ROUND 1

1.

Alex Kapranos is the lead singer with which group?

Franz Ferdinand

2.

Mike Skinner is the lead singer of which group?

The Streets

3.

What is the name of a quadrilateral with one pair of parallel sides?

Trapezium

4.

What is the name of the curve given by the equation y = x² (x squared)?

Parabola

5.

Who was the wife of Akenhaten and mother of Tutankhamen?

Nefertiti

6.

For which pharaoh was the Great Pyramid of Giza built?

Khufu  (Cheops)

7.

Which TV comedy is set in the fictional Stockport pub The Grapes?

Early Doors

8.

Name either of the two stars of the comedy series Little Britain.

Matt Lucas and David Walliams

ROUND 2

1.

Which award was won last week by Elfriede Jelinek of Austria?

Nobel Prize for Literature

2.

Professor Maurice Wilkins died last week.  With which two scientists did he share the 1962 Nobel Prize for Medicine?

Crick and Watson  (double helix structure of DNA)

3.

Name four of the other teams in Scotland’s World Cup qualifying group.

(4 from) Italy, Slovenia, Belarus, Norway and Moldova

4.

Name four of the other teams in the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup qualifying group.

(4 from) Switzerland, France, Israel, Cyprus and The Faroe Islands

5.

What is the name of Benjamin Britten’s opera based on Queen Elizabeth I?

Gloriana

6.

Whose operas include War and Peace and Love for Three Oranges?

Prokofiev

7.

Who won the gold medal for the cycling individual 4km pursuit in the 2004 Olympics?

Bradley Wiggins

8.

Who won the individual 3 day-eventing gold medal at the 2004 Olympics?

Leslie Law

ROUND 3 - Picture Round

Identify the battles from the maps and dates

ROUND 4

1.

Who is the governor of Florida?

Jeb Bush

2.

Who is the Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate?

Senator John Edwards

3.

What is the capital of North Korea?

Pyongyang

4.

What is the capital of Mongolia?

Ulan Bator

5.

Who announced the closure of a factory in Grimsby last week, costing 600 jobs?

Bird’s Eye

6.

Who unsuccessfully attempted to take over Marks and Spencer during the summer of 2004?

Philip Green (Acadia)

7.

Who was the first player to miss a penalty in an FA Cup Final?

John Aldridge

8.

Who was the first player to be sent off in an FA Cup Final?

Kevin Moran

ROUND 5

1.

How many British track and field athletes won gold medals in Athens?

5  (Kelly Holmes and the 4 x 100m relay guys)

2.

Apart from Kelly Holmes, which other athlete won two track gold medals in Athens?

El Gharouj (Morocco, 1500m and 5000m)

3.

Add these numbers and give the result:

·    games Arsenal are unbeaten in the Premiership

·    pillars of Islam

·    Brian Lara’s highest first class cricket score.

554 (48+5+501)

4.

Add these numbers and give the result:

·    years since Manchester City last won a major trophy

·    Jesus’ disciples

·    most wickets taken by a bowler in a single Test match.

59 (28+12+19)

5.

Who wrote The Three Musketeers?

Alexander Dumas

6.

Who wrote Les Miserables?

Victor Hugo

7.

In what year was the Nobel Peace Prize inaugurated?

1901 (allow 2 years leeway)

8.

What is the nationality of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize?

Kenyan

ROUND 6 

1.

Which “invincible” died on the same day as “The Man of Steel”?

Keith Miller of the 1948 Australian cricket team (known as “The Invincibles”)

2.

Who was ‘deconstructed’ last Friday?

Jacques Derrida

3.

Which US state was named after the wife of Charles I?

Maryland (Henrietta Maria)

4.

Which city shares its name with the wife of William IV?

Adelaide

5.

What is the name of the “independent” candidate in the US presidential election      (who might swing it for Bush again)?

Ralph Nader

6.

Who was the independent presidential candidate in 1992, who got 19% of the votes but no electoral college members?

Ross Perot

7.

Who is the BBC’s economics editor?

Evan Davies

8.

Who is the BBC’s political editor?

Andrew Marr

ROUND 7

1.

Which major figure in European history was born in Prussia in 1815 and lived until 1898?

Bismarck

2.

Which major figure in Christian history was born a Roman citizen in 3AD and lived until 66AD?

Saint Paul

3.

Where is the US Masters’ golf championship played every year?

Augusta National

4.

Who sank the putt to win this year’s Ryder Cup for Europe?

Colin Montgomerie

5.

What organisation, designed to develop leadership skills in young people, was founded by Prince Charles and John Blashford-Snell in 1984?

Operation Raleigh (accept Raleigh International)

6.

Who was the third daughter, and fifth child, of queen Victoria?

Princess Helena

7.

Who was the last Englishman to reach the Wimbledon men’s singles final?

Bunny Austin

8.

Which cycling event takes the form of a long race punctuated by sprints during which individuals score points for their team by finishing in the top five?

Madison

ROUND 8

1.

Which rock star addressed this year’s Labour party conference on the subject of the “Drop the Debt” campaign?

Bono

2.

Which previously non-political rock star is, with others, playing a series of concerts in American swing states in an attempt to encourage the Democratic vote?

Bruce Springsteen

3.

Which spirit forms the basis of a Tom Collins cocktail?

Gin

4.

Which spirit forms the basis of a Screwdriver cocktail?

Vodka

5.

Which boy band came out as Tories last week, thereby making themselves, and the Conservatives, seriously uncool?

Busted

6.

Which band’s song was used by Bill Clinton as his campaign theme in both 1992 and 1996?

Fleetwood Mac – Don’t Stop

7.

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

The crab apple

8.

Rubus Fructicosus is the Latin name for which hedge plant?

The blackberry

SPARES

1.

To whom has Elton John said he is leaving his money?

His godchildren (that’s the Beckham brats - like they need it!)

2.

Which British politician is 79 today?

Margaret Thatcher

3.

Connect a Manchester City footballer, the US 7th cavalry and a pressurizing tactic in Rugby Union

Garryowen (Gary Owen of Manchester City, Garryowen the marching song of the 7^th cavalry, and Garryowen a high kick at rugby designed to put the opposition under pressure)

4.

Who did David Beckham deliberately foul on Saturday in order to get himself booked?

Ben Thatcher

5.

The American military uses an acronym F.U.B.A.R. meaning “f***ed up beyond all recognition”.  What is the British equivalent?

S.N.A.F.U. (Situation normal all f***ed up)

6.

Where is Dick Cheyney’s sense of honour, shame or decency, not to mention the Haliburton millions?

The same place as the weapons of mass destruction