Monday 23rd January 2012
Set by St Laurence's (Wirral)

Round 1
1a In what year (5 years either way) was the British Open Golf Championship first held?
1860 (accept 1855-1865)
1b Which English king was born in Fotheringay Castle, in 1452?
Richard III
2a Easter Island is a territory of which country?
Chile
2b Which artist painted 'The Opening of the Fifth Seal' in about 1610?
El Greco
3a Which son of King Agenor is the reputed founder of the city of Thebes in Ancient Greece?
Cadmus
3b In the Internet acronym HTMS, what does the letter 'M' stand for?
(Hyper Text) Markup (Language)
4a Who was the first British author to win the Nobel prize for Literature, in 1907?
Rudyard Kipling
4b In the Bible, who was the elder daughter of Laban who became the first wife of Jacob and the mother of Dinah?
Leah

Round 2
1a Who in 1711 wrote the line 'A little learning is a dangerous thing'?
Alexander Pope
1b Which TV cartoon series is about CIA agent Stan Smith and his family?
American Dad
2a Who won the Oscar for Best Actor in 2010 for his role as Otis Blake in the film 'Crazy Heart'?
Jeff Bridges
2b Which British group released the albums `Definitely Maybe' and 'Be Here Now' in the 1990s?
Oasis
3a Which Pope launched the first Crusade in 1095?
Urban II
3b In Greek Mythology what was the first of the Twelve Labours of Hercules?
To kill the (Nemean) lion
4a Which Italian composed the 1832 opera 'The Elixir of Love' (L'elisir d'amore')?
Donizetti
4b What is the capital of Benin?
Porto Novo

Round 3
1a Which English king was born at Dunfermline Palace in 1600?
Charles I
1b In what year (5 years either way) was the US Open Golf Championship first held?
1895 (1890-1900)
2a Which artist painted 'Allegory on the Blessings of Peace' in about 1630?
Rubens
2b Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean is a territory of which country?
Australia
3a In the Internet acronym JPEG what does the letter `E' stand for?
(Joint Photographic) Experts (Group)
3b According to Virgil, who was the reputed founder of the city of Carthage?
Dido
4a In the Bible, who was the servant of Sarah who became the concubine of Abraham and mother of Ishmael?
Hagar
4b Who was the first Irish poet to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923?
W B Yeats

Round 4
1a What is the name of the disc shaped region beyond the orbit of Neptune, discovered in 1992, which contains dwarf planets and small icy bodies?
The Kuiper Belt (also known as The Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt)
1b Who was the only US President to serve two non-consecutive terms of office?
Grover Cleveland
2a Who won the 2010 Wimbledon Ladies Singles title?
Serena Williams
2b Who plays the part of Charles Xavier in the 2011 film `X-Men First Class'?
James McAvoy
3a Which Gilbert and Sullivan opera has the alternative title 'The Lass that Loved a Sailor'?
HMS Pinafore
3b Which British Prime Minister wrote a novel 'Savrola' in 1898, while serving as an army officer in India?
Winston Churchill
4a Which English crime writer coined the 'Guinness is good for you' slogan while working as a copywriter?
Dorothy L Sayers
4b Which horse, trained by Jonjo O'Neil, won the 2010 Grand National?
Don't Push It

Round 5
1a Who in 1624 wrote the line 'No man is an island'?
John Donne
1b Which TV cartoon series features the Griffin family of Quahog, Rhode Island?
Family Guy
2a Who won the Best Actress Oscar in 2010 for her role as Leigh Anne Tuohy in the film 'The Blind Side'?
Sandra Bullock
2b Which British group released the albums 'Pablo Honey', 'The Bands' and 'OK Computer' in the 1990s?
Radiohead
3a What is the name of the Crusader castle which is now a Unesco World Heritage site, which lies west of Horns in Syria?
Crac des Chevaliers
3b In Greek Mythology what was the last of Hercules' twelve labours?
To fetch Cerberus from Hades
4a Which German composed the 1911 opera 'Der Rosenkavalier'?
Richard Strauss
4b What is the capital of Togo?
Lome

Round 6
1a In what year did Pope John Paul II die?
2005 (April 2nd)
1b In which Irish county would you find the Cliffs of Moher?
Clare
2a What are the elements with atomic numbers from 57 to 71 in the periodic table called?
Lanthanides (accept Rare Earth Elements)
2b Whose right to the English throne did the Duke of Monmouth challenge in 1685?
James II
3a Which American Football team won the 45th Superbowl on 6 February 2011?
Green Bay Packers
3b Who is the current Home Secretary?
Theresa May
4a Which was the first Liverpool group to have their first three singles reach number one in the charts?
Gerry and the Pacemakers
4b In Greek mythology who killed Hector?
Achilles

Round 7
1a Named after a-Dutch astronomer; what is the name of the spherical cloud of comets, which lies about 1 light year from the sun?
The Oort Cloud (a.k.a. the Opik-Oort Cloud)
1b Who was the US President who sought a third term of office when he ran as a Bull Moose or Progressive candidate?
Theodore Roosevelt
2a Who won the 2010 Wimbledon Men's Singles title?
Rafael Nadal
2b Who plays the part Green Lantern in the 2011 film 'Green Lantern'?
Ryan Reynolds
3a Which Gilbert and Sullivan opera has the alternative title 'The Town of Titipu'?
The Mikado
3b Which British prime Minister wrote two novels 'Coningsby' and 'Sybil' in the 1840s?
Benjamin Disraeli
4a Which Booker Prize winner coined the advertising slogan 'Naughty by nice'?
Salman Rushdie
4b Which horse, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, won the 2010 Epsom Derby?
Workforce

Round 8
1a In which Irish county would you find the Giant's Causeway?
Antrim
1b In what year did Yasir Arafat die?
2004 (November 11th)
2a Whose right to the English throne did Lady Jane Grey challenge in 1553?
Mary I
2b What name is given to the elements with atomic numbers from 89 to 103 in the periodic table?
Actinides
3a Who is the current Foreign Secretary?
William Hague
3b Which baseball team won the World Series in 2011?
St Louis Cardinals
4a In Greek mythology who killed Achilles?
Paris
4b Which was the second Liverpool group to have their first three singles reach number one in the charts?
Frankie Goes To Hollywood

Spare Questions
1 Who wrote the screenplay for 'You Only Live Twice'?
Roald Dahl
2 In which Irish county would you find the Hill of Tara?
Meath
3 What were first used in the Chesterfield Stakes at Newmarket on 11 July 1965?
Starting Stalls
4 Who was the only female candidate in the 2010 Labour Party leadership contest?
Diane Abbott