ISAAC ASIMOV’S SUPER QUIZ

Take this Super Quiz to a PhD. Score one point for each correct answer on the Freshman Level, two points on the Graduate Level and three points on the PhD Level.

SUBJECT: AMERICAN CULTURAL LITERACY

(e.g., With which character is “Elementary, my dear Watson” associated? Answer: Sherlock Holmes.)

FRESHMAN LEVEL

1. What words follow “Friends, Romans, countrymen ...”? 2. Which war provides the setting for “For Whom the Bell Tolls”? 3. In which play is “Double, double toil and trouble”?

GRADUATE LEVEL

4. What was the pen name of Samuel L. Clemens? 5. Ichabod Crane is the central character of this story. 6. Most biblical quotations come from this version of the Bible.

PHD LEVEL

7. Finish Thomas Paine’s words: “These are the times that ...” 8. Who wrote “The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book”? 9. Which two tools were on the flag of the Soviet Union?

ANSWERS FOR MON, SEPT 25:

1. Neil Armstrong. 2. Neil Simon. 3. Neil Sedaka. 4. Neil Young. 5. Neil Diamond. 6. Neil Patrick Harris. 7. Neil Tennant. 8. Neil Peart. 9. Neil deGrasse Tyson.

SCORING:

18 points — congratulations, doctor; 15 to 17 points — honours graduate; 10 to 14 points — you’re plenty smart, but no grind; 4 to 9 points — you really should hit the books harder; 1 point to 3 points — enrol in remedial courses immediately; 0 points — who reads the questions to you?