Intermediate Practice Pack #1 Flashcards
What is the chemical symbol of sodium?
Na
In July of 2006, thousands of expatriate Canadians were evacuated from what country because of war?
Lebanon
Name the largest cat in the Americas, now confined to remote areas of Central and South America.
jaguar (or Panthera onca)
You have just been contacted by the IRS. What does this American institution’s initials stand for?
Internal Revenue Service
According to legend, what giant statue, an ancient wonder, stood astride the harbour of the Dodecanesean island for which it is named?
Colossus (of Rhodes)
Name the Greek cynic philosopher who carried a lantern in broad daylight in order to search for an “honest man.”
Diogenes
Alexander the Great is often pictured with his favourite horse, that went by what name?
Bucephalus
Sometimes classified as a fruit because of how it is used in cooking, what vegetable’s red stalks end with poisonous leaves?
rhubarb
A cross between a cabbage and a turnip, this root vegetable with a name beginning with ‘R’ is also called the yellow turnip, Swede, or neep.
rutabaga
A long cylinder similar to an onion, this vegetable is a symbol of the country of Wales.
leek
This green shoot vegetable, beginning with the letter ‘A’ is one of the oldest cultivated vegetables, known for its diuretic properties.
asparagus
What is the national bird of the United States of America?
bald eagle (prompt on eagle)
In 1972, the United States banned what insecticide that inadvertently caused bald eagle eggshells to develop too thin to survive to hatching?
DDT (dicholoro diphenyl trichloroethane)
The bald eagle is a sea eagle. Name the land eagle characterized by brownish colour, purple glossy plumage, and yellow dapples on the head and neck.
golden eagle
The golden eagle stands on a cactus and holds a snake in its beak in the flag of what country? It is also the nation’s national bird.
Mexico
Name the two landlocked countries found in South America.
Bolivia and Paraguay
What is the feminine form of the French word “bon?”
bonne
What is the feminine form of the French word “époux?”
épouse
What is the feminine form of the French word “élégant?”
élégante
What is the feminine form of the French word “blanc?”
blanche
What is the feminine form of the French word “vieux?”
vieille
What is the feminine form of the French word “étudiant?”
étudiante
What is the feminine form of the French word “chanteur?”
chanteuse
What is the feminine form of the French word “gros?”
grosse
What is the name for an eyeglass for only one eye?
monocle
This is a frame with one wheel at one end and two handles at the other. It is used for carrying loads.
wheelbarrow
What cousin of the bicycle, often seen at the circus, has only one wheel?
unicycle
Luxo Lamp Jr. is the mascot of what movie studio, purchased by Disney in 2006?
Pixar
What city became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire in 330 CE?
Constantinople (do not accept Istanbul or Byzantium)
The sirocco originates over North Africa and crosses north into the Mediterranean. What type of weather phenomenon is it?
wind
What do we call the dentine substance that makes up the tusks of an elephant?
ivory
Name any one of the U.S. states in which you could visit the Mojave Desert.
California, Nevada, Arizona, or Utah
This type of cuckoo is sometimes known as the chaparral cock. It is often seen in cartoons
roadrunner
By what abbreviation is the audio file format MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 better known?
MP3
In what city is the Louvre Museum?
Paris
I was born on July 24, 1783 in Caracas, the son of an aristocrat. As a teenager I was sent to Europe to complete my education. My childhood tutor, Simon Rodrigues, introduced me to rationalist thinkers like Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Voltaire. These writers inspired in me a desire to see my homeland set free. Upon my return to South America, I began a military campaign to free my people from Spanish rule and I eventually led successful revolutions in six countries. In gratitude for my efforts I earned the name “The Liberator” or “El Libertado” and the former colony of Upper Peru was renamed in my honour. Who am I?
Simon Bolivar
Which item does not belong: khaki, mohair, llama, hopsack, skiing?
skiing (the rest are textiles)
Which item does not belong: hootch, boullabaise, chow mein, dimsum?
hootch (the rest are foods)
Which item does not belong: stilton, pasta, gouda, provolone, feta?
pasta (the rest are cheeses)
In physics, what term means “the ability or capacity to do work?
energy
In Einstein’s equation for mass and energy, E equals m c squared, “c” represents what?
speed of light (prompt on light)
In the SI system, what is the name of the unit that expresses energy or work?
joule
One joule per second expresses what SI unit for power?
watt
In which 20th-century decade was the original “Star Wars” movie released?
