| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| In the Book of Revelation, the New Jerusalem has this many gates, and Jesus's bride wears a crown containing this many stars. Jesus was this many years old when he was discovered by his parents asking questions to the scholars of the Temple after Passover. In the Bible, Jacob has this many sons, leading there to be this many tribes of Israel. For the point, give this number of disciples, or apostles, of Jesus. | twelve |
| William Hurt plays a teacher of people impacted by this condition in the film Children of a Lesser God. Frank and his son Leo, who have this condition, run a fishing business in a 2021 film directed by Sian Heder. The singer Ruby Rossi's family has this condition in the film CODA. For the point, The Miracle Worker depicts Helen Keller struggles to overcome blindness and what other condition? | deafness (accept descriptions like being unable to hear) |
| This author wrote about a woman who trades an incriminating letter for a stolen diamond brooch in the play An Ideal Husband. This author wrote a play titled for an alias adopted by Jack Worthing. In a novel by this author, Basil Hallward creates a portrait that ages with the sins of its subject. For the point, name this author of The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray. | Oscar Wilde |
| The "Double Thirds" one of these pieces in G minor calls for rapidly alternating chords of two notes in the right hand. The Opus 10 and Opus 25 of Frederic Chopin are comprised of these pieces, one of which is nicknamed "Revolutionary." Franz Liszt wrote a set of twelve of these pieces called "Transcendental." For the point, identify these challenging piano pieces named for a French word for "study." | etudes [[eh-TOOD]] (accept "Double Thirds Etude"; accept "Revolutionary Etude"; accept "Transcendental Etude") |
| This author recalled asking Eudora Welty about William Faulkner in a essay included in the recently-published collection Languages of Truth. This author wrote the memoir Joseph Anton, which is titled for a fake name that he used when he was persecuted for a novel in which Saladin Chamcha takes on the guise of the devil. For the point, what Indian author faced a fatwa for his novel The Satanic Verses? | Salman Rushdie |
| Giorgio Vasari claimed that this feature was "so pleasing that it was more divine than human," and relates how its creation involved hiring jesters and musicians to keep a merchant's wife perpetually happy. Julia Roberts played the art teacher Katherine Watson in a movie named for this feature. For the point, Leonardo da Vinci's anatomical drawings of lips informed his depiction of what enigmatic feature of a Renaissance portrait? | the Mona Lisa's smile (prompt on partial answers) |
| The artist Affandi was from this country. This country is the birthplace of theater in which puppets made of leather are used in all-day performances known as Wayang. The wavy Kris dagger is a ceremonial weapon from this country. This country contains the Buddhist temple of Borobodur, though today it is the most populous Muslim country in the world. Balinese cockfighting is sometimes depicted in the art of, for the point, what southeast Asian island nation? | Republic of Indonesia |
| This woman is abducted and held captive by the villain Maleagant, also known as Melwas. In some stories, this daughter of king Leodegran hides in the Tower of London and then in a convent to avoid becoming the consort of Mordred. In other stories, this woman willingly becomes Mordred's queen and conducts an affair with Sir Lancelot. For the point, name this medieval British queen and wife of King Arthur. | Guinevere |
| The Romance of the Rose was originally written in the Old form of this language. With Occitan, the Old variant of this language forms the primary output of poet-musicians known as Troubadours. The Song of Roland is an epic poem in the Old form of this language, and is an example of a genre of songs about heroic deeds, or chanson de geste. For the point, name this language spoken in the area of Bordeaux. | (Old) French (or français) |
| Amid funding cutbacks, Santiago Calatrava backed out of designing one of these buildings in Denver. Though today used as a hotel, Eero Saarinen's firm designed part of one of these buildings in which four Y-shaped piers support a three-tiered sloping shell roof. The TWA one of these buildings in New York City was partly shaped like a wing. For the point, name these buildings that serve as travel hubs for companies like United and Delta. | airports (prompt on "terminals" before "terminals"; prompt on "hotels" before "hotel") |
