2. QF1
1. a. This term was coined by a British East India Company official
Henry Piddington (who was a scientist and a merchant captain) to
describe an experience that made a freighter move in circles. What?
b. The German word for the same term achieved infamy in the
mid 20th century. How so?
4. QF1
2. In 2014, a group of Yale psychologists tried to understand this
phenomenon better by conducting experiments. Their finding was
that this was the body’s way of restoring ‘emotional equilibrium’.
The psychologists deemed that, by responding to an
overwhelmingly positive emotion with a negative one, people are
able to recover better from strong emotions.
What in the news phenomenon?
6. QF1
3. The Pacific Regal Blue Tang is a fish that is found throughout the
Indo-Pacific. It is seen in the reefs of East Africa, Japan, Samoa,
New Caledonia, and the Great Barrier Reef. It is also one of the
most common and most popular marine aquarium fish all over the
world.
a. A common name for the fish derives from a distinctive
characteristic found near its tail – this ‘sharp’ feature
presumably reminded people of instruments wielded by people
belonging to a particular profession. What is it?
b. This breed was in the news in November 2015, and will be
further in the news in 2016. Why?
9. QF1
4. This type of a composition is usually composed in a minor key
and in a slow ‘simple duple’ metre. The audio is one such
composition by Chopin.
a. What two word term is it known by?
b. Why is it composed in this specific metre?
10. QF1
A. a. Funeral March b. Imitates the solemn pace of a funeral
procession
13. QF1
6. According to the Economist, the Chinese Government collected
around USD 314 billion in the period between 1980 and 2012 as
‘Social Maintenance Fees’ from certain people in China.
What are these fees, which will see a drop from 2015 onwards?
14. QF1
A. Fines from people who violated the ‘One-child’ policy. The policy
is being changed by the Chinese to a ‘Two-child’ one in 2015.
15. QF1
7. Audio. This genre of music is described as one that adheres to an
‘aesthetic of failure’, where the sources of sound material are
usually malfunctioning or abused.
Two word term. The first word is supposed to be from the Yiddish
word for ‘slip’, and was popularized in the 1960s by the US space
program.
What is the name of the genre?
17. QF1
8. The Academy Award for writing
the movie Roman Holiday went to
this person posthumously in 1993.
He is being played by Bryan
Cranston in a November 2015
biopic. Name him.
19. QF1
9. Dwight Eisenhower was the first to refer to this theory in a speech, when he
mentioned that the fall of French Indochina to the communists would lead to
wide reaching consequences in the whole of Southeast Asia, and thus many
more countries would subsequently come under the influence of communism.
Two word term – First word derives from the Latin word for ‘Lord, Master’.
The connection is not evident, but one theory is that it refers to the black color
cloak worn by priests. We have heard this Latin word in the context of dates as
well.
What is the term?
23. QF1
11. This Latin phrase made its first appearance in Virgil’s poem
‘Moretum’ to describe salad dressing. The ingredients, he wrote,
would surrender their individual aesthetic when mixed with others
to form one unique, homogenous, harmonious, and tasty
concoction.
What phrase did he use, which is now famous in a different
context?
25. QF1
12. What is the name of the international airport in Odense? You
can use the below image (taken during a recently held badminton
tournament) as a clue
29. QF1
14. One of the options for the new flag of New Zealand, was the one
you see in picture. However, this variant was quickly overruled due
to controversial visual imagery.
Why was it overruled?
30. QF1
A. The white on black background apparently reminded people of
the IS flag
31. QF1
15. According to various interpretations, this self-portrait of a
famous artist is supposed to invoke memories of a famous musician
who was his contemporary, with the unkempt hair and long
sideburns. Interestingly, both these personalities suffered from a
similar affliction in their latter years. Name the two figures.
35. QF1
17. This term was originally used for a geological feature in glacial
and gravel beds, and used to refer to depressions such as the ones
in the picture, caused by the action of ice. The first part of the term
stems from Middle English for ‘deep drilling for a mine, or from
peat-digging’ and perhaps ultimately related to the notion of a
‘deep, cylindrical shape’. Now used in a context that we are all too
familiar with. What term?
37. QF1
18. These performances were started by jewellers or watchmakers
as a display of miniature objects. The initial focus was not on the
‘stars’ of the shows but on the miniature masterpieces of
craftsmanship they were attached to. They were hugely popular
between the 1830s and 1960s in England and Germany. Some
people believed that this form of entertainment declined because of
concerns about cruelty. The only genuine such event in the world
can be found in Germany and it performs annually at the
Oktoberfest.
What are we talking about?
41. QF1
20. This term used to refer to a form of theater that traveled along the
waterways of United States, especially along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.
It is also the subject of a 1927 musical in two acts, with music by Jerome
Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Based on Edna Ferber's
bestselling novel of the same name, the musical follows the lives of the
performers, stagehands, and dock workers on the ‘Cotton Blossom’.
The Majestic, one of the last of the original few, was declared a National
Historic Landmark in 1989.
Based on their supposedly gaudy look , the term also came to mean someone
who wants his or her ostentatious behavior to be seen at all costs, and is
particularly applied in sports.
What is the term?
