1,000 trivia questions and answers: literature & arts
Questions 701–800 of 1,000. Answer, explanation and source under each one.
Literature & arts trivia questions 701–750
Q 701Joanne Rowling's publisher asked her to use two initials; whose name supplied the second one?
- AJessica, her daughter
- BDianne, her sister
- CAnne, her mother
- DKathleen, her grandmother
Show answer
Kathleen, her grandmother
Kathleen, her paternal grandmother, gave the K because Rowling has no middle name; staff feared boys wouldn't pick up a book by a woman.
Q 702Upton Sinclair's exposé The Brass Check attacked what, four years before journalists adopted their first code of ethics?
- AThe coal barons
- BThe newspapers
- CThe movie studios
- DThe oil companies
Show answer
The newspapers
The newspapers, and the Associated Press wire with them; Sinclair called it "the most important and most dangerous book I have ever written".
Q 703How old is Tai Bibi, the Karachi prostitute Saleem visits?
- A99
- B1,001
- C512
- D256
Show answer
512
She can change her body smell at will and mimic the smell of others.
Q 704Which writer took Pulitzers for a novel, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, and for the play Our Town?
- ASinclair Lewis
- BMarc Connelly
- CEdna Ferber
- DThornton Wilder
Show answer
Thornton Wilder
Thornton Wilder won three Pulitzers in all, adding a second drama prize in 1943 for The Skin of Our Teeth.
Q 705Which Norse deities are associated with fertility, peace and prosperity, in contrast to the warlike Æsir?
- AVanir
- BDvergar
- CÁlfar
- DJötnar
Show answer
Vanir
The Vanir are a group of Norse deities primarily associated with fertility, wisdom, and foresight, often in contrast to the more warlike Æsir.
Q 706Yiddish, the Ashkenazi language that grew out of medieval High German, is traditionally written in which alphabet?
- AHebrew
- BGreek
- CCyrillic
- DLatin
Show answer
Hebrew
Hebrew letters are used to write Yiddish even though its grammar and core vocabulary are Germanic; the language arose in the Holy Roman Empire and absorbed Mishnaic Hebrew and some Aramaic.
Q 707Which young woman who moved into the other half of his Hampstead house in 1819 became the love of Keats's life?
- AIsabella Jones
- BGeorgiana Wylie
- CFanny Keats
- DFanny Brawne
Show answer
Fanny Brawne
She shared her first name with both Keats's sister and mother.
Q 708In his letters to Agnes 'Nancy' McLehose, Burns signed himself with which pen name?
- ADamon
- BStrephon
- COrlando
- DSylvander
Show answer
Sylvander
She was 'Clarinda'; their final meeting in 1791 inspired 'Ae Fond Kiss'.
Q 709Which actress, who first played the part in 1785, became the legendary Lady Macbeth of the English stage?
- ASarah Siddons
- BDorothea Jordan
- CEllen Terry
- DPeg Woffington
Show answer
Sarah Siddons
A century later Ellen Terry's gentler reading flopped because audiences still expected the towering figure this actress had created.
Q 710Which science-fiction author based the city in her 1967 novel City of Illusions on the canyon?
- AAnne McCaffrey
- BUrsula K. Le Guin
- CMarion Zimmer Bradley
- DOctavia Butler
Show answer
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin set Es Toch, the Shing city of City of Illusions (1967), on the brink of a great canyon modelled on the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.
Q 711Where was Copenhagen's Little Mermaid statue displayed for six months, its first official trip off its rock?
- AShanghai, at Expo 2010
- BOdense, at the Andersen museum
- CLondon, at the Olympics
- DNew York, at the UN
Show answer
Shanghai, at Expo 2010
An authorised copy sat on a rock in Tivoli Gardens while it was away.
Q 712What had to be done in 2005 to some panels of Gehry's stainless-steel Walt Disney Concert Hall?
- ARepainted grey
- BLightly sanded
- CCovered in mesh
- DReplaced with stone
Show answer
Lightly sanded
The offending panels were lightly sanded in 2005 to kill the glare and heat the mirror polish was bouncing onto neighbouring apartments and the sidewalk; Lillian Disney's $50 million gift in 1987 had started the project.
