Thursday, December 22, 2011

1. She was the first movie star in hollywood. Ina an era when the film producers did not let their actors to step into limelight she was the first actress to gain fame under her own name. She was also an inventor. Who was this Canadian silent movie star?

2. Which famous Russian composer composed the ballet " The rite of the spring"?

3. This US army soldier was arrested in May 2010 on suspicion on having passed restricted material to Wikileaks. He is currently facing a hearing for the above charge. Who is he?

4. Oral contraceptive pill is one of the most used drugs worldwide. What was the name of the first combined oral contraceptive pill which was introduced in USA in 1957?

5. Which famous Danish astronomer took the initiative to build 'Uraniborg' an early astronomical observatory. Built in 16th century this was one of the finest observatories then?

6. In 1936 Berlin olympics Jesse Owens won the gold medal for long jump ( known as broad jump then). However earlier in the preliminary rounds Owens fouled in his first two jumps. Later in his life Owens recollected that he made his third try a success owing to the advice of a German athlete who won the silver for long jump. Who was this German athlete?

7. 7th December this year saw the 70th anniversary of the Pearl Harbour attack.The commander of the Japanese combined fleet who was also the Japanese naval marshal general ordered the attack. After the attack he supposedly said " I feel all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve". Who was he?

8. "Tamil Tigress" is an autobiographical story of a former child soldier in LTTE. This book was published in July 2011. The author of the book was a former LTTE fighter who later left LTTE and gained political asylum in Australia. She has used a pen name to write the book instead of using her own name. What is the pen name she used to write the book?

9. Vaclav Havel, the first president of the Czech republic, The last president of Czechoslovakia who was also a playwright and a poet passed away on 18th December 2011. A group of dissidents led by Havel and several others pioneered the 1989 Velevt Revolution which brought the communist regime in Czechoslovakia to an end. What was the name of this dissident group?

10. Which Egyptian god was depicted as a man with a falcon head?

11. The highest mountain of the North American continent is Mount Mckinley. What is the second Highest mountain in North America?

12. Of the 195 countries in the world how many countries are found in Africa and it's neighbour islands?

13. Broadcasting in Sri Lanka completed its 86th year on 16th December this year. Sri Lanka Broadcasting Cooperation was known as Radio Ceylon before 1967. Dr. Nevil de Jayaweera was the first chairman and director general of SLBC. Radio Ceylon was known as Ceylon Broadcasting Service before 1949. Which British governor inaugurated the Ceylon Broadcastin Service in 1925?

14. Which chemical element has a name derived from the Greek word for 'heavy'?

15. Can you identify this famous painting by Jacques- Louis David ? This was one of the most famous images of French revolution?