Season 4 - Week 1

Question 1

Which Russian poet and author established the literary journal Sovremennik (The Contemporary) in 1836? It was where he first published his historical novel Kapitanskaya dochka (The Captain’s Daughter) and narrative poem Mednyy vsadnik (The Bronze Horseman) before his death the following year.

Answer 1

Alexander Pushkin (Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin)

Question 2

The jazz standard ‘Autumn Leaves’ was composed by Joseph Kosma for Les Portes de la nuit (Gates of the Night), a collaboration between director Marcel Carné and screenwriter Jacques Prévert. Kosma had earlier provided the score to which film by Carné and Prévert that tells the story of four men who love a Parisian courtesan.

Answer 2

Les Enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise)

Question 3

Which European mountain range and Natural UNESCO World Heritage site is named for the sedimentary rock that makes up its landscapes? It is home to geological and palaeontological features of great importance, including some of the best conserved fossilised atolls and reefs of the Mesozoic era.

Answer 3

the Dolomites (Dolomiti; accept Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps)

Question 4

One of the few motifs common to the cultures of most Aboriginal Australian peoples is a snake associated with what atmospheric phenomenon? The two-headed dragon Hóng is associated with this phenomenon in Chinese mythology, and, in Norse mythology, the Bifrost bridge is made of this phenomenon.

Answer 4

rainbow

Question 5

Sometimes considered the first work in the analytical philosophy tradition, Begriffsschrift (Concept Script) is an 1879 book that sets out the titular system of logic. It is among the best-known works of which thinker?

Answer 5

Gottlob Frege

Question 6

In which 1905 novel, the first in a series set during the French Revolution, does the Englishman Percy Blakeney rescue condemned aristocrats before they can be sent to the guillotine?

Answer 6

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

Question 7

Apart from the two by Mozart, many of the most frequently played concertos for this instrument are by Vivaldi. In the 20th century it became a popular choice for solo pieces, such as Debussy’s Syrinx, and in Prokofiev’s Pétya i volk (Peter and the Wolf), it represents the bird. Which instrument?

Answer 7

flute

Question 8

Between 2015 and 2019, which comedian and actor played the President of Ukraine in the Ukrainian satirical TV series Sluha narodu (Servant of the People)? A little over three weeks after the last episode was broadcast this man was elected Ukrainian president for real.

Answer 8

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Question 9

The dynasty that ruled China from the 1270s to 1368 CE was founded by the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan, and was the first main Chinese dynasty that was not Han in origin. It is commonly known by what name?

Answer 9

Great Yuan dynasty (Yuáncháo, Dà Yuán)

Question 10

Which Byzantine emperor did the military commander Belisarius serve from 527 CE to 559 CE? He played a role in the suppression of the Nika riots in 532 CE and was later instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean territory belonging to the former Western Roman Empire.

Answer 10

Justinian I (or Justinian the Great, Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus)

Question 11

What is the most abundant organic polymer on earth? Made up of long chains of beta-linked D-glucose units, it is the main component of a plant’s cell wall.

Answer 11

cellulose

Question 12

What term for the fraction of light that is reflected by a body or surface is often associated with astronomy but is also an important consideration in climatology? In the Arctic, a decrease in such reflectivity has increased heat absorption and accelerated the melting of ice and glaciers.

Answer 12

albedo

Question 13

The name for which art movement, which developed in the late 1880s and is associated with painters such as Vincent Van Gogh, was coined in a review by art critic Roger Fry in 1906? As its name suggests, this art movement built on the ideas of a previous art movement, but it rejected that movement’s naturalistic depiction of light and colour.

Answer 13

Post-Impressionism (do not accept “Impressionism”)

Question 14

In the mythology of the Gamilaraay people of New South Wales, people become both mortal and afraid of snakes due to Bahloo, a god associated with which object? The Chinese goddess Chang’e and Greek goddess Selene are associated with this object.

Answer 14

the Moon

Question 15

In which European country did the comedian and actor Beppe Grillo found a populist political party known in English as the Five Star Movement, which is commonly abbreviated as M5S?

Answer 15

Italy (Italia)

Question 16

Many currencies, such as the lira, pound, and shekel, take their name from words referring to weights and measures. Another such example is what currency of Kazakhstan that was introduced in 1993 and takes its name from words meaning “set of scales”? This currency is divided into 100 tyin.