Q 713To what trade is Oliver apprenticed after leaving the workhouse?
- AUndertaking
- BChimney sweeping
- CTailoring
- DRope making
Show answer
Undertaking
Mr Sowerberry takes him on; Oliver attends a pauper's funeral and sees a whole family crammed into one miserable room.
Q 714What was the original title of Schulz's weekly panel cartoon before United Features renamed it Peanuts?
- ALi'l Folks
- BSparky's Gang
- CGood Ol' Charlie Brown
- DLittle Brown
Show answer
Li'l Folks
The author of the retired 1930s strip Little Folks objected to the name, and Schulz never liked "Peanuts".
Q 715In the English translations, Roman names end in -us and British names often end in what?
- A-ax or -os, punning on taxes
- B-ing, punning on kings
- C-ton, punning on weights
- D-ford, punning on towns
Show answer
-ax or -os, punning on taxes
Examples include the chief Mykingdomforanos, the druid Valuaddedtax and the mercenary Selectivemploymentax.
Q 716Which Mississippi writer said of the Southern Gothic label, "They better not call me that!"?
- AFlannery O'Connor
- BCarson McCullers
- CEudora Welty
- DHarper Lee
Show answer
Eudora Welty
Her Jackson house is now a National Historic Landmark museum.
Q 717Which Oscar did the 1968 film Oliver! win at the 41st Academy Awards?
- ABest Picture
- BBest Cinematography
- CBest Original Song
- DBest Actor
Show answer
Best Picture
It took six awards from eleven nominations, including Best Director and an honorary award for choreographer Onna White.
Q 718Which festival surrounds the drunken consul in Malcolm Lowry's novel set on one November 1938 afternoon?
- AThe Day of the Dead
- BMexican Independence
- CThe Feast of Guadalupe
- DCinco de Mayo
Show answer
The Day of the Dead
Lowry rebuilt the book over four years and collected rejection after rejection before it finally found a publisher in 1947.
Q 719In 1949, Orwell gave a list of writers he considered pro-communist to which Foreign Office unit?
- AThe Secret Intelligence Service
- BThe Information Research Department
- CThe Overseas Information Service
- DThe Political Warfare Executive
Show answer
The Information Research Department
The list, handed to Celia Kirwan, was not published until 2003.
Q 720How many fan letters has the failed science fiction writer ever received?
- ATwelve
- BOne
- CHundreds
- DNone
Show answer
One
It came from Eliot Rosewater, who has a whole Vonnegut novel of his own.
Q 721Where does the frame story of Heart of Darkness take place?
- AOn the Congo estuary
- BOn the Thames near London
- CIn a Marseilles cafe
- DIn a Brussels office
Show answer
On the Thames near London
Marlow reminds his listeners that the Romans would have found savagery here nineteen hundred years earlier.
Q 722Who narrates The Great Gatsby?
- AJay Gatsby
- BTom Buchanan
- CNick Carraway
- DDaisy Buchanan
Show answer
Nick Carraway
Nick Carraway, Gatsby's neighbour and Daisy's cousin, tells the story; Fitzgerald weighed titles like Trimalchio and Among Ash Heaps and Millionaires before settling on The Great Gatsby.
Q 723Blek le Rat was caught by police in 1991 while stencilling a Madonna and Child by which painter?
- ACaravaggio
- BRaphael
- CBotticelli
- DTitian
Show answer
Caravaggio
After the arrest he switched to pre-stencilled posters, which are quicker to paste and carry lighter penalties.
Q 724What was Baldwin's first novel, published in 1953?
- AGo Tell It on the Mountain
- BGiovanni's Room
- CTell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone
- DAnother Country
Show answer
Go Tell It on the Mountain
Time magazine later listed it among the 100 best English-language novels since 1923.
Q 725Which 1949 novel depicted a regime using 'telescreens' for constant surveillance?
