BUMPER BOXING DAY QUIZ
Test your powers of recall with 30 questions on the news, sport and show business
NEWS
1 What is the name of the nerve agent used to poison former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, below, in Salisbury?
a) Sarin
b) Novichok
c) Plutonium 210
2 Which species in Kenya was declared functionally extinct in March?
a) Grevy’s zebra
b) African elephant
c) Northern white rhinoceros
3 Which Prince was born on April 23 this year?
a) Louis
b) George
c) Edward
4 Who historically crossed the Demilitarised Zone for the first time in April?
a) President Trump
b) Theresa May
c) Kim Jong-un
5 In which chapel, in which town did Prince Harry and Meghan Markle marry on May 19, with an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion?
a) St George’s Chapel, Windsor
b) St Dunstan’s at St Paul’s Cathedral, London
c) Henry VII Chapel at Westminster Abbey, London
6 What did Ireland vote overwhelmingly to repeal?
a) Blasphemy
b) The ban on abortion
c) Same-sex marriage
7 Where was the summit between North Korea and the United States, the first between a US president and the North Korean leader, held in June?
a) Singapore
b) Hong Kong
c) Malaysia
8 How many boys were successfully rescued with their football coach from a flooded cave in Tham Luang Nang Non in Thailand?
a) 2
b) 20
c) 12
9 What was the rise in average temperature above which “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society” would occur, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change?
a) 1.5°C
b) 3°C
c) 6°C
10 Who was released from the United Arab Emirates after being accused of spying?
a) Matthew Rhys
b) Matthew Wright
c) Matthew Hedges
SPORT
1 Which title did Lizzy Yarnold successfully defend at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February?
a) Skeleton
b) Luge
c) Alpine skiing
2 In which sport did England’s “Roses” historically triumph at the 2018 Commonwealth Games held in Queensland, Australia, in April?
a) Hockey
b) Netball
c) Rugby
3 Which three countries won the right from Fifa to jointly host the 2026 World Cup?
a) Canada, Mexico and the United States
b) Brazil, Chile and Argentina
c) Portugal, Spain and France
4 Who beat England in the semi-finals of the World Cup in Russia?
a) Belgium
b) Croatia
c) Colombia
5 Which Briton stormed to victory in the Tour de France in July?
a) Mark Cavendish
b) Chris Froome
c) Geraint Thomas
6 Who did Anthony Joshua beat on points to claim the WBO world heavyweight title in March?
a) Carlos Takam
b) Alexander Povetkin
c) Joseph Parker
7 How many World Championships does Lewis Hamilton, above right, have to his name after winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?
a) 10
b) 5
c) 15
8 Alastair Cook ended his international career with a century to gain which cricketing accolade?
a) England’s highest Test run-scorer
b) England’s greatest batsman
c) England’s greatest fielder
9 What is the name of the golf course near Paris where, against the odds, Europe regained the Ryder Cup in September?
a) Le Golf Francais
b) Le Golf Parisian
c) Le Golf National
10 The owner of which football club died when his helicopter crashed soon after taking off after a match in October?
a) Leicester City
b) West Ham
c) Manchester City
SHOWBIZ
1 Which Hollywood actress announced that her second marriage was over in February after just two and a half years? And can you also name her husband with whom she was together for five years before they got married?
a) Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt
b) Robin Wright, Sean Penn
c) Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux
2 What did Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West name their daughter, born in January?
a) Chicago West
b) Boston West
c) Go West
3 Which 61-year-old chef, food critic, writer and TV personality died in France in June?
a) Keith Floyd
b) Anthony Bourdain
c) Rick Stein
4 Which leading figure in the movie world was implicated as part of the MeToo campaign?
a) Bill Crosby
b) Kevin Spacey
c) Harvey Weinstein
5 Which eternal bachelor finally tied the knot in May?
a) Cliff Richard
b) Hugh Grant
c) Lenny Kravitz
6 Which pop star married his girlfriend in New York in July?
a) Justin Bieber
b) Ed Sheeran
c) Justin Timberlake
7 Which Queen of Soul died from pancreatic cancer in August, aged 76?
a) Nina Simone
b) Aretha Franklin
c) Billie Holiday
8 Which football manager won I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here 2018?
a) Alex Ferguson
b) Gareth Southgate
c) Harry Redknapp
9 Who stepped into the shoes of Julie Andrews in the new film Mary Poppins Returns?
a) Emily Blunt
b) Anne Hathaway
c) Claire Foy
10 Which TV presenter was fined £86,000 for drink-driving in April?
a) Dec Donnelly
b) Ant McPartlin
c) Michael Parkinson