GREENKO OPEN - 2009

Prelims

HQC Open Quiz 2009

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In 2004, the Government of India declared that a
language that met certain requirements could be
accorded the status of a “classical language”. It
should be ancient, it should be an independent
tradition that arose mostly on its own and not as an
offshoot of another tradition, and it must have a large
and extremely rich body of ancient literature. Four
languages that have met this criteria include Tamil
(2004) and Sanskrit (2005). Two were accorded this
status in 2008. Name them.

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Telugu
Kannada
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Three artistes are widely regarded to

constitute the “female trinity of Carnatic
music”.
M. S. Subbulakshmi is one.
Who were the other two?

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M. L. Vasanthakumari
D. K. Pattammal
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The famous Venezeulan-born leftist

revolutionary Carlos ‘The Jackal’s full
name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez. His
father was a Marxist lawyer.
What were the first names of his two
younger brothers?

3
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Vladimir
Lenin
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Identify the two people speaking in

this audio.

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Rafael Nadal
Roger Federer
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Bird A used to be called the _______ Kite in India,

because its diet included household refuse and
carrion. It is now referred to as the XXX Kite. The
name change was for reasons of political correctness.
Bird B is even now called the _______ mynah, thanks
to its distinctive appearance. There have been calls to
change this name as well, because of its casteist
connotations. Fill in the blanks.

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A B
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Pariah Kite
Brahminy Mynah
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This is a print ad from a series by

agency ‘Conexión Colombia’ which
raises funds to stop child labor. In these
ads they show the dark side of fairy
tales – stories which are never told.

What story is this a poster for?

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Little Red Riding Hood

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In 1905, the US Ministry of Public Instruction sought a
way to weed out children who needed special
education. They devised a series of tests that
measured logical aptitude and memory. The tests
supposedly yielded the “mental age” of the child.
In 1912, German William Stern improved upon this by
dividing the mental age by the chronological age and
multiplying by 100. What concept was thus created?

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IQ, Intelligence Quotient

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This art form is a classical example of the

amalgamation of medieval art, poetry and music.
Several schools produced works in this genre. Each
work is usually about one of 6 these (and their 5
“wives” and 8 “sons/daughters”). Each one of these is
personified by a colour, mood, and a verse describing
a story of a hero and heroine. It elucidates a season
and time of day; most of them also specify a deity.
What art form?

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Raagamala Paintings
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What rather controversial “technique” is

being demonstrated in the visual?

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Waterboarding
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From the “Thesaurus of Anecdotes” by

Edmund Fuller:
“Not all your plays are successes, I
suppose, Sir James”, someone remarked
to J. M. Barrie at a party…Barrie leaned
toward him and said, “No, some ______
out and some ______ out.”
Fill in the blanks. NO part points.
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peter, pan
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The name of this city is derived form an

old word meaning “monks” in English.
This was to honour the fact that monks
of the Benedictine order founded the
city. It is also the reason for the monk
depicted on the city’s coat of arms. What
city?

11*
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Munich
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“Across the Zodiac: The Story of a Wrecked

Record” (1880) is a science fiction novel by
Percy Greg, who is credited as an originator of
the “sword-and-planet” sub-genre of science
fiction. The book describes a flight to Mars, set
in the year 1830. The name of the spacecraft is
now a word in the English language. This was
one of the word’s earliest appearances.
What?

12*
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Astronaut
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The Canadian ones are all attached to Ellesmere Island.
There are at least 40 in the Southern Hemisphere, with
names such as Brahms, Verdi, Bach, George VI etc. The
more relevantly named ones are probably Cook, Ross,
Shackleton etc. The ones named after Captain Carl
Anton Larsen were in the news in January 1995 and
February 2002, and the one named for Sir Hubert
Wilkins was featured as recently as April this year.
What are we talking about?

13*
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Ice Shelves
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US Patent # 4,571,201 was awarded to

Takashi Matsuda an employee of Takara
Co. Ltd. What did this patent lead to the
creation of?

14*
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Transformers
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Composed by pop band, Vital Signs it was

included in the band’s debut album ‘Vital
Signs 1’. In 2003, BBC World Service
conducted an international poll to choose
ten most famous songs of all time. Around
7000 songs were selected from all over the
world. According to BBC, people from 155
countries/islands voted. This song was third
in top 10 songs and is now considered
almost an anthem. What often heard song,
especially in April-May this year? 15*
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Dil Dil Pakistan

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Prince Henry the Navigator’s people landed in

this place, which literally meant “wood”, in
1420 and set about clearing the thick woods.
They set a fire that raged for seven years.
Although they never planned it that way, the
potash left from the consumed wood would
prove a perfect fertilizer for vineyards of the
Malmsey grapes imported from Crete to
replace these forests.
What famous product resulted?
16*
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Madeira
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Formerly known as Sahron Saburjian, he was
the son of a blacksmith, born near Garmsar in
the Talysh family on 28 October 1956 and
ironically may have come from a Jewish
background. The original name, which derives
from “thread painter”, was changed to the
present one, meaning “of virtuous race”,
deriving from the Arabic for “virtuous” and
Farsi for “race”. Opponents have speculated
that the name was changed in order to cover
Jewish roots. Who are we talking about?
17*
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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
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This word may have its origins in an Arabic

word for ‘diversion, amusement’, or the
Chinese word ch’ih-fan (meaning ‘eat-rice’).
Neither of these has been conclusively
established. The most likely origin is an
English colloquial or slang term which means
“a draught of liquor” or “small beer”. It is in a
1785 dictionary where the meaning is given
as “eating or drinking out of meal-times”.
What word?
18*
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Tiffin
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The central government has budgeted

Rs. 100 crores for setting up the Unique
Identification Number Authority of India.
The Chairperson will be considered the
equivalent of Cabinet rank in the
government.
Who has been appointed the first
Chairperson?