- ADarkness at Noon
- BFahrenheit 451
- CAtlas Shrugged
- DNineteen Eighty-Four
Show answer
Nineteen Eighty-Four
George Orwell's *Nineteen Eighty-Four* introduced concepts like omnipresent surveillance ('Big Brother'), thought police, and the alteration of history, which have become synonymous with totalitarianism.
Q 726Plath met Ted Hughes in February 1956 at a party launching which poetry magazine?
- AThe Cambridge Review
- BSt. Botolph's Review
- CDelta Quarterly
- DGranta Magazine
Show answer
St. Botolph's Review
She had read his poems in the magazine and wanted to meet him; they married four months later.
Q 727Anne saves Diana's baby sister Minnie May from which illness?
- AWhooping cough
- BScarlet fever
- CCroup
- DMeasles
Show answer
Croup
Her experience minding the Hammond twins pays off, and Mrs. Barry lifts the ban on the girls' friendship.
Q 728In the oldest ballads, what is Robin Hood's social class?
- AA yeoman
- BA knight
- CA dispossessed earl
- DA peasant
Show answer
A yeoman
Attempts to make him a nobleman began in the 16th century; Anthony Munday's plays made him the Earl of Huntingdon.
Q 729What was the fictional 'unsinkable' liner called in Morgan Robertson's 1898 novella?
- ABehemoth
- BTitan
- CColossus
- DLeviathan
Show answer
Titan
The book, Futility, came out 14 years before the real thing, and Robertson spent the rest of his life insisting the match was down to knowing shipbuilding trends, not clairvoyance.
Q 730Which composer wrote a Gulliver Suite for two violins with a Lilliputian chaconne?
- AJohann Sebastian Bach
- BAntonio Vivaldi
- CGeorg Philipp Telemann
- DGeorge Frideric Handel
Show answer
Georg Philipp Telemann
Written in 1728-29, it also pairs a loure of the 'well-mannered houyhnhnms' with a fury of the 'naughty yahoos'.
Q 731How was the painting saved when Allied bombs hit the refectory in August 1943?
- AIt was wrapped in canvas
- BIt had been moved to the Vatican
- CA steel shutter
- DProtective sandbagging
Show answer
Protective sandbagging
The wall stood while much of the room was wrecked; vibration may still have caused damage.
Q 732Which once-challenged novel about totalitarianism features Winston Smith?
- A1984
- BFahrenheit 451
- CThe Handmaid's Tale
- DBrave New World
Show answer
1984
George Orwell's dystopian novel '1984' has faced numerous challenges over the decades for its political themes, but its warnings about government control and surveillance have made it a vital text in education.
Q 733Who played the heroine in the 2020 film Emma.?
- AFlorence Pugh
- BSaoirse Ronan
- CLily James
- DAnya Taylor-Joy
Show answer
Anya Taylor-Joy
Johnny Flynn, Josh O'Connor, Mia Goth, Miranda Hart and Bill Nighy filled out the cast.
Q 734Which comics character's success in the 1960s increasingly annoyed Hergé, according to his biographers?
- ALucky Luke
- BAsterix
- CBlake and Mortimer
- DSpirou
Show answer
Asterix
Commentators had begun describing Goscinny and Uderzo's Gaul as eclipsing Tintin.
Q 735The three Robo-Boogers, Carl, Trixie and Frankenbooger, share a weakness to what?
- ATissues
- BOranges
- CLoud music
- DSalt water
Show answer
Oranges
Captain Underpants uses it to destroy the rampaging trio of living mucus, which grow bigger and more evil whenever they eat.
Q 736Helmholtz Watson's first name is derived from a physicist of which nationality?
- ADanish
- BDutch
- CGerman
- DSwiss
Show answer
German
Hermann von Helmholtz lends his surname to the disaffected lecturer at the College of Emotional Engineering.
Q 737What is the name of the kindly librarian in Roald Dahl's Matilda?
- AMiss Plimsoll
- BMiss Pringle
- CMrs Phelps
- DMrs Perkins
Show answer
Mrs Phelps
Mrs Phelps is the village librarian who guides four-year-old Matilda to Dickens and other classics; Dahl modelled her library on the real one in Great Missenden, the Buckinghamshire village where he lived.
