General knowledge quiz

  1. Where is the city of Ushuaia located?
    Don't know
    In Italy
    In Greece
    In Argentina
    In the Ivory Coast
    In Sweden
    In Malaysia

  2. What is the last word of all three parts of Dante's Divine Comedy (HellPurgatoryParadise)?
    Don't know
    Stars (Stelle)
    God (Dio)
    Hope (Speranza)
    Beatrice

  3. Who discovered the planet Uranus?
    Don't know
    Sir William Herschel (in 1781)
    Urbain Le Verrier (in 1846)
    Clyde Tombaugh (in 1930)
    Percival Lowell (in 1894)

  4. What was Lewis Carroll's real name?
    Don't know
    Lewis Carroll
    Arthur Wildrow
    Charles Dodgson
    George Gordon

  5. In what century was Gengis Khan (Temüjin) born?
    Don't know
    Xth (as St. Vladimir)
    XIth (as William the Conqueror)
    XIIth (as Emperor Frederic I)
    XIIIth (as Marco Polo)
    XIVth (as Rienzi)
    XVth (as Ivan III)
    XVIth (as Elizabeth Tudor)

  6. Who was Elizabeth Bowes Lyon?
    Don't know
    An Australian actress
    An American writer
    The mother of Queen Elizabeth II of England
    A Canadian painter

  7. Which of the following plays is not by Shakespeare:
    Don't know
    The Tempest
    Love's Labour's Lost
    Titus Andronicus
    Cymbeline
    The Alchemist

  8. What is the international unit of electrical current?
    Don't know
    A joule
    An ampere
    A volt
    An ohm
    A watt

  9. What was Michelangelo's last name?
    Don't know
    Bernini
    Buonarroti
    Alighieri
    Galilei
    Ferrari

  10. Which of the following sentences contains an anacoluthon?
    Don't know
    (1) Make haste slowly.
    (2) Cleopatra's nose, if it had been smaller, the whole face of the earth would have been altered. (Blaise Pascal)
    (3) The dog lost its bone and its temper.
    (4) On scrolls of silver snowy sentences. (Hart Crane)

  11. Which of the following composers was born in Ansfelden in 1824, died in Vienna in 1896, and composed (among other things) nine (plus two) symphonies, the fourth of which, in E flat major (probably the best known) is called Romantic?
    Don't know
    Ludwig van Beethoven
    Richard Wagner
    Johannes Brahms
    Anton Bruckner

  12. What does “UNESCO” stand for?
    Don't know
    United Neutral Eastern and Southern Countries Organization
    Unified New Electronic System for Communication and Observation
    United Nations' Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
    Unique New Extra Sensory Connecting Object
    Unregistered Naval Environment Ship in Common Operation

  13. What is the proper scientific name of aspirin?
    Don't know
    Acetylsalicylic acid
    2-hydroxy-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid
    Ascorbic acid
    Benzoic acid
    Acetic (aka ethanoic) acid

  14. Which of the following diseases is caused by the Koch bacillus?
    Don't know
    The plague
    Poliomyelitis
    Rabies
    Tetanus
    Tuberculosis

  15. What does the word “ichthus” (that is, “ιχθυς”, or, more accurately, “ἰχθύς”) mean in ancient Greek?
    Don't know
    Bird
    Faith
    Fish
    Hope
    King
    Light
    Sea
    Truth

  16. What is the meaning of the following verse by Vergil (Æneid, II, 3): Infandum regina iubes renouare dolorem?
    Don't know
    A princess orders that their pain be repeated
    The infant queen rejoices despite their sorrow
    The queen's joy lessened his terrible misfortune
    We wish to alleviate the queen's grief
    You bid me renew, o queen, an unspeakable grief
    Your queen laughs at my woe again

  17. In which constellation lies the star commonly known as Vega?
    Don't know
    Aquila (the Eagle: Vega is Alpha Aquilæ)
    Auriga (the Charioteer: Vega is Alpha Aurigæ)
    Bootes (the Herdsman: Vega is Alpha Bootis)
    Canis major (the great Dog: Vega is Alpha Canis majoris)
    Canis minor (the little Dog: Vega is Alpha Canis minoris)
    Centaurus (the Centaur: Vega is Alpha Centauri)
    Cygnus (the Swan: Vega is Alpha Cygni)
    Gemini (the Twins: Vega is Alpha Geminorum)
    Leo (the Lion: Vega is Alpha Leonis)
    Lyra (the Lyre: Vega is Alpha Lyræ)
    Orio (Orion: Vega is Alpha Orionis)
    Taurus (the Bull: Vega is Alpha Tauri)
    Ursa major (the great Bear: Vega is Alpha Ursæ majoris)
    Ursa minor (the little Bear: Vega is Alpha Ursæ minoris)


David Madore
Last modified: $Date: 2002/04/01 16:00:23 $