Answer 16

tenge

Question 17

Which Russian author first found fame when Sovremennik published his semi-autobiographical trilogy Détstvo (Childhood), Otrochestvo (Boyhood), and Yunost’ (Youth) between 1852 and ‘54? Sovremennik also published his Sevastópolʹskiye razskázy (Sevastopol Sketches), some of which formed the basis of episodes in a later epic novel.

Answer 17

Leo Tolstoy (Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy)

Question 18

Cellulose is an example of what type of compound, long-chain polymers composed of many units of simple sugars? These compounds may be used structurally, like cellulose, or for storage, like starch.

Answer 18

polysaccharide (accept polycarbohydrate, glycan)

Question 19

In physics, the Greek letter μ [mu] is used to symbolise many different quantities. Which property, symbolised by μ, represents the relation between the shear stress and the shear velocity of a fluid? It has units of Pascal-seconds.

Answer 19

viscosity

Question 20

In 534 CE, Belisarius led a successful conquest in North Africa that brought an end to the rule of which Germanic people led by Gelimer? Characterised by early-modern writers as prototypical barbarians, their most famous exploit was the plunder of Rome in 455 CE under Gaiseric.

Answer 20

Vandals

Question 21

Jazz pianist Herbie Hancock composed the score to which thriller directed by Michelangelo Antonioni? This film, which stars David Hemmings as a photographer in London, was based on a short story by Julio Cortázar.

Answer 21

Blowup

Question 22

Which mountain range has such a large extent that it comprises three separate UNESCO World Heritage sites? The “Western” branch borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the “Eastern” branch is in the Xinjiang region of China and the third is a 5,000 kilometre long section of the Silk Road.

Answer 22

Tian Shan mountains (Tiānshān Shānmài, Tengri Tagh, Tengir-Too, Dūn Hōng zhī Shān)

Question 23

Which book, first published in 1921, gives a nod to Frege’s influence on its author by using the term Begriffsschrift as a synonym for logical formalism? This book opens with the line “Die Welt ist alles, was der Fall ist.” (“The world is everything that is the case.”)

Answer 23

Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (accept Logisch-Philosophische Abhandlung or Logical-Philosophical Treatise)

Question 24

The title of the novel Quatrevingt-treize (Ninety-Three) refers to the year in which the counter-revolutionary revolt called the Chouannerie takes place, and tells of the fictional Marquis de Lantenac. It was the final novel of which author, also known for a novel set during the June Rebellion.

Answer 24

Victor Hugo

Question 25

In 540 CE, Belisarius besieged and negotiated the surrender of Ravenna, the capital of which Germanic people led by Vitiges? Originating from populations who settled in the Balkans after crossing the Lower Danube, they came to rule Italy after Theodoric the Great ousted Odoacer in 493 CE.

Answer 25

Ostrogoths (prompt on “Goths”)

Question 26

What is the currency of Mozambique? Its name derives from an Arabic word for a unit of mass equal to 4.25 grams that became an alternative term for a gold dinar. It is divided into 100 centavos.

Answer 26

metical

Question 27

Apart from the one by Mozart, the most popular concertos for this instrument are the two by Weber and those by Copland and Nielsen. Invented around 1700 as a modification of the chalumeau, and having the basset horn as a close relative, which instrument represents the cat in Pétya i volk (Peter and the Wolf)?

Answer 27

clarinet

Question 28

The Yuan dynasty avoided using ethnic Chinese in high positions of state, instead importing administrators from Persia and Central Asia. These became the main ancestors of China’s second largest modern ethnic minority after the Zhuang. Mostly Muslims, these people are known by what three-letter name*?

Answer 28

Hui [hway] (Huízú)

Question 29

Which artist once painted a portrait of his fellow post-Impressionist Van Gogh, but is perhaps better known for his Synthesist-style paintings of landscapes and people in Tahiti, French Polynesia?

Answer 29

Paul Gauguin

Question 30

Which mountain range in Northern Ethiopia is home to the highest peak in the country, Ras Dashan? The name is shared by a National Park which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and is home to globally threatened species such as the Walia ibex, the Ethiopian wolf and a fox that shares the name of the mountain range.

