1. The strait that separates the North and South islands of New Zealand is named after the first European commander to sail through it in 1770. It connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast, and runs next to the capital city, Wellington. What is its name?
2. In which Italian city is the Doge’s Palace?
3. Which continent has the larger land mass: Africa or North America?
4. What is the name given to the art of preparing, stuffing and mounting the skins of animals to make life-like models? The word in Greek means skin arrangement.
5. The name of which Roman god means ‘shining father’ in Latin? Hint: Where would you find the “giant red spot” in our solar system?
6. What are the two main sects of Islam called?
7. Which was the first planned city in post-Independence India iwhich was known internationally for its architecture and urban design?
8. The oil painting portrait of the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, in oil on a white Lombardy poplar panel has been described as “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world”. Also known as La Gioconda, how is it better known to us?
9. Recently, The Washington Post carried an article that said: “Move aside, Michelle Obama. The world has a new fashion icon. And no, it’s not Vladimir Putin, despite his fitness regimen. It’s ____.” Who did it consider the new fashion icon?
10. This musical percussion instrument that is considered difficult to master is most typically used in a dhrupad concert. Name this instrument that was divided into two to create the tabla?
11. Which theoretical temperature corresponds to minus 273.15 degrees on the Celsius scale?
12. Which seven-a-side ball game is played in a swimming pool?
13. Ravana drove away his step brother to capture the kingdom of Lanka. Who was his fabulously rich stepbrother?
14. The autobiography of which yesteryear icon of Bollywood cinema is subtitled The Substance and the Shadow?
15. Which word meaning ‘rebirth’ describes the period in European history which began in the 14th century?
16. French Guiana is an overseas region and the ‘department’ of France located in South America. What is its capital city that has given its name to Capsicum annuum, the very hot and spicy red chili pepper?
17. Who defeated Ibrahim Lodi in 1526 to start a new empire?
18. Which arcade game’s central character was apparently based on a pizza missing a slice, and whose four enemies include Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde?
19. What is the popular name for the highway network connecting many of the major industrial, agricultural and cultural centres of India? Its name is derived from the approximate shape formed by connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
20. In what way did Philippe Chatrier, French tennis player and international tennis administrator (who died in 2000), witness Rafael Nadal’s unprecedented nine French Open titles with five in a row?
answers
1. Cook Strait
2. Venice
3. Africa
4. Taxidermy
5. Jupiter
6. Shia and Sunni
7. Chandigarh
8. Mona Lisa
9. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his now famous kurtas.
10. Pakhawaj
11. Absolute Zero
12. Water polo
13. Kubera
14. Dilip Kumar
15. Renaissance
16. Cayenne
17. Babar at the First Battle of Panipat
18. Pac-Man
19. Golden Quadrilateral. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee laid the foundation stone for the project on 6th January 1999.
20. Court No 1, the main tennis court at the Stade de Roland Garros, the home of the French Open, was renamed the Court Philippe Chatrier in his honour in 2001.