Tuesday 6th January 2009
Set by Taxes (Wirral)

Round 1
1a What did the British Museum purchase for £35,000 in 1816 from the aristocrat Thomas Bruce?
The Elgin Marbles
1b For which cricket county does former England test batsman Mark Ramprakash play?
Surrey
2a Which North African dish consists of crushed semolina, which can be steamed and served with vegetables, chicken or fish?
Couscous
2b Grand-mal and petit-mal are terms used in connection with which medical condition?
Epilepsy
3a The adjective cervine relates to which animals?
Deer
3b "Christ in the House of his Parents" is one of the best known paintings of which artist?
Sir John Everett Millais
4a Who wrote the novel "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning"?
Alan Sillitoe
4b What is the rank of a British Army officer who wears a crown and two pips on his epaulettes?
Colonel

Round 2
1a John Lithgow played the head of a family of aliens in which US sitcom?
Third Rock From The Sun
1b Which English football team started life as Singers FC in 1895?
Coventry City
2a In "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams, what was the name of the computer that determined that the answer to the ultimate question of Life, the Universe and Everything was 42?
Deep Thought
2b Who was the daughter of Zeus and Hera, cupbearer to the gods?
Hebe
3a What name is given to the hymn of praise by Mary, the Mother of Jesus, found in Luke's gospel?
Magnificat
3b During which monarch's reign did the Act of Union with Scotland take place?
Queen Anne
4a Which group recorded the albums called 'Raintown', 'Fellow Hoodlums' and 'Homesick'?
Deacon Blue
Deacon Blue
4b What name is given to the dark gap between the rings of the planet Saturn, discovered in 1675?
Cassini's Division

Round 3
1a Daniel Day Lewis won the 2008 Best Actor Oscar in February 2008 for his role in which film?
There Will Be Blood
1b Which horse won the 2008 Aintree Grand National?
Comply Or Die
2a What is the collective noun for a group of frogs?
An army (also accept a colony or knot)
2b What is the SI unit of energy?
Joule
3a Which car company makes a model called the Verso?
Toyota
3b Who composed the opera 'Albert Herring' in 1947?
Benjamin Britten
4a In which town or city is the Fitzwilliam Museum?
Cambridge
4b Which British monarch was incarcerated in Pontefract Castle where he died of starvation in January 1400?
Richard II

Round 4
1a Who sang the theme tune to the James Bond film 'The Spy Who Loved Me' in 1977?
Carly Simon
1b Which element, atomic number 47, has the highest electrical thermal conductivity of any metal?
Silver
2a What was the actor Richard Burton's real surname?
Jenkins
2b In which constellation is the star Rigel?
Orion
3a Which stretch of water separates Australia from New Guinea?
Torres Strait
3b What is the highest point in the Peak District?
Kinder Scout
4a What was the name of the Cyclops blinded by Odysseus?
Polyphemus
4b Which musical features the son's 'I'd Do Anything' and 'Be Back Soon'?
Oliver

Round 5
1a In which Cornish town is there a branch of the Tate Gallery?
St Ives
1b Synovial fluid is a lubricant for which parts of the body?
Joints
2a What name is given to a male guinea pig?
Boar
2b For which cricket county does England test cricketer Ian Bell play?
Warwickshire
3a In the US sitcom 'Frasier' what was Frasier's surname?
Crane
3b Who composed the musical work 'Harold In Italy' in 1834?
Berlioz
4a What is the name of the semi-fluid, clarified butter used in Indian cookery?
Ghee
4b Which French painter was known as 'Le Douanier' because of his job as a customs official?
(Henri) Rousseau

Round 6
1a Which strait separates Greenland from Canada?
Davis Strait
1b Which musical features the songs 'Brush Up Your Shakespeare' and 'From This Moment On'?
Kiss Me Kate
2a Which bird is the symbol of the Greek goddess Athena?
An Owl
2b Which British monarch was murdered at Berkeley Castle in September 1327?
Edward II
3a Who sang the theme tune to the James Bond film 'Goldeneye'?
Tina Turner
3b Which poisonous element can be either grey, yellow or black and combines with sulphur as realgar?
Arsenic
4a In which British town or city would you find the Whitworth Art Gallery?
Manchester
4b Which is the largest satellite of the planet Jupiter?
Ganymede

Round 7
1a What name meaning "to hide away" is given to the books that provide an appendix to the Old Testament in some versions of the Bible?
Apocrypha
1b Which English football team started life in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance?
Birmingham City
2a Which group recorded the albums 'Gaze' and 'Painting It Red' and 'Blue is the colour'?
Beautiful South
2b Which war was triggered by the so-called Defenestration of Prague' in 1618?
Thirty Years War
3a The title character of which British TV detective series has not put in an appearance for nearly 14 years?
Taggart
3b The atmosphere of the planet Mars consists almost entirely of which gas?
Carbon Dioxide
4a Who wrote the novel 'The Prodigal Daughter' in 1982?
Jeffery Archer
4b In Greek mythology who was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter who became the wife of Hades and Queen of the Underworld?
Persephone (accept Kore or Cora)

Round 8
1a Who won the 2007 Best Actor Oscar for his role in the film 'The Last King Of Scotland'?
Forest Whitaker
1b Which horse ridden by Frankie Dettori won the 2007 Epsom Derby?
Authorized
2a What is the collective noun for a group of dolphins?
Pod/School (accept pack/herd/team)
2b What is the highest mountain on the Isle of Man?
Snaefell
3a Which comedian's real name is Michael Pennington?
Johnny Vegas
3b What is the SI unit of capacitance?
Farad
4a Which car company makes a model called the Getz?
Hyundai
4b Who composed the opera 'The Rake's Progress' in 1951?
Igor Stravinsky

Spare Questions
1 Libreville is the capital of which West African country?
Gabon
2 What name is given to the larvae of the cranefly?
Leatherjacket
3 In which year did the Easter Rising, against British rule in Ireland, take place?
1916
4 Which is the only element of those known as the halogens which is liquid at room temperature?
Bromine
5 What term describes ranks in the Royal Navy above that of Captain?
Flag Officers