Q 738Homer's Odyssey follows Odysseus's journey home to which island kingdom?
- ACrete
- BSparta
- CIthaca
- DTroy
Show answer
Ithaca
Odysseus spends a decade returning to Ithaca, where Penelope holds off her suitors; like the Iliad the poem has 24 books, and the hero's Latin name is Ulysses.
Q 739What did Charlotte do to The Tenant of Wildfell Hall after Anne's death?
- ARewrote its ending to soften the husband
- BHad it translated into French for Héger
- CPrevented its republication in England until 1854
- DPublished it again under her own name
Show answer
Prevented its republication in England until 1854
She thought the book 'a mistake', which damaged Anne's reputation for decades.
Q 740Which American poet wrote "Because I could not stop for Death" and lived most of her life in seclusion?
- ASylvia Plath
- BEmily Dickinson
- CElizabeth Bishop
- DEdna St. Vincent Millay
Show answer
Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) wrote nearly 1,800 poems, most published posthumously. She lived a largely reclusive life in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Q 741Emperor Jimmu's legendary ascension is traditionally dated to which year?
- A250 BCE
- B500 BCE
- C400 BCE
- D660 BCE
Show answer
660 BCE
Japan marks it as National Foundation Day on 11 February.
Q 742The drink name 'punch' is commonly traced to a Hindi word meaning which number?
- ATen
- BSeven
- CFive
- DThree
Show answer
Five
Five ingredients made the classic recipe: alcohol, sugar, lime or lemon juice, water and spices.
Q 743Which comic novelist was knighted in the New Year Honours aged 93, then died at a Long Island hospital six weeks later?
- AEvelyn Waugh
- BJ. B. Priestley
- CP. G. Wodehouse
- DGraham Greene
Show answer
P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse's KBE was secured by Harold Wilson, and The Times read it as 'official forgiveness for his wartime indiscretion'. He died of a heart attack on 14 February.
Q 744How many senses did the 1989 OED give the verb 'set', the record holder for most meanings?
- A860
- B580
- C645
- D430
Show answer
430
The record has never been updated because Guinness pinned it to the Second Edition, published long before the online revision overtook it.
Q 745Which famous boy devotee of Vishnu, protected from his own murderous father, was the grandfather of King Mahabali?
- ANachiketa
- BMarkandeya
- CDhruva
- DPrahlada
Show answer
Prahlada
Prahlada was Mahabali's grandfather, making the Onam king a descendant of the sage Kashyapa and the heir of one of Vishnu's most devoted families, which is why the asura is remembered as noble rather than wicked.
Q 746The oldest known written graffito, from around 500 BC, was found on an island of which country?
- AGreece
- BTurkey
- CItaly
- DEgypt
Show answer
Greece
It turned up on Astypalaia in the Dodecanese; ancient graffiti were usually cut into walls with a sharp point.
Q 747Which phrase ends the inscription on the gate of Hell in Canto III?
- ABefore me nothing was created
- BJustice moved my high maker
- CThrough me the way into the suffering city
- DAbandon all hope, ye who enter here
Show answer
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here
The Italian is 'Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate'.
Q 748Which teacher turns out to be hiding Voldemort under his turban?
- AProfessor Quirrell
- BProfessor Flitwick
- CProfessor Binns
- DProfessor Snape
Show answer
Professor Quirrell
Professor Quirrell, the stammering Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, carries Voldemort's face on the back of his head beneath the turban, and he was the one jinxing Harry's broom.
Q 749In the 1954 film, the Inspector's surname was changed from Goole to what?
- ADoyle
- BPoole
- CCoyle
- DHoole
Show answer
Poole
Poole replaced Goole on screen, dropping the ghostly pun, and in the film it is Gerald who discovers no such officer exists in the town.
Q 750Which team took over the series in 2013?
- AZep and Lewis Trondheim
- BFabcaro and Didier Conrad
- CJean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad
- DJoann Sfar and Riad Sattouf
Show answer
Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad
Fabcaro replaced Ferri as writer for volumes 40 and 41.
