Q 01/05

Which Philippine volcano, on an island in a lake near Manila, erupted on January 12, 2020, for the first time since 1977?

A) Mayon

B) Pinatubo

C) Taal

D) Kanlaon

Answer · why

C) Taal

Taal threw ash over Metro Manila within hours, and the capital's main airport suspended every flight while people living around the lake were moved ou...

Q 02/05

Which retired NBA star died with his daughter Gianna in a January 2020 helicopter crash?

A) Dwyane Wade

B) Shaquille O'Neal

C) Kobe Bryant

D) Tim Duncan

Answer · why

C) Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant was one of nine people killed; investigators blamed the pilot's decision to keep flying into thick cloud, where he lost his bearings.

Q 03/05

Which trade agreement did the USMCA, signed into US law in January 2020, replace?

A) TPP

B) CAFTA

C) GATT

D) NAFTA

Answer · why

D) NAFTA

NAFTA had bound the three countries since 1994; Donald Trump, who called it perhaps the worst trade deal ever made, signed its replacement, which took...

Q 04/05

The UK's Brexit transition ended on December 31, 2020, under a trade deal agreed on which day?

A) Halloween

B) Christmas Eve

C) Boxing Day

D) New Year's Eve

Answer · why

B) Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve: the deal came 11 months after the UK left the EU and a week before the transition ran out, so Parliament rushed it through in a single ...

Q 05/05

The WHO named COVID-19 on February 11, 2020; what does the '19' in the name stand for?

A) The 19th coronavirus found

B) The year 2019

C) Its 19 known strains

D) The 19 countries first hit

Answer · why

B) The year 2019

The year 2019: CO is for corona, VI for virus and D for disease, and the WHO wanted a name that pointed at no place, animal or group of people.