GENERAL KNOWLEDGE QUIZ
1 Which long-running BBC radio series is set in the fictional county of Borsetshire?
A The World at One
B The Archers
C The Today Programme
2 The ideology of which community organisation is often described as ‘Jam and Jerusalem’?
A Soroptimist International B Girlguiding UK
C Women’s Institute
3 Which northern walled city, which houses a Medieval Minster and the Jorvik Viking Centre, was known to the Romans as Eboracum?
A York
B Chester
C Bath
4 The mythological twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, were suckled by which type of animal as infants?
A A lion
B A wolf
C A bear
5 Which studios in West London are associated with comedies such as “Passport to Pimlico”, “Kind Hearts and Coronets” and “The Ladykillers”
A Ealing Studios
B Shepperton Studios C Pinewood Studios
6 Tom Payne and DeWanda Wise are among the stars of which new horror film about a sinister stuffed bear? A Snuggles
B Imaginary
C Dreamland
7 Which 19th century American author and poet wrote the short stories “The Pit and the Pendulum”, “The Tell-Tale Heart” and the narrative poem
“The Raven”?
A Mark Twain
B Edgar Allan Poe
C Herman Melville 8 A water molecule is made up of atoms of which two elements? A Carbon and oxygen B Hydrogen and helium C Hydrogen and oxygen
9 Which UK inventor of the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner has his company headquarters and research centre in Malmesbury, Wiltshire?
A Richard Dyson-Harvish B James Dyson
C Roberto Hroval
10 In the German fairytale, what do Hansel and Gretel first use to make a trail in order to be able to find their way back out of the woods?
A Colourful leaves
B Bread crumbs
C White pebbles
11 By what other name is the Aurora Australis known?
A The southern lights
B The twilight phenomenon C The northern lights
12 What type of structure is an oubliette?
A A dungeon
B A fort
C A type of tower 13 What is the name of the unit of measurement used to assess the purity of gold alloys?
A Grain
B Tola
C Carat
14 What colour is a polar bear’s skin?
A White
B Black
C Transparent
15 In which direction does a stalactite grow? A Downwards
B Upwards
C Sideways
16 According to urban legend, to which catastrophic event in British history does the nursery rhyme “Ring a ring o’ roses” relate?
A The English Civil War
B The Great Fire of London C The Black Death (or Great Plague)
17 In which part of the body are the metatarsal bones to be found?
A The foot
B The skull
C The hand
18 In the First World War, what game was played between soldiers from both sides during a temporary truce on Christmas Day 1914?
A Baseball
B Football
C Chess
19 What is the largest mammal in the world, reaching up to 35 metres in length?
A The giraffe
B The blue whale
C The elephant
20 Which athlete holds the world records for both the 100m and the 200m?
A Usain Bolt
B Carl Lewis
C Michael Johnson