, along with the superbowl ring and the westpoint (US naval academy) ring. Its side surfaces show the skylines of a twin-city. The ring has 3 main sections- one shows a beaver, another the current year and the third the seal of an institution. Identify.


6. A Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist, X was recently inducted in the American rock and roll hall of fame. Recurrent themes in his work include love and sex, psychological depression, religion, isolation and complex interpersonal relationships. His popular singles include Suzanne, so long Marianne, bird on the wire, Chelsea hotel, famous blue raincoat and sisters of mercy. A film titled X: I am your man was released in the United States on June 21, 2006. Identify X.


7. This is a famous piece of stage magic said to have been performed in India in the 1800s. Sometimes described as “the world’s greatest illusion”, it involves a magician, a length of rope and one or more boy assistants. Similar tricks were mentioned in the accounts of Marco Polo, Ibn Batuta and the mughal empire. In 1890, The Chicago tribune published an account of the trick, which caught wide public fancy. Over the years, many explanations for this alleged trick has been proposed, but none very convincingly.

8. The modern version of this was developed as a substitute for ice skates, for use by Russian athletes training on solid ground for Olympic long track speed skating events. During the late 80s and early 90s, their popularity had a strong resurgence, led by a company, by whose name, it is widely known today (a la Xerox for photocopying). Identify.

9. In journalism, this is a concept in news style, research, and in police investigations that most people consider to be fundamental. It is a formula for getting the "full" story on something. The maxim is that in order for a report to be considered complete it must answer this checklist, each part of which comprises an interrogative word. This was memorialized by Rudyard Kipling in the poem “The elephant’s child”, which is part of his “Just so stories” (1902)

10. X was a theoretical particle beam or electromagnetic weapon of the 1920s through the 1930s that was claimed to have been invented independently by Nikola Tesla, Edwin R. Scott, Harry Grindell Matthews, Graichen [1], as well as others. [2] By 1957 the National Inventors Council was still issuing lists of needed military inventions that included X. [3] The concept was never put into action, but fueled science fiction stories, and led to the science fiction concept of the hand held weapon used by fictional heroes such as Flash Gordon. What is X?

11. Also known as replacement hypothesis or recent single origin hypothesis, this was first suggested in a book published in 1871 as a result of studies on the natural habitats of apes and their evolutionary relationship with human beings. Later research in anthropology, and more recently genetics lent increased credibility to this hypothesis.

12. Abbreviated as ENSO, this is a global coupled phenomenon. It was named so because it is noticed around Christmas time in the pacific ocean off the west coast of south America. Its most recent occurrence started in September 2006 and lasted until early 2007.


13. Connect- Minangkabau culture of West Sumatra, the Ezhava, Nairs, and Kurichiyas of Kerala, India, Bunts, Billavas and Mogaveeras of Karnataka, Pillai caste in Nagercoil District of Tamil Nadu, the Khasi and Garo of Meghalaya, India, the Naxi of China, the Gitksan of British Columbia the Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee), the Hopi, and the Tuaregs. This prevalence of this practice has faded with increasing exposure to modernity.


14. The earliest references to this are found in the Mahabharata, Ramayana and other Vedic legends. Historically, the area had a close relationship with Tibetan people and Tibetan culture, for example the sixth Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso was born here. In Sanskrit, one of its names means “Land of the Dawnlit Mountains”. Identify.

Hint: In 1913-14, the representatives of Britain, Tibet and China negotiated a treaty in India, called the Shimla convention, which attempted to settle the future of this territory, but this was rejected by China.

15. Indigenous to the Himalayas and east Asian states like China, Korea and Japan. It is especially prevalent in varied types in Japan, where it is believed to exemplify the transient nature of life. Starting in 1912, it caught on in the USA and subsequently attained much cultural significance.

Hint: Called Sakura in Japanese.


16. Born in 1968, he is a Nigerian former professional football striker renowned in some places for his goal scoring prowess. He moved to India as a student and later had a stint playing in Europe. In Feb 2007, he was named the manager of a club he once played for, but quit in April 2007 after differences with senior players in that club. Identify him.

17. Fruit flies and corn seeds (V2 USA), Rhesus monkey Albert II (V2 USA), a mouse in 1950 (V2 USA), Dogs called Tsygan and Dezik in 1951. This series goes on and on. Name another one in 1957.


18. This linked traders, merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads and urban dwellers from China to the Mediterranean Sea during various periods of time. It was initiated around 114 BC by the Han Dynasty,[1] largely through the missions and explorations of Zhang Qian[2] although earlier trade across the continents had already existed. The first person who used this term was the German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen in 1877. What am I talking about?


19. This iconic scientist has a penchant for courting controversies. In his autobiography, Avoid boring People, he describes his academic colleagues as "dinosaurs", "deadbeats", "fossils", "has-beens", "mediocre", and "vapid". He was quoted as saying he was "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" as "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours — whereas all the testing says not really." These quotes attributed to him drew attention and criticism from press in several countries and was widely discussed on CNN, the BBC, several papers, peers and by civil rights advocates. The common perception was that he was claiming a link between race and intelligence with the BBC stating that "he claimed black people were less intelligent than white people" Name this scientist who was in news for all wrong reasons during the last months of 2007.


20. Couldn’t resist this one! Identify this love story-

Oliver Barrett IV, a Harvard student and the scion of a wealthy upper class family falls in love with Jennifer Cavalleri, a middle class music student. Which celebrated novel of our parents’ times?


21. Connect the following:

A current NASCAR and former F1 driver who has won both the Monaco grand prix and Indy 500. (Juan Pablo)

A DC comics character initially created for “Batman: The animated series” as a detective from Gotham city police department, was outed as a lesbian, then left the force and now defends Gotham as “The question”. (Renee)

Born in Colombia, this professional footballer played for Boca Juniors in Argentina. He was initially denied by FIFA from playing for Argentina, where he is now naturalized, as he had once played for Columbia in a world cup qualifier. Nicknamed El Mono (The monkey), he was finally allowed to play for Argentina in 1998 at 32 years of age, but by then was considered too old for selection in the side. (Carlos Fernando Navarro)


22. Connect the following:

December 1980

The squence- 2, 88, 120, 161, 182, 182, 138

Article 370

4 comments:

Rahul said...

Answers
1. Dial M for Murder

2. Sohrab and Rostam

3. Bush

4. Black Pepper

5. MIT class ring/Brass rat

6. Leonard Cohen

7. The Indian rope trick

8. Inline skating

9. Who what when where why how (5Ws and an H)

10. Death ray

11. Out of Africa hypothesis.

12. El Nino Southern oscillation

13. Matrilinity/Matrilocal residence

14. Arunachal Pradesh/Tawang

15. Cherry blossoms/cherry trees

16. Chima Ephraim Okorie

17. Laika the dog

18. Silk route

19. James Watson

20. Love story

21. Montoya

22. BJP

Vinod said...

Thanks for posting the questions, Rahul. Nice questions.

Rahul said...

thanks Vinod! I hope you can make it next time!

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