| A machinist mistakenly moves one of these objects, invoking the wrath of the manager in Luigi Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author. These objects form the plane of the proscenium, sometimes literally comprising a fourth wall. With the word "call," one of these objects provides an alternate name for a final bow. For the point, name these cloth objects that hide the stage from the audience view. | curtains (accept curtain call; prompt on "drapes") |
| In modal frameworks, something that has this property- and also necessarily has this property- is held to be impossible. This property describes scientific theories that are able to be proved, according to the philosopher Karl Popper. This property is commonly represented by a zero or an uppercase 'O.' For the point, name this property that, in logic, is often contrasted with "truth." | false (accept word forms such as falsehood or falsifiability; prompt on "untrue" before "truth") |
| In one story, Zeus gave this ability to Memnon after seeing the tears of Memnon's mother Eos. Calypso offered this ability to Odysseus, but he rebuffed her to return to Ithaca. Eos asked for this ability to be granted to her lover, Tithonus; however, since he was not granted youth, he shriveled into a cicada. For the point, Ambrosia can convey what ability of the Greek gods, by which they cannot die? | immortality (or eternal life; accept descriptions, such as being unable to die, before "die") |
| This man wrote the book The Work of the Digestive Glands, part of his studies of the intestines that led him to win the Nobel Prize in Medicine. This man pioneered the study of conditional reflexes, such as salivation in response to the sound of a bell. Classical conditioning is also known by the name of this man. For the point, name this Russian psychologist who worked extensively with dogs. | Ivan Pavlov (accept Pavlovian Conditioning) |
| Biblical scholars contrasting these two properties note how the name of Laban comes from the root word for one of these properties, while the other describes a bride in the Song of Solomon. These two properties name the two factions in the War Scroll, and commonly distinguish angelic hosts from satanic hosts in Renaissance art. For the point, what two colors are often seen in depictions of Yin and Yang? | black and white (or light and darkness; prompt on partial answers; prompt on "colors" before mentioned) |
| The premiere of this piece called for the ringing of all of the bells in Uspensky Cathedral. The melody of this piece begins with an adaptation of the hymn "O Lord, Save Thy People," and then transitions from settings of "La Marseillaise" to "God Save the Tsar" to represent a battle between two armies. Mass cannon fire is called for in, for the point, what Pyotr Tchaikovsky overture named for a year? | 1812 Overture (or The Year 1812, Solemn Overture) |
| A passage in this book of the Bible describes a river that splits into four parts: the Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Euphrates rivers. God's command "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish" appears in this book. The doctrine of the Sabbath traces back to this book, as god "rested on the seventh day" after the creation of the "heavens and the earth." For the point, name this first book of the Old Testament. | Book of Genesis (accept Bərēʾšīṯ) |
| Interest in this creature grew after Andrew Genzoli published descriptions of footprints found by loggers in the Humboldt Times. The Skunk Ape is a swamp-dweller known as the "Florida" version of this creature, which is similar to Arkansas's Fouke Monster. European tales of the "wild man of the woods" inspired, for the point, what large creature that supposedly lives in the forests of the Pacific Northwest? | bigfoot (or sasquatch) |
| With "Afro," this country names a style of jazz that was popularized by the song "Tanga" and by the drummer Chano Pozo. The style of dance called Danzon originated in this country, and influenced musicians from this country to develop the mambo and the cha-cha-cha. Pop artists from this country include Gloria Estefan and Camilla Cabello. For the point, Cabello's song "Havana" is named for a city in what country? | Republic of Cuba (or República de Cuba) |
| A street in this place is the subject of the poetic lines "Lenox Avenue, / Honey. / Midnight,/ And the gods are laughing at us." A poem titled for this place asks "does it explode?" as an answer to the question "What happens to a dream deferred?" The poet Langston Hughes was part of a 1920s "Renaissance" of culture named for this place. For the point, name this historically African-American neighborhood of New York City. | Harlem (accept Harlem Renaissance; prompt on "New York City" before mentioned) |