1970s (1977)
In 2015, which American actor/director got his fourth Best Picture Oscar nomination for “American Sniper?”
Clint Eastwood
Sidney Poitier played the lead, and Lulu sang the titular theme song, in what 1967 film drama?
To Sir, With Love
What 2005 Tim Burton film, based on a children’s book, saw Johnny Depp in a role that Gene Wilder had played in 1971?
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
What large, dangerous African mammal spends up to 16 hours a day wading in rivers and lakes to escape the sun?
hippopotamus
What canal crosses Central America?
Panama Canal
What is the second month of the year?
February
A report of a sea monster in Scotland in 565 CE by St. Columba has been linked by some cryptozoologists to modern sightings of what marine creature?
Nessie (or the Loch Ness Monster)
Evaluate 2/3 - 5/6.
- 1/6
At the beginning of the War of 1812, who commanded the British and Canadian forces in Upper Canada?
Sir Isaac Brock
Lake Okeechobee is found in which U.S. state?
Florida
What small critter is mentioned as “not stirring” in the opening to “Twas the Night Before Christmas?”
mouse
Vexillology is that study of what?
flags
What Asian country has a red flag with one large yellow star in the centre?
Vietnam
What Asian country has a white flag with a blue and red circular “taeguk” symbol in the middle?
South Korea
What Mediterranean island nation has a white flag with a picture of the island above two olive branches?
Cyprus
For what figure is the area calculated using the formula pi times r squared?
circle
For what figure is the area calculated using the formula a times b times pi?
ellipse
For what figure is the area calculated using the formula 1/2 times base times height?
triangle
For what figure is the area calculated using the formula (a + b) times height over 2?
trapezoid
I am an insect found on every continent except Antarctica. I am of the order Isoptera and my body is rarely longer than one centimetre in length. I prefer to live in dark tunnels, only venturing out to find food or a new nesting site. There are over three thousand species of me. I am a social insect that lives in large colonies, constructed by some tropical species into distinctive mounds. I am a detrivore, feeding on discarded plant matter. As such, I am considered a pest by humans for my tendency to destroy wooden buildings. What am I?
termite
Boasting the Propylaea, the Erechtheum, and the Parthenon, what Athenian district’s name literally means “high city?”
Acropolis
Name the highest mountain in Africa.
Mount Kilimanjaro
What word can mean a musical group, a strip of metal, or a radio frequency?
band
What word can mean a Pope’s edict, a rising stock market, or a male bovine?
bull
What word can mean a photo, a comment, to speak sharply, or a card game?
snap
What word can mean a foot model, final, or endure?
last
The term for what type of internet annoyance is thought to derive from a Monty Python sketch, in which it came with every item on the menu?
spam
In the Canadian parliament, what do we call the Upper House?
Senate
The Capet family once ruled what country?
France
Linseed oil and linen are both made from what plant?
flax
In 1973, who refused to accept his Best Actor Oscar, instead sending actress Sacheen Littlefeather to the ceremony to protest Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans?
Marlon Brando
In 1513, who became the first European to lead a voyage to Florida?
Juan Ponce de Leon
Banff National Park was established in 1885. Name either of the Canadian national parks that were established the following year?
Glacier (National Park) or Yoho (National Park)
What do the Vietnamese call the Vietnam War?
The American War
or The War Against the Americans to Save the Nation
What addictive substance is the primary alkaloid of tobacco?
nicotine
What name is given to a social system in which familial and political authority is assumed by women?
matriarchy (or gynarchy)
Who was Secretary-General of the Soviet Union for 19 years before he became Premier?
Josef Stalin
Kabuki is an entertainment that combines music, dance, and mime that originated in what country?
Japan
What is the more common word for the feline tactile hairs known scientifically as vibrissae?
whiskers
Of all the nations with coastlines, which one has the shortest?
Monaco
