| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| In 1865, after becoming the first to reach the summit of one peak in this range, Edward Whymper lost four colleagues in an accident on the descent. The Brenner Pass through this mountain range connects Sterzing and Innsbruck, and another pass through this range is named for (*) Saint Bernard. Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn are tall peaks in, for ten points, what mountain range that extends through France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy? | Alps |
| This country was established with the Lateran Treaty. For ten points each, Name this Italian enclave located within Rome, the world’s smallest country. | Vatican City State (do not accept “Holy See”) Vatican City is a theocracy because it is ruled by the holder of this position, the head of the Catholic Church. ANSWER: Pope (accept Bishop of Rome) These colorfully-dressed, halberd-wielding soldiers protect Vatican City as the Pope’s bodyguards. Members of this military force must be Catholic and single, and must have completed training in a certain country’s military. ANSWER: Swiss Guard |
| Cr`eches commemorate the events celebrated on this holiday. Two weeks before this holiday, a pink candle is lit on Gaudete [GOW-day-tay] Sunday, part of a ritual in which four candles are lit on the four Sundays of (*) Advent and placed in a wreath. Celebratory carols like “Joy to the World” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” are sung on this holiday. For ten points, name this winter holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus. | Christmas |
| This vessel carried seven pairs of clean animals and two of every unclean animal. For ten points each, Name this seafaring vessel, built by Noah, which landed on Mount Ararat after the flood. | Noah’s Ark (accept Tevat Noah; accept Sefina Nuh) God ordered Noah to build the ark when he saw humans having children with Nephilim, a group of mysterious figures who have been described as fallen angels, giants, or the descendents of this biblical figure, who slew his brother, Abel. ANSWER: Cain (accept Qayin; accept Qabeel) After the flood, Noah blessed this man, his son and the brother of Ham and Japheth. This man became the ancestor of Abraham. ANSWER: Shem (accept Sem; accept Sam) |
| This planet’s largest moon was discovered by Christiaan Huygens [HOY-genz], and this planet’s north pole has a hexagonal vortex observed by the Voyager mission. This planet’s moons include Tethys, Rhea, and the largest moon in the solar system, (*) Titan. The second-largest gas giant in our solar system is, for ten points, what sixth planet from the sun, situated between Jupiter and Uranus? | Saturn |
| For ten points each, name these cell organelles. The genetic material of a cell is held in this organelle, the control center of the cell. This organelle was the first to be discovered. | nucleus This organelle is only found in plant cells, where its chlorophyll converts the Sun’s energy and carbon into complex energy-storing molecules. ANSWER: chloroplast The rough variety of this organelle has ribosomes on its outer walls, and the smooth variety does not. This organelle folds and transports proteins. ANSWER: endoplasmic reticulum (accept ER) |
| Jacques Binet made a formula to estimate numbers named after this mathematician. He modeled the growth of a theoretical rabbit population with a sequence in which the ratio between numbers approaches the (*) golden ratio. In that sequence named for this man, each term equals the sum of the two terms behind it. For ten points, name this Italian mathematician who names a sequence that begins 1, 1, 2, 3, 5. | Fibonacci |
| Trapezoids and kites are examples of these polygons, which always have two diagonals. For ten points each, Give this general term for any polygon with exactly four sides. | quadrilateral A quadrilateral in which each pair of opposite angles are congruent is called this, though the name is derived from an apparent property of the opposite sides. ANSWER: parallelogram Aquadrilateralinwhichallfoursidesarethesamelengthisgiventhisterm.They’realwaysparallelograms, but they’re only squares if the angles are all right angles. ANSWER: rhombus (prompt on equilateral quadrilateral; do not prompt on diamond or kite) |
| Legendarily, the composer of Carnaval was training to play this instrument when he injured his hand in a self-built machine. Boston and Essex are brands of these instruments produced by Steinway and Sons. These instruments have sustain, sostenuto, and soft (*) pedals, and pieces written “for four hands” involve two players at one of these instruments. For ten points, name this keyboard instrument, an example of which is the “grand.” | pianoforte |
