Round 2 Questions

Round 1: Current Affairs

1)      Recently in 2015, a Germanwings airplane was intentionally crashed in the Alps. Name either the flight number, or the route of the plane 

a.       Flight number 9525,
Route: Barcelona to Dusseldorf / Spain to Germany

2)      In which election constituency did Dr Wan Azizah just win a seat, taking over from her husband Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim?

a)      Permatang Pauh

3)      This female figure in US politics recently announced her bid for President of the United States. Name this politician, who is also the wife of an ex-president.

a.       Hillary Clinton

4)      Thousands of Buddhists in Malaysia visited temples across the country this May to pay homage to the Lord Buddha. What religious celebration were they commemorating?

a.       Wesak Day

5)      Following America’s discovery of new reserves of shale oil, there has recently been a world oil price crisis due to the inability of a certain organization to agree upon a production limit. Members of this organization include Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait. Name this organization.

a.       OPEC or the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries

6)      A legend of Liverpool just played his last game at Anfield, and will leave the club at the end of the season, having played for Liverpool all his career. Name this hero of Liverpool.

a.       Steven Gerrard

7)      The United States of America and the international community has recently been involved in talks with a certain Middle Eastern country over its nuclear program. Hopes are high that the talks will converge to a fruitful conclusion. What country was it?

a.       Iran

8)      In March 2015, Zayn Malik departed the band One Direction, breaking the hearts of millions of teenage girls. Name one of the lonely remaining members of this sad, sad band.

a.       Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Liam Payne (Name any one)

9)       The United States of America recently saw an improvement in their relations with a certain Caribbean nation. There was formerly an embargo on goods from that country. Name the country.

a.       Cuba

10)   Apple is famous for its ‘i’ products, namely the iPhone, the iPad and the iPod. They have recently launched a new line of smartwatches. What is the name of this smartwatch?

a.       The Apple Watch (reject: iWatch)

11)   Two days ago, The Large Hadron Collider smashed subatomic particles together with more energy than ever seen in the history of recorded time. Where is the Large Hadron Collider?

a.       CERN / European Organization for Nuclear Research / Switzerland / France-Swiss border

12)   A grand jury in a certain area of the USA has charged all 6 police officers accused in the death of Freddie Gray, which sparked protests on the streets. In which area of America did this occur?

a.       Baltimore

13)   The current Chief Minister of Sarawak has vowed to fight the corrupt timber logging industry in his state. Who is he?

a.       Tan Sri Adenan Satem

14)   Citizens of this European country are about to vote in a historic referendum to decide whether they want to legalize same-sex marriage. Name the country.

a.       Ireland (not Northern Ireland or UK)

15)   The Ebola crisis this year, one of the worst to hit mankind in recent years, was mainly dealt with under the supervision of the World Health Organization. Who is the Director-General of the WHO?

a.       Dr Margaret Chan
(Dr Margaret Chan is from China! Asian pride yo!)

Round 2: Spitfire

Natural Disasters vs Man Made Disasters

(Team with lowest points gets to choose theme first)

Choice One: Natural Disasters

1)      What is the Japanese name for a tidal wave?

a.       Tsunami

2)      This disaster occurs due to a shortage of water and a lack of rainfall. Name it.

a.       Drought

3)      The town of Pompeii was buried when this volcano erupted. Name this volcano.

a.       Mount Vesuvius

4)      In which disaster do we see solid ice raining from the sky?

a)      Hail or Hailstorm

5)      Which country suffered the largest brunt of Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest cyclones recorded?

a.       The Philippines

6)      Name this famous hurricane that struck New Orleans in 2005.

a.       Hurricane Katrina

7)      Which continent saw its population decimated by the Black Plague?

a.       Europe

8)      Which calendar allegedly prophesied the end of the world in 2012?

a.       The Mayan Calendar

9)      In which year did the Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami take place, killing a quarter million people?

a.       2004

10)   In which country is the Yellowstone Supervolcano located in?

a.       The USA

Choice Two: Man-Made Disasters

1)      Name one of the two main races involved in the Rwandan genocide

a.       Hutu or Tutsi

2)      Who launched the Great Leap Forward that saw millions of Chinese die of starvation in this period?

a.       Mao Zedong (Accept: Mao or alternative pronunciations e.g. Tse Tung for Zedong)

3)      The Great Irish Famine occurred when this important crop was hit by blight. Name this crop.

a.       Potato

4)      Which ancient South American civilization practiced ritual sacrifice of human beings?

a.       Aztec Civilization

5)      Name three countries which possess nuclear weapons

a.       Any Three: USA, Russia, France, UK/Britain, China, India, North Korea, Pakistan, Israel

6)      Name the two major allies of Nazi Germany in World War Two

a.       Japan and Italy

7)      Name the terrorist organization that claimed responsibility for the 9-11 attacks

a.       Al-Qaeda

8)      In what year did the May 13th riots take place in Malaysia?

a.       1969

9)      What is the name of the US military base in Cuba, where torture, illegal imprisonment and interrogation were carried out?

a.       Guantanamo Bay

10)   Which Japanese town was hit by a tsunami, causing the meltdown of some of its nuclear reactors?

a.       Fukushima

Round 3: Double or nothing

Major Companies

Instructions to be read out:

1)      Founded in 1943 by a seventeen year old boy, this company raked in 28 billion dollars in 2013 alone. It’s founder, Ingvar Kamprad (pronounced Ing-Varr-Camp-Rad), hails from Sweden. This company is famous for requiring customers to self-assemble its products, oftentimes to their frustration I might add. For four points, name the world’s largest furniture retailer -- a company with merely four letters to its name.