| Sacred art from this religion is preserved in the Ajanta Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This religion is commonly divided into three branches, two of which have names meaning "The School of the Elders" and "The Great Vehicle;" those branches are Mahayana and Theravada. "Life is suffering" was among the "four noble truths" taught by the namesake founder of, for the point, what east Asian religion? | Buddhism (accept Mahayana Buddhism; accept Theravada Buddhism) |
| Harold Rhodes developed a type of this musical instrument that makes sound using tines and an amplifier. John Cage pioneered the use of the prepared variety of this instrument. These instruments typically have around 230 strings, allowing them to produce eighty-eight different notes. Steinway is a company that manufactures, for the point, what keyboard instruments that come in a large, "grand" variety? | pianos (accept Rhodes Pianos; or prepared pianos; or grand pianos) |
| One composer wrote a concerto for this instrument at the Brinkwells estate as his wife Alice was dying of cancer. Hanus Wihan premiered Antonin Dvorak's B minor concerto for this instrument. Jacqueline du Pré popularized Edward Elgar's E minor concerto for this instrument. Yo-Yo Ma is a contemporary performer of, for the point, what string instrument that is typically larger than a viola, but smaller than a bass? | cello (or violincello; do not accept or prompt on "violin") |
| Characters in this musical rehearse the song Don Juan Triumphant. A song in this musical is titled for a magical lasso that the title character uses to kill Joseph Buquet. Gerard Butler starred in a 2004 film adaptation of this musical, whose frame story involves the auction of a chandelier. The chorus girl Christine Daaé [[dah-AY]] unmasks a deformed villain in, for the point, what musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber? | The Phantom of the Opera |
| In one story, Siproites observed this deity, after which this deity turned Siproites from a boy into a girl. In a similar story, Actaeon gazed upon this goddess while she was bathing in the nude, so this goddess commanded Actaeon's hounds to kill him. Homer referred to this goddess as "The Mistress of Animals" or "She of the Wild." For the point, name this twin sister of Apollo, the Greek goddess of the hunt. | Artemis |
| In a story by this author, Dame Lisabetta shows a medical student in Padua a path into a garden where he courts a beautiful woman named Beatrice, who can poison flowers with her touch. This author of "Rappaccini's Daughter" wrote a novel that begins as Hester Prynne is publicly shamed for having a child out of wedlock in Puritan-era Massachusetts. For the point, name this author of The Scarlet Letter. | Nathaniel Hawthorne |
| A painting by this artist depicts a cross-legged, emaciated man holding a string instrument. Another painting by this artist shows daggers in place of the tongues of a horse and a bull. This artist's painting The Old Guitarist is in the characteristic gloomy hues of his Blue Period. For the point, the destruction of a Basque town inspired Guernica, a painting by what Spanish pioneer of Cubism? | Pablo Picasso (or Pablo Ruiz Picasso) |
| This word is commonly paired with "coloratura" to describe roles such as The Queen of the Night from The Magic Flute. This word names the smallest commonly-played saxophone, which is pitched in B flat and plays at a higher register than an alto sax. This word names the range of the singers Renee Fleming and Maria Callas. For the point, what word names the highest of the four standard vocal ranges? | soprano (accept coloratura soprano; or soprano saxophone) |
| Elmore Leonard advised writers to use no more than "two or three" of these punctuation marks every 100,000 words. Two of these punctuation marks appear in the title of a Walt Whitman poem about "Western youths" who "take up the task eternal." Similarly, one of these punctuation marks appears in the title of Willa Cather's novel O Pioneers!. For the point, what punctuation mark indicates emphasis, surprise, or shock? | exclamation marks (or exclamation points) |
| An artifact from this country that was used to grind cosmetic powder shows a ruler wearing a red and white crown on its two sides. The Narmer Palette is from this country, as is the The Squatting Scribe and a bust of Nefertiti. Obelisks were first constructed by a civilization in this country. For the point, Tutankhamun’s funeral mask was unearthed near the banks of the Nile River in what country? | (Ancient) Egypt |
| Derek Walcott asked "How can I turn from" this place "and live" at the end of a poem titled "A Far Cry from" this place. The ship called this place's "Queen" names a novel by C.S. Forester that was adapted into a Humphrey Bogart film. This continent was the birthplace of the 2021 Nobel Laureate in Literature, Abdulrazak Gurnah. For the point, Chinua Achebe was an author from Nigeria on what continent? | Africa (accept The African Queen) |