Literature & arts trivia questions 751–800
Q 751Where was Melville buried after his death in September 1891?
- ATrinity Churchyard, Manhattan
- BSleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord
- CWoodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx
- DPittsfield Cemetery
Show answer
Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx
His death certificate gave 'cardiac dilation' as the cause.
Q 752Which condition does Louis, hero of E. B. White's The Trumpet of the Swan, overcome by learning the trumpet?
- ABorn without a voice
- BBorn with a crooked wing
- CBorn unable to swim
- DBorn unable to fly
Show answer
Born without a voice
Born without a voice, Louis cannot make the trumpeting call swans use to court a mate, so the cob steals him a brass trumpet as a substitute.
Q 753Malcolm flees to England after his father's murder. Where does his brother Donalbain go?
- AIreland
- BNorway
- CWales
- DFrance
Show answer
Ireland
Splitting up, Donalbain says, keeps them both safer where 'there's daggers in men's smiles'.
Q 754Which black actor's 1943 Broadway Othello, directed by Margaret Webster, was a theatrical landmark?
- APaul Robeson
- BJames Earl Jones
- CCanada Lee
- DIra Aldridge
Show answer
Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson's 1943 Othello ran 296 performances, a Broadway record for Shakespeare; José Ferrer was Iago, and Robeson had first played the part in London in 1930.
Q 755Which pair of characters recite 'The Walrus and the Carpenter' to Alice?
- AThe White King and White Queen
- BThe Lion and the Unicorn
- CHumpty Dumpty and the Gnat
- DTweedledum and Tweedledee
Show answer
Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Tweedledum and Tweedledee recite the poem; in Disney's 1951 film J. Pat O'Malley voiced both twins as well as the Walrus and the Carpenter.
Q 756Charles Thomas Wooldridge, whose hanging inspired The Ballad of Reading Gaol, had murdered whom?
- AA moneylender
- BHis commanding officer
- CA fellow prisoner
- DHis wife
Show answer
His wife
It was the first hanging at Reading in 18 years; the poem's refrain holds that 'each man kills the thing he loves'.
Q 757Quinn attended which Connecticut boarding school before university?
- AChoate Rosemary Hall
- BHotchkiss
- CTaft
- DKent
Show answer
Q 758Where do Eragon and Saphira hide from the Ra'zac after fleeing the farm?
- AThe Hadarac Desert
- BThe Beor Mountains
- CThe Spine
- DDu Weldenvarden
Show answer
Q 759At the end of the novel Zhu Bajie, held back by his greed, receives what heavenly post?
- AAn arhat
- BA nāga king
- CA bodhisattva
- DAltar cleanser
Show answer
Altar cleanser
He gets to eat the excess offerings at altars; Wukong and Sanzang become Buddhas and Sandy an arhat.
Q 760Who translated Eva Luna and City of the Beasts into English?
- AGregory Rabassa
- BMargaret Sayers Peden
- CNick Caistor
- DEdith Grossman
Show answer
Q 761How can a master free a house-elf?
- ABy paying a Galleon
- BBy giving it an item of clothing
- CBy breaking its wand
- DBy saying its name backwards
Show answer
By giving it an item of clothing
Harry tricks Lucius Malfoy into freeing Dobby with a sock; Hermione's SPEW campaigns for elf welfare.
Q 762James Joyce's Ulysses follows three Dubliners over the course of a single day in which year?
- A1916
- B1904
- C1922
- D1912
Show answer
1904
That date, 16 June, is now celebrated every year as Bloomsday.
Q 763The Testament of Doctor Cordelier (1959) retells which classic novella in 1950s France?
- AThe Island of Doctor Moreau
- BStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
- CThe Picture of Dorian Gray
- DFrankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
Show answer
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Jean-Louis Barrault plays both Cordelier and his alter ego Opale.
Q 764What steals the plant of youth while Gilgamesh bathes?
- AA raven
- BA lion
- CA scorpion
- DA serpent
Show answer
A serpent
It sheds its skin as it slithers away, which was the ancient explanation of why snakes renew themselves.