Answer 30

Simien mountains (or Simen, Semien)

Question 31

Which Russian-Ukrainian author was recruited by Pushkin to work at Sovremennik, where he published his satirical short story Nos (The Nose) in 1836? Pushkin also suggested the plot of this author’s novel Mjórtvyje dúshi (Dead Souls), which this author was moved to write after Pushkin’s death.

Answer 31

Nikolai Gogol (accept Nikolay Vasilʹyevich Yanovsky, Mykola Vasylʹovych Hoholʹ)

Question 32

Wittgenstein’s Tractatus only adopted its now-famous Latin title when translated into English. The change was suggested by which English philosopher as an homage to Spinoza’s Tractatus Theologico-Politicus? This man wrote the Principia Ethica and A Defence of Common Sense, in the latter of which he attacked philosophical scepticism with his famous “Here is one hand” argument.

Answer 32

G. E. Moore (George Edward Moore)

Question 33

Changing albedo may be one of the contributing factors to the thawing of what layer of soil that is defined as ground that has remained below 0 °C for at least two years?

Answer 33

permafrost

Question 34

The comedian and actor Maung Thura, better-known by his stage-name Zarganar, is known for his use of puns and double-entendres in his attacks against the military government in which country? In April 2021, Zarganar was arrested in his home in Yangon following this country’s coup d’état.

Answer 34

Myanmar or Burma

Question 35

Which physical property represented by mu, used extensively in mechanics but also in particle collision calculations, is given by the product of two masses divided by their sum?

Answer 35

reduced mass

Question 36

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn collaborated on a number of film scores. The first of these was which 1959 courtroom drama directed by Otto Preminger that featured an appearance from anti-McCarthyite lawyer Joseph N. Welch?

Answer 36

Anatomy of a Murder

Question 37

Which polysaccharide is composed of long chains of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, a derivative of glucose? This is the second most abundant polysaccharide on earth after cellulose, and is used in the exoskeletons of insects and the cell walls of fungi.

Answer 37

chitin [KY-tin]

Question 38

Which 1859 novel ends with the Englishman Sydney Carton on his way to the guillotine during the French Revolution, after he has taken the place of the husband of his beloved, Lucie Manette?

Answer 38

A Tale of Two Cities

Question 39

Which intensive property in a thermodynamic system represented by mu describes the change in energy with respect to the change of particle number?

Answer 39

chemical potential

Question 40

Miles Davis provided an improvised soundtrack to Ascenseur pour l’échafaud (Elevator to the Gallows or Lift to the Scaffold). The film was directed by which Frenchman, also known for My Dinner with André and co-directing Jacques Cousteau’s Le Monde du silence (The Silent World)?

Answer 40

Louis Malle

Question 41

Apart from the one by Mozart, the most popular concerto for this instrument may be the one by Alessandro Marcello, though Vivaldi, Handel and Richard Strauss also have claims. The play Angels in America describes its sound as “that of a duck if the duck were a songbird”, and indeed it represents the duck in Pétya i volk (Peter and the Wolf). Which instrument?

Answer 41

oboe

Question 42

Melting permafrost releases carbon into the atmosphere, both in the form of carbon dioxide and which greenhouse gas with the chemical formula CH4?

Answer 42

methane

Question 43

In the mythology of the Australian Ngarrindjeri people, Ngurunderi chases his wives to Kangaroo Island, where they become trapped by what type of event? In Chinese tradition, one of these events occurs in the reign of Emperor Yao, and one of these kills most of the population of Earth in the Book of Genesis.

Answer 43

great flood or deluge

Question 44

Which mountain range and natural UNESCO World Heritage site in New South Wales, Australia, gets its name from its apparent colour to human eyes? This effect is due to the evaporation of eucalyptus essential oil in the air, causing sunlight to scatter and allow shorter-wavelengths to propagate more easily.

Answer 44

Greater Blue mountains

Question 45

Which artist is sometimes known as the “Father of Post-Impressionism”? Perhaps best-known for his still-life and portrait paintings, including one of his close friend Émile Zola, his work Les Joueurs de cartes (The Card Players) is currently the third most expensive painting of all time.

Answer 45

Paul Cézanne

Question 46

Close contact with the rest of the Mongol empires led to new foods reaching China during the Yuan dynasty, such as which grain plant, originally native to the Sahel in Africa and the world’s fifth-largest cereal crop after maize, rice, wheat and barley?