| Answer the following about early American paintings, for ten points each. Gilbert Stuart painted the Lansdowne Portrait and Athenaeum Portrait of this American founding father, the latter of which appears on the one dollar bill. | George Washington John Singleton Copley painted a shark attack in Cuba in Watson and the Shark, and painted a portrait of this early American silversmith, who looks up from a silver teapot thoughtfully. ANSWER: Paul Revere John Trumbull painted the death of James Wolfe and Benjamin West painted the death of Richard Montgomery. Both paintings’ subjects died during the Battle of Quebec and held this military rank. ANSWER: General |
| This company succeeded Atlas by publishing issue 69 of Journey into Mystery, a series that introduced the characters of Hercules and the Enchantress. Before defecting to a competitor, Steve Ditko created Dr (*) Strange at this company. Magneto and Ultron are antagonists in this comic book company’s universe. For 10 points, name this rival company to DC, for whom Stan Lee oversaw the creation of the Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man. | Marvel Comics (accept Marvel Enterprises; or Marvel Entertainment, LLC) |
| In the 1990s, this team’s trio of Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin was known as Run TMC. For ten points each, Name this NBA team, which followed up their 2015 title by opening the 2015-16 season with 24 straight victories behind the play of MVP Stephen Curry. | Golden State Warriors (accept either underlined answer) The Warriors are coached by this former Chicago Bull and San Antonio Spur. Luke Walton served as coach for the start of the 2015-16 season due to this man’s back problems. ANSWER: Steve Kerr In a February 27th overtime victory against Oklahoma City, Stephen Curry broke his own record for the most of this statistic in a single season. This statistic was introduced in the NBA in 1979, and is determined with an arc roughly 23 feet away from the basket. ANSWER: three-point field goals (accept threes, three-point shots, and other equivalents, but do not prompt on an answer that doesn’t say “3 point”) |
| This author wrote about the peasant Pahom in his story “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” In one of his novels, Kitty marries Konstantine Levin after Count Vronsky rejects her. One of his novels ends with Natasha Rostova marrying a man who wants to kill (*) Napoleon, Pierre Bezukhov. The title character commits suicide by jumping in front of a train in his novel Anna Karenina. For ten points, name this author of War and Peace. | Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy |
| The twelfth-century cleric Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote an inaccurate History of the Kings of Britain. For ten points each, Name the fictional English king who, in Geoffrey’s book, is the son of Uther and the husband of Guinevere. | King Arthur Pendragon Arthur is guided and advised by this wizard who, in Geoffrey’s account, warns King Vortigern of a pair of dragons under his castle. ANSWER: Merlin Ambrosius (or Myrddin [MUR-thin] Emrys; accept Ambrosius Merlinus) In Geoffrey’s book, this man, Arthur’s nephew, marries Guinevere and claims the throne, but is killed by Arthur at the Battle of Camlann. ANSWER: Mordred (or Medrod) Halftime The categories are ... 1. Narrative Structure 2. Roman Conflicts 3. On and Under the Earth 4. Red in Religion Narrative Structure Dramatic stories and books usually have a consistent structure and style. Give the term for the... |
| brief introduction to some works, contrasted with an epilogue at the end. | prologue |
| type of drama that depicts suffering in order to trigger catharsis in the reader or audience. | tragedy (accept word forms) |
| introduction of characters, setting, and background information, usually at the start of a work. | exposition |
| turning point of a story, where interest in the story is at its highest. | climax |
| ending resolution of a story, from the French for “untying a knot.” | denouement |
| surprising intervention, sometimes of an actual deity, that solves a problem in the plot. | deus ex machina (or god from the machine) |
| modern country to which Marc Antony retreated to the home of Cleopatra after losing at Actium. | Egypt |
| religion followed by the Zealots, whose fortress of Masada in Israel was besieged by Rome. | Judaism (accept word forms, like Jewish people; accept Sicarii) |
| group of invaders led by Attila. | Huns |
| North African city that employed Hannibal and fought Rome in the three Punic Wars. | Carthage |
| Western European people led by Vercingetorix in modern France. | Gauls (accept Arverni; prompt on Celts) |