Q 765Which British dramatist, whose play The Birthday Party closed after eight performances, won the 2005 Nobel Prize?
- ATom Stoppard
- BHarold Pinter
- CAlan Bennett
- DDavid Hare
Show answer
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter's flop was rescued by an enthusiastic review from critic Harold Hobson, and the playwright later collected France's Légion d'honneur in 2007.
Q 766Which newspaper sued to have Lee's will made public after her death?
- AThe Washington Post
- BThe New York Times
- CThe Birmingham News
- DThe Guardian
Show answer
The New York Times
Unsealed in 2018, it left most of her assets to a trust formed in 2011.
Q 767Geisel's birthday, March 2, is celebrated in US schools as the date of which annual reading event?
- ADrop Everything and Read Day
- BRead Across America Day
- CWorld Book Day
- DNational Library Week
Show answer
Read Across America Day
The National Education Association launched it in 1998, and since 2017 has broadened the focus to diverse books rather than Seuss alone.
Q 768In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Marlow travels upriver in search of which ivory trader?
- AMarlow's uncle
- BThe Manager
- CKurtz
- DFresleven
Show answer
Kurtz
Kurtz, the Inner Station's ivory agent, has set himself up as a god among the locals; the novella inspired Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now.
Q 769How does Napoleon finally drive Snowball off the farm?
- AHe has him voted out
- BHe sets his dogs on him
- CHe poisons his food
- DHe frames him for theft
Show answer
He sets his dogs on him
The dogs were puppies he had taken from Jessie and Bluebell and raised in secret as his security force.
Q 770Who compiled the Leiden text (1984-1994), a critical edition of the Syrian recension?
- AHusain Haddawy
- BMuhsin Mahdi
- CIbn al-Nadim
- DDuncan McDonald
Show answer
Muhsin Mahdi
Mahdi argued it is the earliest extant version, a view most scholars have since accepted.
Q 771Black Beauty (1877) is credited with ending which fashionable Victorian practice?
- ARacing horses at two years old
- BWhipping London's cab horses
- CDocking horses' tails for show
- DThe bearing rein that held heads up
Show answer
The bearing rein that held heads up
The strap looked smart in Hyde Park but damaged the animal's neck; the novel has since sold around fifty million copies.
Q 772Which character is usually tied up and gagged at the feast that ends most albums?
- AUnhygienix the fishmonger
- BFulliautomatix the smith
- CGeriatrix the elder
- DCacofonix the bard
Show answer
Cacofonix the bard
In Asterix and the Normans it was the blacksmith who ended up tied up instead.
Q 773Which two adults object that Sirius treats Harry as if he were James?
- ALupin and Molly Weasley
- BMoody and Tonks
- CDumbledore and Hagrid
- DSnape and McGonagall
Show answer
Lupin and Molly Weasley
Rowling's own verdict: what Harry craves is a father, but Sirius never really grew up.
Q 774In The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, what do the cousins carry home in Peter's handkerchief as a present for his mother?
- ARadishes
- BOnions
- CCarrots
- DTurnips
Show answer
Onions
Onions are the peace offering for Mrs Rabbit, and the boys also get Peter's lost clothes back from the scarecrow; a cat sits on the basket they hide under for five hours.
Q 775Who narrates the UK audiobook, which runs about 24 hours?
- AKenneth Branagh
- BStephen Fry
- CJim Dale
- DHugh Laurie
Show answer
Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry narrates the UK Bloomsbury audiobook, about 24 hours long; Jim Dale's US recording won a 2008 Grammy and set a record with 146 distinct character voices.
Q 776The Atlantis Paradise Island resort, opened in 1998 with its Royal Towers, is in which country?
- AJamaica
- BBermuda
- CThe Maldives
- DThe Bahamas
Show answer
The Bahamas
South African hotelier Sol Kerzner bought the old Paradise Island Hotel in 1994 and rebranded it.
Q 777A misfiring stage cannon during which Shakespeare play burned the Globe Theatre to the ground on 29 June 1613?