19*
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Nandan Nilekani
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According to John Keay’s “Sowing the Wind”,

in 1925, he paid his one and only visit to a
certain place in connection with the opening
of the Hebrew University. The tone of the visit
was supposedly set in the customs shed in
Jaffa where the disembarking VIP was
accosted by an officer asking, “And have you
anything else to declare, Mr. _______?”
Fill in the blank.

20*
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Balfour
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This hill range is originally supposed to

have been named after the Telugu word
for “hair partition”, because it seems as
though the river and hills cutting each
other resemble the partition in a
woman’s hair. The commonly used
name now is a slightly shortened form of
the original.
What place?
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Papikondalu
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Identify the playback singer of this song.

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Shruti Hassan

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The meaning of this phrase has been a hotly

debated topic recently. Said to originate from
a folk song in Chhattisgarh, most people
believe that it alludes to the complications in a
relation between a bride and her in-laws, akin
to the complex arrangement of flowers on a
branch.
However, some people also believe that this is
a tongue-in-cheek comparison of the
husband’s house to a flower that seems
beautiful but has no fragrance. 23
What phrase is this?
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Sasuraal Genda Phool

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Which sportsperson gets his nickname

from the character given below because
of the similarities between their
surnames?

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Andrew “Freddie” Flinto

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1. Manas Katyal – A 22 year old Delhi based
media professional
2. Elesh Parujanwala – A 30 year old
entrepreneur from Toronto
3. Chittiz Jain – 26 year old garment exporter
from Delhi

What is the “prize” that these folks are

“competing” for?

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Rakhi Sawant
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In April 2009, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben

Bernanke was interviewed for CBS’ “60
Minutes” programme (a first by any sitting
Fed chairman in 20 years). He said, “And I
think as those ______ ______ begin to appear
in different markets, and as some confidence
begins to come back, that will begin the
positive dynamic that brings our economy
back”.
What expression fills the blanks?
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green shoots
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This painting made

history when it
fetched nearly $1.6
million at a
Christie’s auction in
2005.
What is the full
name of the artist?

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Tyeb Mehta
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X’s log for 6 May 1770 records, “The great

quantity of these sort of fish found in this
place occasioned my giving it the name
Stingrays Harbour.” However, in his journal he
changed it to, “The great quantity of plants
Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander found in this place
occasioned my giving it the name ______
______.”
Fill in the blanks.
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Botany Bay
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From the Springfield (Mass.) Sunday
Republican of November 10, 1901: “There is a
void in the English language which…we
undertake to fill…Now, clearly, what is needed
is a more comprehensive term which does
homage to the sex without expressing any
view as to their domestic situation, and what
could be more simpler or more logical than
the retention of what the two doubtful terms
have in common. The abbreviation _____ is
simple, easy to write…” Fill in the blanks.
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Ms.
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What is the subject of discussion in this

video?

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Mongoose Bat
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According to the Union Minister for

Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh,
the Gajner Wildlife Sanctuary in
Rajasthan will see the re-introduction of
the African variant of which species to
India, after attempts to procure
specimens of the Asiatic variety from
Iran led nowhere?

31
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Cheetah
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This dish was supposedly created by a

chef in a mess frequented by lawmakers
of the state as a “combo”, to reduce the
mealtime delays that would eat into
their busy schedule. He did so by
combining an existing dosai-like dish
with upma.

What?
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MLA Pesarattu
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Scientists originally believed that digestion was a

process controlled by the nervous system. In a 1902
experiment, the small intestine of a dog whose
intestinal nerves were severed were simulated (in
contrast to what had been done earlier).
The pancreas continued to secrete digestive juices
suggesting that there was some sort of signaling
mechanism in play. The Greek words for “to set in
motion” were used for this mechanism. What had just
been discovered?

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hormones
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India leased K-43 from 1988 to 1992 and

supposedly used it in designing and
building a first indigenous version. More
of these are in the pipeline and they will
reportedly be based at a facility being
built in Rambilli, about 60 km south of
Visakhapatnam.
Simply name the first of this series, which
in Sanskrit means “destroyer of
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enemies”.
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INS Arihant
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What iconic original music video served

as the “inspiration” for this mind-blowing
sequel?

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The finals will be a

Thriller!!
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Top 8 teams make it to the

Finals
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Quiz by:
Diwakar Pingle
Priyambad Pattanayak
Ravi Mundoli
Nitish Khadiya