Sports
Paris hosted the 2024 Summer Olympics. Which of the following sports made its Olympic debut at the 2024 Summer Olympic games?
a) breaking
b) bowling
c) skateboarding
d) parkour
Answer: a) breaking
Paris 2024 will give an Olympic Games debut to the sport of breaking – a style of street dance that originated in 1970s New York City. Attracting new and younger audiences is a high priority for Olympic chiefs, and in their push to remain relevant that means breaking joins skateboarding, sport climbing and BMX freestyle among urban sports on the schedule. The next Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles, California.
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/extra/68hxs9lsfb/breaking-the-new-olympic-sport-for-2024-explained
Who won the U.S. presidential election in 2024?
a) Joe Biden
b) Kamala Harris
c) Donald Trump
d) Ron DeSantis
Answer: c) Donald Trump
Donald John Trump is a populist and polarising American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Having won the 2024 presidential election as the nominee of the Republican Party, he is the president-elect and will be inaugurated as the 47th president on January 20, 2025.
South Korea will reach super-aged society status (defined as more than 20% of the population aged 65 years or older) in…
a) 2024
b) 2025
c) 2026
d) 2027
Answer: a) 2024
South Korea has officially become a “super-aged” society, with the total ratio of its population aged 65 and above surpassing 20 per cent, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety on Dec 24.
In 2024, which company introduced a quantum computing chip named 'Willow' that showcased unique computational capabilities?
a) IBM
b) Google
c) Intel
d) Microsoft
Answer: b) Google
Google introduced a chip, Willow, that solved a problem extremely faster than conventional supercomputers, showcasing the unique potential of quantum technology.
IBM: IBM is a major player in quantum computing but did not introduce a chip named 'Willow' in 2024.
Intel: Intel focuses on conventional processors and quantum research but had no breakthrough akin to 'Willow.'
Microsoft: Microsoft's quantum computing initiatives didn't include the introduction of a chip named 'Willow' in 2024.
Which show won Outstanding Drama Series at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards?
a) Hacks
b) Shogun
c) 3 Body Problem
d) The Crown
Answer: b) Shogun
A sweeping epic set in 17th-century Japan, Shogun is Hollywood’s most ambitious historical drama in years.
Which country is the current holder of the FIFA Women's World Cup title?
a) United States
b) England
c) Spain
d) Germany
Answer: c) Spain
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's football championship contested by women's national teams and organised by FIFA.
Which Southeast Asian country inaugurated a new prime minister in May 2024?
a) Malaysia
b) Thailand
c) Singapore
d) Indonesia
Answer: c) Singapore
DPM Lawrence Wong, a 4G leader, was sworn in as Singapore’s first new prime minister in 20 years after PM Lee Hsien Loong stepped down.
Which of these diseases became a global health concern again in 2024?
a) covid-19
b) zika
c) mpox
d) ebola
Answer: c) mpox
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had determined that the upsurge of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and a growing number of countries in Africa constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR).
Which space technology advancement in 2024 enhanced the reusability of rockets by successfully capturing a booster?
a) Blue Origin's New Shepard
b) NASA's SLS
c) SpaceX's Starship
d) Rocket Lab's Electron
Answer: C) SpaceX's Starship
SpaceX's rocket-catching technology enhanced the reusability of rockets and potentially reduced space travel costs.
Blue Origin's New Shepard: While it focuses on reusability, it is primarily a suborbital vehicle and not at the scale of Starship's advancements in 2024.
NASA's SLS: The Space Launch System is not designed for reusability; it focuses on deep-space missions.
Rocket Lab's Electron: Although working on reusability, its advancements did not match the scale of SpaceX's Starship in 2024.
In November 2024, a banana duct-taped to a wall sold for ______million at a Sotheby's auction
a) US$6.2 million
b) US$120,000
c) US$1.2 million
d) US$150,000
Answer: a) US$6.2 million
The yellow banana fixed to the white wall with silver duct tape is a work entitled “Comedian”, by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. It first debuted in 2019 as an edition of three fruits at the Art Basel Miami Beach fair, where it became a much-discussed sensation.
Which tennis player won the Wimbledon in 2024?
a) Novak Djokovic
b) Carlos Alcaraz
c) Rafael Nadal
d) Roger Federer
Answer: b) Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz Garfia is a 24-year-old Spanish professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as World No. 1 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Alcaraz has won 16 ATP Tour-level singles titles, including four major titles and five Masters 1000 titles.
Which African country's ruling party lost its parliamentary majority in June 2024?
a) South Africa
b) Nigeria
c) Kenya
d) Madagascar
Answer: a) South Africa
The African National Congress (ANC) party has lost its parliamentary majority in a historic election result that puts South Africa on a new political path for the first time since the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule 30 years ago.
