ROUND 1 (no theme)

1.

Who starred opposite Scarlett Johanssen in Lost in Translation?

Bill Murray

2.

Who starred opposite Scarlett Johanssen in Girl with a Pearl Earring?

Colin Firth

3.

Who used the pseudonyms John Hume Ross and TE Shaw?

TE Lawrence (of Arabia)

4.

In which year did DH Lawrence publish Lady Chatterley’s Lover? (2 year margin)

1938 (1936 – 1940 will suffice)

5.

Who designed the basement of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, The British Embassy in Washington and The Viceroy’s House, New Delhi?

Edwin Lutyens

6.

Who designed the Manchester Athenaeum, The Reform Club in Pall Mall and the Houses of Parliament?

Sir Charles Barry

7.

Which modern English city was known as Ratae during the Roman occupation of Britain?

Leicester

8.

Which modern English city was known as Glevum during the Roman occupation of Britain?

Gloucester

ROUND 2 (no theme)

1.

Who was the first European to have sailed round the Cape of Good Hope?

Vasco de Gama

2.

In which decade was Magellan’s expedition round the world completed?

The 1520s

3.

Malus Sylvestris is the Latin name for which tree or hedge plant?

The Crab Apple

4.

Rubus Fructicosus is the Latin name for which hedge plant?

The Blackberry

5.

Which Greek deity gave King Midas ass’s ears?

Apollo (Midas thought Pan’s pipes were superior to Apollo’s lyre)

6.

Which Greek deity changed Io into a heifer?

Zeus (He did it to hide her from Hera but Hera got the better of him by asking for the heifer as a gift)

7.

The Song to the Moon comes from the opera Russalka.  Who wrote it?

Dvorak

8.

The Polostvian Dances come from the opera Prince Igor.  Who wrote it?

Borodin

ROUND 3 – Musicals

(each answer contains the name of a musical)

1.

Which US state is bordered to the south by Texas, to the east by Arkansas and Missouri, to the north by Kansas and Colorado, and to the west by New Mexico?

Oklahoma

2.

Which American city has its centre at the intersection of Madison and State streets, inside what is known as the loop?

Chicago

3.

Which world championship will be held between June 18^th and July 13^th this year in Tripoli and Valetta?

Chess

4.

Which style of music evolved in the 1890s out of black music played on American plantations?

Ragtime

5.

Which nickname for British soldiers, in use from World War I onwards, was derived from the example name used on army forms?

Tommy (Tommy Atkins)

6.

Which Islamic word means: fate or destiny, and the will of Allah?

Kismet

7.

Which street, over twenty miles long, links downtown Los Angeles with Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Bel-Air and Malibu?

Sunset Boulevard

8.

In 1881 Le Chat Noir opened in Montmartre and is considered to be the first what?

Cabaret

ROUND 4 – Picture Round

1.

(Picture 1) Soon to be reintroduced in Britain, what is it?

Great Bustard

2.

(Picture 2) One of Britain’s rarest birds, nesting only in parts of East Anglia and Lancashire, what is it?

Bittern

3.

(Picture 3) Name the city.

Berlin (it’s the Brandenburg Gate)

4.

(Picture 4) Name the city.

Rome (it’s the Vittorio Emmanuel Monument)

5.

(Picture 5) Name the novel.

Vernon God Little

6.

(Picture 6) Name the novel.

Life of Pi

7.

(Picture 7) Name the TV comedy series.

Nighty-Night

8.

(Picture 8) Name the TV comedy series.

Coupling

ROUND 5 (no theme)

1.

Which team has achieved automatic promotion from the Nationwide Conference League?

Chester

2.

Which team has achieved automatic promotion from Division 3?

Doncaster Rovers

3.

What is the numerical value of 5 factorial?

120 (5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1)

4.

What is the sum of the first 100 integers?

5050 (50 x 101)

5.

Which actor plays Bill in Kill Bill?

David Carradine

6.

David Carradine was the star of which TV series of the 1970s?

Kung Fu

7.

Name the Muslim cleric wanted by the Americans in Nejaf?

M. al Sadr

8.

What is Saddam Hussein’s home town?

Tikrit

ROUND 6 – Colours of the Rainbow

(answer 1 contains the word ‘Rainbow’ and each subsequent answer starts with the initial letter of one of the colours of the rainbow – R – O – Y – G – B – I – V) 

1.

Which group had hits with All Night Long and I Surrender?

Rainbow

2.

Which character was played by Bernard Hill in The Boys From The Black Stuff?

Yosser (Hughes)

3.

Which chemical element is named after the Greek goddess of the rainbow?

Iridium

4.

Which actress played the part of Ena Sharpies in Coronation Street?

Violet Carson

5.

Banjul is the capital of which country?

Gambia

6.

Peter Carey won the 1988 Booker Prize for which novel?

Oscar and Lucinda

7.

Which chemical compound has the formula C₆ H₆?

Benzene

8.

What is the name given to the set of all the numbers which can be expressed as the ratio of two integers?

Rational Numbers

ROUND 7 – Football teams

(each answer contains the ancillary name of a football team – e.g. Rovers or Wanderers)

1.

For which 1974 film, also starring Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall and many others, did Ingrid Bergman win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress?

Murder on the Orient Express

2.

Which novel by Neville Shute was made into a 1956 movie starring Virginia McKenna, Peter Finch and Kenji Takagi?

A Town Like Alice

3.

Which sport is played on a court which includes galleries and a tambour?

Real Tennis

4.

Which church was formed in 1972 by the union of the Congregational Church in England and Wales and the Presbyterian Church of England?

United Reformed Church

5.

Who scored the winning goal in the 1981 FA Cup Final?

Ricky Villa

6.

Which song by Starship was recently ranked the worst single ever by a US magazine?

We Built This City

7.

Which Scottish region contains the towns of Oban, Lochgilphead and Campbeltown, and the islands of Mull, Jura and Islay?

Argyll and Bute (accept Argyll)

8.

Which song, once one of the most widely sung or performed in the world, was written in Paris in 1871, with words by Eugene Pottier and music by Pierre Degeyter?

The Internationale

ROUND 8 (no theme)

1.

Whom do Great Britain next play in the Davis Cup?

Austria

2.

Against whom do England open their Euro 2004 campaign?

France

3.

Who is to be the next Chairman of the BBC?

Michael Grade

4.

Whose booking by the Trafalgar Club led to front page headlines recently?

Jean-Marie le Pen

5.

Who is the new heavyweight boxing champion of the world?

Vitali Klitchko

6.

Who is the new US Masters’ Champion?

Phil Mickelson

7.

During which war were the battles of Malplaquet, Oudenarde and Blenheim fought?

War of Spanish Succession

8.

During which war were the battles of Minden, Plessey and Quebec fought?

Seven Years War

SPARES

1.

What is James T. Kirk’s middle name?

Tiberius

2.

What is the name of Madrid’s principal airport?

Barajas

3.

Name the Iraqi port city which was the site of the first battle of the 2003 Iraq War involving British forces?

Um Qasr

4.

To whom was Ron Atkinson speaking when he made his infamous comments about Marcel Desailly last week?

Clive Tyldsley

5.

In The Lord of the Rings, how many rings of power were there in total?

20 (9 for men, 7 for dwarves, 3 for elves and 1 for the Dark Lord)

6.

Who was the driver who was killed during practice at Imola the day before Ayrton Senna’s fatal crash?

Roland Ratzenberger

7.

In which US city is the Liberty Bell?

Philadelphia

8.

Which singer’s real name is Eithne ni Bhraonain?

Enya