| conflict started by Julius Caesar after he crossed the Rubicon River. | Roman Civil War |
| ruptures in the Earth’s crust, which come in cinder cone, composite, and a third type, from which ash can erupt. | volcanoes |
| aforementioned third type of those ruptures, exemplified by Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, that forms from very slow magma flow. | shield volcano |
| molten substance that has erupted from the Earth’s crust, which is called magma when below the crust. | lava |
| region of the Earth between the crust and the core. | mantle |
| type of rock, examples of which include pumice, that forms from hardened magma. | igneous rocks |
| theory that the Earth’s crust is separated into dozens of regions that slowly move, a process called continental drift. | plate tectonics Red in Religion In religious settings, the color red is used for... |
| the clothing in China and India worn by women participating in what joining ceremonies? | wedding (accept marriage ceremony) |
| bindis, a forehead decoration in what religion? | Hinduism |
| the robes of what Catholic clergymen who elect the Pope? | cardinals |
| the name of what brother of Jacob, who traded his birthright for some stew? | Esau |
| the red torii gates outside the temples of what Japanese religion? | Shintoism |
| the vestments of what Christian holiday that celebrates the Holy Spirit descending on the apostles? | Pentecost |
| This metal is isolated from molten cryolite in the very high energy Hall-H´eroult process. Corundum and ruby are forms of this element’s oxide. Bauxite is the primary ore used in the production of this element, which is the most abundant (*) metal in the Earth’s crust. On the periodic table, this 13-proton element lies directly below boron. For ten points, name this metal used in recyclable soft drink cans, an element with atomic symbol Al. | aluminum (or aluminium; accept Al before mentioned) |
| In 1995, laser cooling allowed a sample of rubidium atoms to form this state of matter at roughly 170 nanoKelvins. For ten points each, Name this phase of matter. It is named for the pair of physicists, one Indian and one German, who proposed it in the 1920s. | Bose-Einstein condensate (or BEC) Bose-Einstein condensate exists at exceptionally low temperatures, like the aforementioned experiment at 170 nanoKelvins. This is the term for a temperature of 0 Kelvin, at which all molecular motion stops. ANSWER: absolute zero When this noble gas’s isotope 4 is cooled to below 2.17 Kelvin, it becomes a superfluid and can climb up the walls of a container. ANSWER: helium-4 |
| The War of the Two Peters was a part of this conflict, in which the St. Crispin’s Day speech was given. In this conflict, wet Genoan crossbows helped the Black Prince win a battle, and longbowmen devastated mounted knights at (*) Crecy and Agincourt. For ten points, name this protracted conflict fought between England and France that ran from 1337 to 1453, or slightly longer than its name would suggest. | Hundred Years War |
| In 1813, this man gave the “Decree of War to the Death,” permitting the murder of colonial leaders and civilians. For ten points each. Name this South American general, a “liberator” who tried to establish Gran Colombia. | Sim´on Jos´e Antonio de la Santisima Trinidad Bolivar y Palacios Bolivar was labeled “The Liberator” for leading numerous wars of independence against this European colonial power, which ruled much of South America outside of Brazil. ANSWER: Kingdom of Spain After a series of failures in Venezuela, Bolivar was exiled to this Caribbean island, where he wrote a letter explaining his errors from its capital of Kingston. ANSWER: Jamaica |
| In one of this Lost Generation author’s novels, Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley watch a bullfight in Pamplona. This author of The Sun Also Rises wrote a novella in which (*) Santiago, an aging fisherman, hooks an enormous marlin that is eaten by sharks before he can haul it back to shore. For ten points, name this American author of The Old Man and the Sea. | Ernest Miller Hemingway |
| This author won a Newbery Medal for her novel Dear Mr Henshaw. For ten points each, Name this American author of The Mouse and the Motorcycle and novels about Beezus Quimby and her sister. | Beverly Cleary Cleary wrote eight novels about this girl, Beezus’s younger sister, who is friends–and later cousins–with the unexcitable Howie Kemp. ANSWER: Ramona Quimby Cleary also wrote a series of books about this boy, who is Beezus’s friend. Her sixth book about this boy focuses on his dog, Ribsy. ANSWER: Henry Huggins (accept either underlined name) |