a.       IKEA

2)      Born in Asia, this company has managed to capture 30% of Malaysia’s market share for its product, that is, automobiles. This Asian automobile company is not Japanese, nor is it Korean or Chinese. It is in fact, a quintessential Malaysian brand. Unlike its more well-known relative, Proton, this automobile brand shies away from the limelight, and yet was the best-selling car brand in Malaysia from 2006 to 2010. Name this Malaysian automobile company that is famous for its signature cars, the Myvi and Kancil.

a.       Perodua

3)      With Bob Dudley as its CEO, to call this firm a “major company” would be an understatement. In 2014 alone, this massive company brought in three-hundred and fifty billion dollars’ worth of revenue. Some would argue that this oil and gas company is headquartered from the depths of hell given its less than impressive environmental track record, which includes disasters like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill -- the worst oil spill in history. As a fact, this multinational company is instead headquartered in London, England. For four points, name this British oil and gas company with only two letters in its name.

a.       BP (accept: British Petroleum)

4)      This behemoth of a company was established 77 years ago, but has only become a commonly-known name in the past decade or so. As a consumer electronics company, it is famous for its line of smartphones and tablets, among other things. This company is not named after a fruit. Instead, name this South Korean company that is famous for its line of electronic products, including the Galaxy S6 smartphone.

a.       Samsung

5)      Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, this firm has branched out into one-hundred and nineteen different countries since its humble beginnings in the year 1940. Started up by the businessman Ray Kroc, this company serves sixty-eight million customers daily through its thirty-five thousand plus outlets across the globe. This company is recognizable by its slogan -- I’m Lovin’ It, its logo -- the Golden Arches, and its signature dish, the Big Mac. Name this major company.

a.       McDonalds

Round 4: Head to Head

Technology and the 21st Century

Instructions to be read out:

  

Set One

1)      Apple Inc. is one of the world’s largest technology firms. Where is it headquartered?

a.       California, United States of America.

2)      Australia elected its first female prime minister in the 21st Century. What is her name?

a.       Julia Gillard

3)      Which mobile application is used to send around 700 million photos and videos per day, after which they promptly vanish in a snap?

a.       Snapchat

Set Two

1)      This social media platform allows users to share short messages in less than 140 characters. What is its name?

a.       Twitter

2)      Where will the 2020 Summer Olympics be held?

a.       Tokyo (Accept Japan)

3)      The long-speculated existence of a particle commonly referred to as the God Particle was recently confirmed. What is this particle?

a.       Higgs Boson

  

Set Three

1)      This instant messaging app was bought by Facebook for $22 billion. Name it.

a.       Whatsapp

2)      Name one country that achieved independence in the 21st Century.

a.       East Timor, Montenegro, South Sudan (Any One)

3)      Where did the Umbrella Revolution occur?

a.       Hong Kong

Set Four

1)      In 2012, on which planet did NASA’s Curiosity Rover successfully land on?

a.       Mars

2)      In 2010, the volcano Eyjafjallajokull (Ey-jaf-ja-la-jo-kul) erupted in spectacular style. In which country is this volcano located?

a.       Iceland

3)      Driverless cars have been tried and tested over the few years and have been shown to reliably function. Which famous company spearheaded research into driverless cars?

a.       Google

Round 5: General Knowledge

Instructions to be read out:

1)      Name one scientist that has won the Nobel prize more than once.

a.       John Bardeen (Physics), Marie Curie (Chemistry & Physics), Linus Pauling (Chemistry & Peace), Frederick Sanger (Chemistry) (Any one) 

2)      The night sky is lit up with various constellations of stars. One particularly mesmerizing one containing the stars Rigel and Betelgeuse is commonly referred to as ‘The Hunter’. What is this constellation?

a.       Orion

3)      Peter Sellers and Steve Martin have both starred as the lead character in this movie franchise portraying a comical French detective in search of a missing diamond. What is the name of this movie franchise?

a.       The Pink Panther

4)      What is the name of the world’s deepest ocean trench?

a.       The Mariana Trench (located in the Pacific Ocean)

5)      This ancient British university claims alumni from the likes of Tom Hiddleston, Sacha Baron Cohen, John Cleese, Lee Kuan Yew, Stephen Fry, Prince Charles, Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. What is its name?

a.       Cambridge University

6)      With the motto “It’s better to light a candle than to curse the dark”, this human rights NGO mainly functions by putting pressure on governments to clean up their act. Name this NGO.

a.       Amnesty International

7)      What is the name of the ancient mythical city commonly associated with King Arthur, Queen Guinevere and Merlin?

a.       Camelot

8)      How many prime numbers are there between zero and fifty?

a.       Fifteen

Additional trivia: These numbers are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43 and 47. One is not a prime number!

9)      The violin family contains four different kinds of violins. Name three of these instruments.

a.       Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass (Any three)

10)   Coral reefs are made from the same main chemical compound an oyster shell is made from. What is this compound?

a.       Calcium carbonate

11)   Who was the man who was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician and philanthropist who served as the President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999?

a.       Nelson Mandela

12)   Which comic studio created the original comics that formed the basis of the plot for the movie Avengers: The Age of Ultron?

a.       Marvel Comics

13)   What is the name of the Malaysian national flag?

a.       Jalur Gemilang

14)   What is the name of the cooking procedure in which alcohol is added to a hot pan to create a burst of flames?

a.       Flambe (pronounced Flomm-Bay)

15)   This famous African-American civil rights figure bravely refused to budge from her bus seat when called upon to give her seat to a white passenger. What is her name?

a.       Rosa Parks