Culture & The Arts
Which famous Czech actor emigrated to America and starred in the 1957 classic film, '12 Angry Men'?
Clue: He was associated with the actor/playwright, Jan Werich.
Jiří (George) Voskovec
The winning song in this year's Eurovision song Contest was called 'The Code'. What is it about and which country entered the song?
It is about non-binary gender issues.
The song represented Switzerland.
What happened on the 7th of October, 2023?
Hamas crossed into Israel and attacked a music festival and several kibbutz, sparking the current war in Gaza.
Why was the EU flag in the news recently?
It was banned from this year's Eurovision Song Contest.
Also, the EU elections in early June, 2024.
What does P.E.E. stand for?
Point, Expand (or Explain) and Evidence
Name a figure from "The Lost Generation"
Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald...
Which highly influential group is associated with the NYC-based pop artist, Andy Warhol?
Who was the lead singer?
The Velvet Underground
Lou Reed
What did Dr. Samuel Johnson do in 1755?
He published his extensive and groundbreaking English language dictionary.
(The very first dictionary was published by Robert Cawdrey in 1604)
What is the current percentage of value added tax (VAT) on feminine hygiene products in the Czech Republic?
What is the EU average?
What is the situation in the UK (especially England and Scotland)?
In Czechia, 21%
In the EU, 5%
In England, 0%
In Scotland, all feminine hygiene products are free
What is the OED's new 'Word of the the Year'?
And what does it mean?
"Rizz"
A person who is attractive and charismatic
Who came "..to bury Caesar, not to praise him."
Mark Anthony (Julius Caesar, Act III, scene 2)
Who wrote 'Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3rd, 1802'?
Along with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, which literary movement did he help to create?
William Wordsworth
The Romantic Movement
What existential event occured on the 26th of September, 1983?
Stanislav Petrov, a soldier working at a Soviet Union radar base, informed his superiors that the alarm for 6 US nuclear missile launches, heading for the Soviet Union, were erroneous, thereby avoiding M.A.D.
Which humanitarian had his birthday on the 19th of May, 1909?
Sir Nicholas Winton, who arranged the 'kindertransports' from Prague in 1939.
"If I work harder, I will do well."
Is this an example of a zero, first, second or third conditional?
'First'
(something in the future with an achievable outcome)
Name a poet from Remembrance Week.
WWI: Wilfrid Owen (Anthem for Doomed Youth, Il Dulce et Decorum est)
W.B. Yeats (Easter 1916)
Stephen Spender (Two Armies)
Ilya Kaminsky (Deaf Republic)
Which famous Hollywood actor/director, created panic on the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S., with his radio play - The War of the Worlds?
Orson Welles
What caused the permanent opening of the Berlin Wall, and the end of communism in Eastern Europe, in 1989?
A senior GDR official (Günter Schabowski) misread a poorly-worded press release at a press conference, saying the border between east and west Berlin was "open... with immediate effect."
What was the main cause of the 'Celtic Diaspora' in the 19th century?
The Irish Potato Famine (1845 - 1852)
What does the anagram B.R.I.C.S. stand for?
(and is it an acronym?)
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
(Yes, it is an acronym because it is spoken as a word, not a collection of letters)
Name one of the Ukrainian folk songs we sang in February.
Hey, the Falcons
Red Viburnum in the Meadow
The Red Flower
Which woman did I nominate to remember this year on 'International Women's Day'?
When is I.W.D.?
ALEXA, Mrs Dunn, Nikki Hayley, Raye, Darii Kashcheeva, Krystyna Pyszková, Taylor Swift
The 8th of March (UK)
March 8th (USA)
What were the three main slogans of English Socialism (or IngSoc) in George Orwell's 1984?
Bonus question: Along with George Orwell, which academic's writing on 'Tyranny' did we examine?
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength
Bonus answer: Professor Timothy Snyder
What did Abraham Maslow publish in 1943?
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
What were the three common mistakes we identified when writing in English?
Prepositions
Articles (definite and indefinite)
Word order in sentences