Q 01/05

The name Singapura, from which Singapore comes, means what in Sanskrit?

A) Golden port

B) Lion city

C) Island of pearls

D) Southern gate

Answer · why

B) Lion city

Lion city: in the Malay Annals, prince Sang Nila Utama saw a strange beast on the island, was told it was a lion, and founded his city there.

Q 02/05

What was the island called before it became Singapura, according to the Malay Annals?

A) Temasek

B) Melaka

C) Riau

D) Johor

Answer · why

A) Temasek

Temasek: in the Annals, a storm nearly sank Sang Nila Utama's ship on the way there, and it calmed only when his crown was thrown overboard.

Q 03/05

Roughly how far north of the equator is Singapore?

A) One degree

B) Three degrees

C) Ten degrees

D) Thirty degrees

Answer · why

A) One degree

One degree: that puts Singapore so close to the equator that its temperatures stay high and nearly uniform all year round.

Q 04/05

Raffles set up Singapore's 1819 trading post for which company?

A) The Dutch East India Company

B) The East India Company

C) Jardine Matheson

D) Straits Trading

Answer · why

B) The East India Company

The East India Company: its treaty paid Sultan Hussein and the Temenggong in return for the right to set up the post.

Q 05/05

Besides founding modern Singapore, Stamford Raffles was the first president of which institution?

A) The Royal Geographical Society

B) The Zoological Society of London

C) The British Museum

D) The Linnean Society of London

Answer · why

B) The Zoological Society of London

The Zoological Society of London: Raffles died suddenly in July 1826, only months after its founding and nearly two years before its zoo opened.