| This country invaded Kargil in one of the few instances of two nuclear states fighting each other. It was defeated in a 1971 Liberation War in which the eastern territory of Bangladesh won its independence from this country. (*) Benazir Bhutto once led this country, which is currently led by Nawaz Sharif. For ten points, name this Islamic country created in the 1947 Partition of India, which set its capital at Islamabad. | Islamic Republic of Pakistan |
| This President was responsible for the Embargo Act. For ten points each, Name this Founding Father who was responsible for the Louisiana Purchase as the third President of the United States. | Thomas Jefferson Jefferson lived, and was buried at, this Virginia plantation. While he was alive, Jefferson kept many slaves on this location’s Mulberry Row. ANSWER: Monticello One of the residents of Mulberry Row was this slave who Jefferson was rumored to have had six children with. ANSWER: Sally Hemings |
| These plant structures are composed of an exocarp and a fleshy mesocarp. Drupes are one type of this plant structure that contain pits. Aggregate versions of these plant structures are created by the merging of several (*) ovaries, which form the basis of these plant structures. Melons and berries are types of, for ten points, what seed-bearing plant structures, examples of which include figs and apples? | fruit |
| For ten points each, give the following about hydrology, the study of water. Evaporated water condenses into these large airborne formations, which come in cirrus and nimbus types, among others. | clouds Under certain conditions, ice or snow can transition immediately to water vapor, skipping the liquid phase, in this process. Dry ice more commonly undergoes this phase transition. ANSWER: sublimation (accept word forms) These underground regions hold water, usually within permeable rock, sand, or other loose deposits. The Ogallala one provides water for millions of people in the American Great Plains. ANSWER: aquifers |
| In one of this author’s novels, Sir Danvers Carew is killed by the title transformed man. In another work by this author of Kidnapped, Squire Trelawney and Captain Smollett accompany (*) Long John Silver on a hunt for buried gold. For ten points, name this Scottish author of adventure novels like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Treasure Island. | Robert Louis Stevenson |
| This author wrote plays about a “Moor of Venice” and a pair of “star-cross’d lovers.” For ten points each, Name this English playwright of Othello and Romeo and Juliet. | William Shakespeare In this play by Shakespeare, the title Prince of Denmark seeks revenge on his uncle, Claudius, but unwittingly causes the deaths of Ophelia, Gertrude, and a host of other characters. ANSWER: The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark This “Scottish play” written by Shakespeare concerns a title Thane of Glamis, who seizes the throne from Duncan, but is defeated when Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Castle. ANSWER: The Tragedy of Macbeth |
| This person established the weekly radical newspaper The Revolution and said “It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens” in a speech shortly after her arrest. This activist worked with Elizabeth Cady (*) Stanton to establish the National Woman Suffrage Association. For ten points, name this women’s rights activist who was arrested for voting in 1872 and honored in 1979 with an appearance on the silver dollar. | Susan B (rownell) Anthony |
| After being found guilty of corrupting the youth of Athens in 399 BC, this philosopher was condemned to death. For ten points each, Name this Ancient Greek philosopher. His trial is depicted in the Apology, written by one of this man’s students. | Socrates This student of Socrates and future teacher of Aristotle wrote the Apology and numerous other dialogues between Socrates and various Athenians. ANSWER: Plato Socrates was condemned to die in this specific fashion. Victims of this form of death were instructed to walk around to quicken the process, which involves paralysis that rises from the feet to the chest, stopping one’s breathing. ANSWER: drinking (or consuming) hemlock (prompt on suicide; prompt on descriptions of drinking/consuming poison by asking “what poison?”) |
| Marinus van der Lubbe was accused of setting fire to a building in this city, which resulted in the Leipzig Trials. This city hosted an 1870 conference which started the Scramble for Africa. As a peace symbol, Frederick Wilhelm II commissioned the (*) Brandenburg Gate for this city. After this city was conquered by Soviets during World War II, it was separated in two by a wall torn down in 1989. For ten points, name this capital of Germany. | Berlin |