Which of one of these events reignited public anger at the health insurance industry in the US in 2024?
a) denial of insurance claims made by ordinary Americans
b) escalating health care premiums
c) about 26 million Americans are without health insurance
d) the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in broad daylight
Answer: d) the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in broad daylight
The cold-blooded assassination of a health care CEO has uncorked a torrent of public anger at the health insurance industry. Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/12/politics/health-insurance-problems-what-matters/index.html
In 2024, scientists achieved a neurobiological milestone by mapping the brain of which organism?
a) mouse
b) zebrafish
c) fruit fly
d) nematode worm
Answer: c) fruit fly
Scientists mapped the fruit fly brain, marking a significant neurobiological milestone.
Mouse: While mouse brain studies are ongoing, no full mapping of this complexity was achieved in 2024.
Zebrafish: Although zebrafish are studied for brain activity, the fruit fly's connectome was the milestone mapped.
Nematode worm: The nematode worm's brain was mapped in the 1980s, not in 2024.
Which prestigious art biennale, themed "Foreigners Everywhere," opened its 60th edition in April 2024, focusing on artists who are immigrants or exiles?
a) Venice Biennale
b) São Paulo Biennial
c) Whitney Biennial
d) Berlin Biennale
Answer: a) Venice Biennale
The 60th edition of the Venice Biennale, themed "Foreigners Everywhere," opened in April 2024, focusing on artists who are immigrants or exiles.
Which team won the NBA Championship in 2024?
a) Los Angeles Lakers
b) Denver Nuggets
c) Miami Heat
d) Boston Celtics
Answer: d) Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston who have won 18 titles, the most of any team in the league.
Which European country's court annulled its presidential election in December 2024 due to Russian interference claims?
a) Ukraine
b) Romania
c) Poland
d) Hungary
Answer: b) Romania
Romania's constitutional court annulled the result of the first round of voting in the presidential election just days before the second round was due to take place. The first round was won by Calin Georgescu, an almost unknown far-right Nato-sceptic who has previously praised Vladimir Putin. The court's decision came after intelligence documents were declassified, suggesting Georgescu benefitted from a mass influence operation – conducted from abroad (Russia) – to interfere with the result of the vote.
The 29th UN climate change summit (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan was successful in…
a) increasing financial contributions of rich countries to US$100bn
b) convincing rich countries to ban the use of fossil fuels
c) getting the US to play a greater role in reversing climate change
d) none of the above
Answer: d) none of the above
Rich countries pledged to increase climate finance to USD$300bn by 2035. Fossil fuels are to be “phased out” not “banned”. Furthermore, with the incoming Trump administration, it is highly unlikely that the US will play a major role in climate negotiations.
In 2024, which drug was recognized for its exceptional effectiveness in HIV prevention?
a) remdesivir
b) lenacapavir
c) molnupiravir
d) paxlovid
Answer: b) lenacapavir
Lenacapavir, an antiretroviral medication developed by Gilead, was noted for its exceptional protection against HIV and promises easier access in poorer countries. The other drugs are for treatment of Covid-19, not HIV.
Which literary work won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2024?
a) The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
b) Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips
c) Trust by Hernan Diaz
d) Less by Andrew Sean Greer
Answer: b) Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips
Who is the current world record holder for the 100-meter dash?
a) Usain Bolt
b) Erriyon Knighton
c) Noah Lyles
d) Fred Kerley
Answer: a) Usain Bolt 9.58s
The men's 100m running world record, set by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, stands at 9.58 seconds. Noah Lyles' personal best in the 100-meter is 9.784 seconds, which he set at the 2024 Olympics.
Which country's president was killed in a helicopter crash in May 2024?
a) Iran
b) Nigeria
c) Brazil
d) Philippines
Answer: a) Iran
A helicopter crash on 19 May, 2024, killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who many had thought was the likely successor to the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader.
At the recent Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) meeting at the end of 2024 to tackle plastic pollution in Busan, South Korea, countries failed to reach an agreement because…
a) China opposed the move
b) oil producing countries such as Russia and Saudi Arabia stood in the way
c) countries could not agree on a specific target
d) the US refused to ratify the treaty
Answer: b) Big oil producing countries, particularly Russia and Saudi Arabia, were accused of standing in the way as they opposed any efforts to curb production, with one EU negotiator blaming them for the meeting’s failure.
Which AI tool's creators were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2024 for their contributions to protein folding?
a) AlphaFold 2
b) ChatGPT
c) DALL-E
d) DeepMind
Answer: a) AlphaFold 2
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to the creators of AlphaFold 2, a significant AI tool.
ChatGPT: This AI focuses on natural language processing, unrelated to protein folding.
DALL-E: DALL-E generates images from text; it does not involve protein folding.
DeepMind: While DeepMind developed AlphaFold, the award specifically recognized AlphaFold 2 for its protein-folding advancements.
Which city faced significant budget cuts to its arts scene in 2024, with a proposed reduction of €130 million, sparking outrage among artists and cultural institutions?
a) Paris
b) London
c) Berlin
d) Rome
Answer: c) Berlin
Plans to slash Berlin’s culture budget by tens of millions of Euros have led to a huge backlash, with leading venues saying they have been forced to cut performances and others warning they will be pushed into bankruptcy.