Answer 46

sorghum (accept durra, jowar, milo, broomcorn, Guinea corn, great millet; but do not accept just “corn” or “millet”)

Question 47

Sovremennik only became profitable after Pushkin’s death under the editorship of Nikolay Nekrasov, who enlisted authors such as Alexender Herzen and Ivan Goncharov. Which other author recruited at this time published his short story collection Zapiski ohotnika (A Sportsman’s Sketches) in the journal? He is perhaps best-known today for the novel Otcy i deti (Fathers and Sons).

Answer 47

Ivan Turgenev (Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev)

Question 48

What currency of Madagascar has a name that is a corrupted form of a currency used in Spanish colonies? It is divided into five iraimbilanja, a Malagasy word meaning “one iron weight”.

Answer 48

ariary (the Spanish currency is “real”)

Question 49

Moore’s “Here is one hand argument” rests on his reversal of sceptical premises from being in the form of modus ponens to taking which other form? We are looking for a two-word Latin term given to the rule of logic that states that if a conditional statement (‘if p then q’) is accepted, and the consequent does not hold (not-q) then the negation of the antecedent (not-p) can be inferred.

Answer 49

modus tollens (accept modus tollendo tollens)

Question 50

Jiaochao was first introduced by the Jin dynasty in 1154, but then fell into disuse before the Yuan dynasty picked up the idea again in the next century. The practice was commented upon by Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta, and the term jiaochao refers to money made of which material?

Answer 50

paper

Question 51

Like albedo feedback and thawing permafrost another, potential irreversible ‘tipping point’ in the climate system is the collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, or AMOC. One feature of the AMOC is which warm ocean current that flows from a namesake body of water near the Americas toward Northwest Europe.

Answer 51

Gulf stream

Question 52

Which physical quantity, represented by mu, relates the magnetic flux density B with the magnetic field intensity H? When denoted as µ0 [mu nought] this is a physical constant used extensively in electromagnetism.

Answer 52

permeability

Question 53

Rising to fame in the TV series Moralejas, in which he starred alongside his brother, the actor and comedian Jimmy Morales served as the president of which country between 2016 and 2020? Morales’s tenure as president saw this country’s former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt convicted for crimes against humanity for his persecution of the Mayan people, some of whom escaped into neighbouring Mexico.

Answer 53

Guatemala

Question 54

In 559 CE, Belisarius came out of retirement to repel an incursion at Melantias by the Kutrigurs, who were the descendants of which nomadic people that originated from the east of the Volga? They carried out frequent and devastating raids into the Eastern Roman Empire between 370 CE to 453 CE.

Answer 54

Huns

Question 55

Which highly branched polysaccharide of glucose is sometimes called animal starch, although it is also used for storage in fungi as well as animals? This is the major store of carbohydrate energy in animals, and is most abundant in the liver and muscle cells.

Answer 55

glycogen (do not accept “glucagon”)

Question 56

The 1992 novel A Place of Greater Safety follows Georges Danton, Camille Desmoulins and Maximilien Robespierre, from their childhood through the French Revolution up to the execution of Danton and Desmoulins. Better-known for a historical trilogy, which British author wrote the novel?

Answer 56

Hilary Mantel

Question 57

The Malagasy ariary is one of only two world currencies not to use decimal subunits. The other is which currency of Mauritania that is divided into five khoums and has a name derived from an Arabic term for “ounce”.

Answer 57

ouguiya

Question 58

Which post-impressionist developed, alongside Paul Signac, his technique of creating images made up of coloured dots, now known as “pointillism”? His best known work is perhaps the large scale Un dimanche après-midi à l’Île de la Grande Jatte (A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte).

Answer 58

Georges Seurat

Question 59

The most frequently played concertos for this instrument may be the four by Mozart and the two by Richard Strauss. Unusually among instruments, one of the ways to modify its pitch is to put a hand inside it to decrease its effective size. This is which instrument, three of which represent the wolf in Pétya i volk (Peter and the Wolf)?

Answer 59

French horn (accept double horn, German horn)

Question 60

In the mythology of the Wurundjeri people of southern Australia, what does the Crow steal from the seven sisters known as the Karatgurk? In Chinese mythology, Zhùróng is associated with this, and in Greek mythology, Prometheus steals this from the gods as a gift to humankind.

Answer 60

fire