- ARichard III
- BHenry V
- CJulius Caesar
- DHenry VIII
Show answer
Henry VIII
Henry VIII was being staged when the cannon set the wooden beams and thatch alight; the Globe had been built in 1599 from the timbers of an earlier Shoreditch playhouse, and a second Globe stood on the site by June 1614.
Q 778Whom does Macbeth kill right after Duncan's body is found, before they can protest innocence?
- ATwo Norwegian prisoners
- BBanquo's grooms
- CThe king's servants
- DThe two porters
Show answer
The king's servants
Lady Macbeth had smeared them with blood and planted the daggers, so silencing them completed the frame-up.
Q 779Aboard which new aircraft carrier did Heinlein serve in radio communications in 1931?
- AUSS Enterprise
- BUSS Yorktown
- CUSS Saratoga
- DUSS Lexington
Show answer
USS Lexington
Its captain, Ernest J. King, later commanded the whole US Fleet in World War II.
Q 780In Stephen King's novella, Ellis 'Red' Redding, played on film by Morgan Freeman in The Shawshank Redemption, is what?
- AAfrican-American
- BIrish-American
- CItalian-American
- DFrench-Canadian
Show answer
Irish-American
Irish-American is how the novella describes Ellis 'Red' Redding, a 57-year-old inmate of Shawshank State Prison in Maine who narrates the story that Freeman's 1994 performance made famous.
Q 781Martin dropped the working title A Time for Wolves; what is the planned seventh and final Ice and Fire novel called?
- AA Dream of Spring
- BA Feast for Crows
- CThe Winds of Winter
- DA Storm of Swords
Show answer
A Dream of Spring
A Dream of Spring was chosen in 2006 to replace A Time for Wolves, which Martin disliked; it follows the sixth book, The Winds of Winter.
Q 782Plath's father Otto, a Boston University biology professor, wrote a 1934 book about which insects?
- AButterflies
- BAnts
- CTermites
- DBumblebees
Show answer
Bumblebees
His death in 1940, a week and a half after her eighth birthday, haunts poems including 'Daddy' and 'The Colossus'.
Q 783Which two historic buildings were the principal filming locations for Hogwarts?
- AWarwick Castle and Wells Cathedral
- BWindsor Castle and Canterbury Cathedral
- CAlnwick Castle and Gloucester Cathedral
- DEdinburgh Castle and York Minster
Show answer
Alnwick Castle and Gloucester Cathedral
Alnwick Castle and Gloucester Cathedral provided the main Hogwarts exteriors and cloisters; Durham Cathedral supplied corridors and a classroom, and Oxford's Bodleian became the library.
Q 784Oliver Twist was which of Charles Dickens's novels?
- AHis second
- BHis last
- CHis fifth
- DHis first
Show answer
His second
It followed The Pickwick Papers and was serialised in a monthly magazine from 1837 to 1839 under his pen name Boz.
Q 785Who made Stupendous Man's mask and cape?
- AMiss Wormwood
- BSusie Derkins
- CCalvin's mother
- DHobbes himself
Show answer
Calvin's mother
Stupendous Man narrates his own adventures and claims powers including muscles of magnitude and a stomach of steel, yet Calvin insists the two are different people.
Q 786Caravaggio painted his Medusa on what unusual support?
- AA church door
- BA marble slab
- CA circular wooden shield
- DA copper plate
Show answer
A circular wooden shield
It was commissioned by Cardinal del Monte as a gift for Ferdinando I de' Medici and hangs in the Uffizi.
Q 787How much does Lucy charge for advice at her psychiatric booth in Peanuts?
- AOne cent
- BA quarter
- CTen cents
- DFive cents
Show answer
Five cents
The booth parodies a lemonade stand; one real psychiatrist called Lucy "very much the modern doctor".
Q 788Which edible ingredient was part of the 2014 Bari artworks a cleaner handed to the bin men?
- ABreadcrumbs
- BDried pasta
- CSpilled popcorn
- DBroken biscuits
Show answer
Broken biscuits
The refuse truck had already driven off, so the roughly €10,000 of art was gone for good and the cleaning firm's insurer picked up the bill.
Q 789W. B. Yeats is buried at Drumcliff in which county?
