TEST YOUR GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

1. Today is which European country’s national day?

2. What was Alan Shepard’s age in 1971 when he became the oldest person to walk on the moon (a) 47 (b) 57 (c) 67?

3. Was Malcolm Fraser or Bob Hawke the longer-serving prime minister?

4. Which Australian played in his first Wimbledon singles final in 1954, his fourth in 1974 and won none (a) John Alexander (b) John Newcombe (c) Ken Rosewall?

5. Meryl Streep has been nominated for how many Oscars (a) 11 (b) 21 (c) 31?

6. “You were once my one companion. You were all that mattered,” are lyrics from which song?

7. Who tripped on the stage steps at the Oscars in 2013 and tripped on the red carpet at the next year’s ceremony while waving to their fans?

8. For the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to have been deemed valid, who was required to give formal permission?

9. Which is the only team from an English-speaking country to win the FIFA World Cup?

10. Who played Lara Croft in the recent movie Tomb Raider?

11. At the age of 14, which Brisbane Broncos forward was caught under-age drinking at a pub and taken to a police station where his mother was on duty?

12. The secretary-general of the Commonwealth of Nations is (a) Patricia England (b) Patricia Scotland (c) Patricia Wales?

13. Which country recently legislated to make it an offence, punishable by up to three years’ jail, to blame the nation or its citizens for World War II Nazi atrocities committed on its soil (a) Austria (b) Hungary

(c) Poland?

14. Fidel Castro was president of which Caribbean country?

15. Stolen in England in 1966, the original FIFA World Cup trophy (the Jules Rimet Trophy) was found under a hedge by a dog named (a) Pickles (b) Tickles (c) Zickles?

16. Dutch authorities recorded over 36,000 deaths during the eruption of which volcano in 1883?

17. What is rock star Rod Stewart’s full first name?

18. For many years, there was a persistent belief that which English king composed Greensleeves for his lover and future wife Anne Boleyn?

19. Which company has supplied tennis balls for the Wimbledon tournament since 1902?

20. Who played Stephen Hawking in the movie The Theory of Everything?

21. The remains of which Spanish surrealist artist were recently re-buried after being exhumed to settle a paternity suit?

22. The last word of William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is the name of which

New South Wales town?

23. In 1989, the body of which national leader fell out of the coffin during the funeral procession? ANSWERS 1. France. 2. (a) 47. 3. Bob Hawke. 4. (c) Ken Rosewall. 5. (b) 21. 6. Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again. 7. Jennifer Lawrence. 8. Queen Elizabeth II. 9. England. (1966). 10. Alicia Vikander. 11. Matt Lodge. 12. (b) Patricia Scotland. 13. (c) Poland. 14. Cuba. 15. (a) Pickles. 16. Krakatoa. 17. Roderick. 18. King Henry VIII. 19. Slazenger. 20. Eddie Redmayne. 21. Salvador Dali. 22. Scone. 23. Ayatollah Khomeini.