44. QF1
21. In the context of different types of phishing attacks, what is the
term used for the following?
a. Phishing attempts directed at specific individuals or companies
b. Phishing attacks directed specifically at senior executives and
other high profile targets in businesses
46. QF1
22. These are calf-length trousers that were popular during the
1950s and the early 1960s.Often cuffed and worn tight to the skin,
they are related in style to Capri pants, and are sometimes referred
to as "clam diggers”. The style quickly became identified with
teenage girls.
Their name originates from the activity they were first used for.
What is their name?
49. QF1
23. The People Power Uprising was a series of pro-democracy
marches, demonstrations, protests and riots that happened in
Burma in August 1988, which saw the emergence of Aung San Suu
Kyi as a national icon. It has another popular name because of the
date on which key events occurred.
Name?
51. QF1
24.
a. Identify this ‘incomplete’ building which is expected to be
completed in 2026, in the centenary year of the architect’s
death.
b. The architect derived inspiration from what aspect of the
natural world while designing the interiors, the etymology for
which ultimately derives from the Greek for ‘mosquito’?
54. QF1
25. This AT&T logo was designed by Saul Bass in 1984, replacing
the phone logo that had been in use for nearly 100 years.
It also had an informal name which the competitors used in
deriding the company’s policies. Ars Technica referred to it in an
article criticizing the company data policy, and T-Mobile mocked
the logo and AT&T’s empire in a press release. What was the
informal name?
56. QF1
26. John Wood was a Scottish naval officer, surveyor, cartographer
and explorer, principally remembered for his exploration of central
Asia. While writing in 1838, he described the ‘Bam-i-Dunya’ as a
native expression used for an area that he had explored. Another
Scottish traveller, Sir Thomas Edward Gordon employed the term
as the title of a book.
The English translation used by these gentlemen is a term that we
are familiar with. What?
Which region was it used to describe?
59. QF1
A. David Attenborough, narrating the video of Adele’s Hello (lead
single from Adele’s new album ‘25’)
60. QF1
28. What ‘wedge shaped’ entities were first copied and deciphered
in 1837 by British army officer Henry Rawlinson ?
Rawlinson copied them down from the steep cliffs of Behistun, and
studied them for years before he realized what they meant.
62. QF1
29. Zufa LLC is an American company that derives its name from
the Italian word for ‘fight’. It was founded in January 2001 in Las
Vegas by casino executives Frank Fertita III and Lorenzo Fertita
and is the parent entity of what franchise, which recently hosted an
event in the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne?
64. QF1
30. ‘Varus’ is a Latin term which means bow-legged/bandy. What
word in the English language derives from this root and literally
means ‘to walk crookedly’? This word has acquired a metaphoric
meaning since.
68. QF1
32. The Grimpoteuthis is a genus of pelagic umbrella octopus that
live in the deep sea. These octopuses get their common name from
the distinctive shape of their fins, which resemble a physical feature
of a character from the field of entertainment. Additional clue -
Former U.S President Harry Truman refused to board a ride based
on this character when he visited Disneyland.
ID the character.
70. QF1
33. When students in the 17th century came to recite poetry in this
hilly neighborhood of Paris, they nicknamed it after the home of the
nine muses of arts and sciences in Greek Mythology. The nickname
was very apt as this place became famous in the 1920s and 30s as
the heart of intellectual and artistic life in Paris.
Name this neighborhood.
72. QF1
34. This Sanskrit epic poem was composed by P.C Devassia, a
scholar and poet from Kerala, for which he received numerous
awards including the Sahitya Akademi award for Sanskrit in 1980.
Composed in 1976 and first published in 1977, the poem consists of
33 cantos and over 1600 verses. As a mahakavya, it represents the
most prestigious genre of Sanskrit epic poetry, characterized by
ornate and elaborate descriptions.
Who is the protagonist of this epic?
75. QF1
35. Two sounds:
a. A recent change in this sound has left fans disappointed. An
editor of a prominent motoring magazine bemoaned ‘It was akin to
turning the late Luciano Pavarotti from a tenor into a soprano’.
What sound?
b. What sound is commonly describe by fans as ‘potato, potato,
potato’?
77. QF1
36. Forest rangers and conservationists have recently been
bemoaning the death of Alpha, a dominant male Great Indian
Bustard. Alpha was so enthusiastic in contributing to the efforts of
resurrecting the GIB population that he was nicknamed by the
forest officials in Maharashtra after a hit 2012 movie. What was it?
79. QF1
37. This typeface was created by Chris Costello in 1982, who
described his goal as a font that would represent what English
language texts would have looked like, if written on this material.
An alternative name for the said material was Bublos, which was
said to derive from an ancient Phoenician city.
Name the font.
This font also prominently featured in a 2009 movie. Where was it
used in the movie?
84. QF1
39. If Florilegium is a Latin term for a compilation of excerpts from
other writings, what is the equivalent Greek-rooted English word
for the same term?
86. QF1
40. The singing Tesla coil, sometimes called musical lightning, is a
form of plasma speaker. It is a variation of a solid state Tesla coil
that has been modified to produce musical tones by modulating its
spark output. It has two other names, which are both puns on two
different gods associated with lightning and thunder and two other
musical instruments. What are the two names?