- ASligo
- BLeitrim
- CMayo
- DDonegal
Show answer
Sligo
He died in France in 1939 and asked to be quietly reburied in Sligo once the newspapers had forgotten him; an Irish Navy corvette brought him home in 1948.
Q 790Where does Gerald Croft admit he first met Eva Smith, by then driven to prostitution?
- AThe Palace Bar
- BThe Empire Theatre
- CThe Grand Hotel lounge
- DThe Crown Inn
Show answer
The Palace Bar
The Palace Bar is also where Eric later met her after a drinking spree, so the same seedy venue links both young men to her fall.
Q 791The beast of Heracles' seventh labour escaped from Eurystheus and became known as what?
- AThe Nemean Bull
- BThe Attic Bull
- CThe Marathonian Bull
- DThe Bull of Argos
Show answer
The Marathonian Bull
Theseus later captured it, sheltering from a storm on the way at the hut of an old woman named Hecale.
Q 792Which Puri festival, whose huge temple cars are hard to stop once rolling, gave English the word 'juggernaut'?
- ADurga Puja
- BChhath Puja
- CMakar Sankranti
- DRath Yatra
Show answer
Rath Yatra
Rath Yatra's wooden chariots for Jagannath and his siblings are so heavy that, once set in motion, they are difficult to stop or steer, which is how 'Jagannath' became the English 'juggernaut'.
Q 793Which is the only completed adventure that Hergé never redrew in colour?
- ATintin in America
- BTintin in the Land of the Soviets
- CTintin in the Congo
- DCigars of the Pharaoh
Show answer
Tintin in the Land of the Soviets
He began redrawing his early adventures in colour from 1942 but decided against reworking his crude first effort.
Q 794Where does Eve first see and admire her own reflection immediately after she is made?
- AIn a mirror of polished gold
- BIn a lake
- CIn Adam's eyes
- DIn a stream in Hell
Show answer
In a lake
Eve wakes beside a lake in Book 4, gazes at her own reflection and is drawn to it until a voice leads her to Adam, whom she first finds 'less fair'.
Q 795In Invincible, what toll does Monster Girl pay every time she changes into her hulking ogre form?
- AShe cannot speak
- BShe grows younger
- CShe goes blind briefly
- DShe loses a memory
Show answer
She grows younger
She grows younger with each transformation, a curse that leaves a grown woman looking like a child until her teammate Rudy engineers a fix.
Q 796In the first album, what does the potion Getafix tricks the Romans into drinking do?
- AShrinks them to child size
- BMakes them fall asleep for a week
- CMakes their hair and beards grow at speed
- DTurns them into boars
Show answer
Makes their hair and beards grow at speed
Centurion Crismus Bonus had sent a spy into the village to learn the secret of the Gauls' strength.
Q 797Amaterasu's grandson who descended to rule the earth was called what?
- ANinigi
- BHoori
- CJimmu
- DŌkuninushi
Show answer
Ninigi
He brought the Three Sacred Treasures and is great-grandfather of the first emperor.
Q 798In the final book, the adult Harold is shown with a husband of what name?
- ADanny
- BBilly
- CTimmy
- DBobby
Show answer
Billy
Scholar Thomas Crisp noted a teacher could skip the single word 'husband' when reading aloud; one Michigan school pulled the book from a fair in 2015.
Q 799What does Pi use to signal the tiger during training?
- AA drum
- BA whistle
- CA mirror
- DA flare
Show answer
A whistle
Food is the reward and seasickness the punishment; Pi makes himself the alpha animal.
Q 800Which of these completes the famously long first sentence of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities?
- A...and in those contrasting times, two cities stood on the brink of revolution, unaware of their intertwined fates.
- B...a time of great upheaval and profound change, where the old order crumbled and a new one struggled to be born.
- C...yet through it all, the human spirit endured, seeking hope amidst the despair and light within the darkness.
- D...in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
Show answer
...in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
After some 85 words of paired opposites, Dickens ends: '…in short, the period was so far like the present period', telling readers the 1770s mirrored their own day.
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