1 / 6 |
A German U-boat torpedoed a steamship which killed more than 1,100 citizens of country X. This country had initially sought to stay out of World War 1. However, this event is recognised as one of the key factors for its involvement in the war. Name country X. And what is the name of the steamship?

Answer : United States; RMS Lusitania

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2 / 6 |
This is one of the most common catchphrases of World War 1. It is the title of a 1914 book by an English writer, who blamed the Central Powers for starting the war. He believed that once the Germans were defeated, the world would never have reason to fight again. What is the catchphrase that also became common in the 20th century and is often attributed to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson?

3 / 6 |
This was one of the deadliest battles of World War 1. It was an attempt by the British and French soldiers to defeat the Germans along the Western Front. Over 19,000 British soldiers died on the first day alone. The Battle is named after a river which runs through France. What is it called?

4 / 6 |
In January 1918, Woodrow Wilson presented his vision for peace to conclude World War I, and for a peaceful postwar world. A part of this vision also became the basis for an international organisation founded after World War 1. Name the vision and the organisation. 

Answer : Fourteen Points; League of Nations

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5 / 6 |
During the Second Battle of Ypres, this chemical weapon was released by the Germans towards the French lines. Name it. 

6 / 6 |
This Bengali pilot was India’s sole World War 1 flying ace. His nephew became the first Chief of Air Staff. His grand-nephew is one of India’s foremost journalists. Name the ace and the journalist.

1 / 6 |
Many of the world’s first generation of nuclear power plants had twin responsibilities: to generate power for the electrical grid and to produce _________ for the national nuclear weapons programme. Fill in the blank with the identity of a particular isotope.

2 / 6 |
The last first-generation nuclear power station to halt operations was the Wylfa facility on the Isle of Anglesey (Wales), on December 30, 2015, following 44 years of operation. Why did its operator, Magnox Ltd., have the facility built on the coast of the island?

3 / 6 |
The world’s oldest commercial nuclear reactor design still in use is the RBMK, conceived by engineers in the Soviet Union. Its advantages are its large size, power output, and ease of construction. Name the 1986 event involving an RBMK reactor that brought international attention to its disadvantages, in particular its tendency to become unstable at low power.

4 / 6 |
The International Atomic Energy Agency published the INES scale in 1990 to describe the severity of accidents at a nuclear power generation facility. On this scale the Three Mile Island incident in 1979 scored 5 whereas the Fukushima disaster of 2011 scored 7, the highest. What does INES stand for?

Answer : International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale

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5 / 6 |
Name the country in whose power generation mix nuclear power has the greatest contribution today — and has been the case since the 1980s. This power comes from 58 reactors and a large fraction of it is exported.

6 / 6 |
This is a view of the world’s largest nuclear power plant in terms of net electric power, although not all of its reactors are operational at this time. Name it.

1 / 5 |
How many attempts were made before Hillary finally succeeded?

Answer : Eight. Hillary and Norgay succeeded on the mountaineering expedition to attempt the first ascent of Mount Everest.

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2 / 5 |
Where was Hillary from? Which was the peak in his country that he ascended before his expedition to Mt. Everest?

3 / 5 |
In which year was the first expedition to Mt. Everest done?

4 / 5 |
Two mountaineers disappeared on the third attempt, giving rise to the long-standing speculation of whether or not the pair might have reached the summit first. Who were they?

Answer : George Mallory, Andrew Irvine

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5 / 5 |
Who was the first Indian Mt. Everest? In which year it happened?

Answer : Avatar Singh Cheema in 1965

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1 / 5 |
An important reason this mission was possible was the Soviet Union’s offer to launch the satellite for free. While he had some apprehensions at first, the then chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation got on board with ‘Aryabhata’ before representatives from the two countries signed the launch agreement. Name him.

2 / 5 |
To memorialise the India-Soviet Union friendship, the USSR in 1984 issued a postage stamp featuring Aryabhata and two other Indian satellites launched onboard Soviet rockets. Name them.

3 / 5 |
Name the area on the outskirts of Bengaluru (then Bangalore) that U.R. Rao, the ‘Aryabhata’ project director from the India side, selected as the location for the Indian Scientific Satellite Project, where ‘Aryabhata’ would be built.

4 / 5 |
In 1972, the task of building ‘Aryabhata’ faced a political problem: there was strong opposition to moving equipment from the Satellite Systems Division in X to the new Bengaluru facility, despite a parliamentary assurance that the would be returned after the launch. Name the city X.

5 / 5 |
In March 1975, a month before the launch date, a panel recommended three names for the satellite. One of course was ‘Aryabhata’, which Prime Minister Indira Gandhi picked. Name the other two options.

Answer : ‘Jawahar’ and ‘Maitri’

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1 / 7 |
This is an artistic form or medium usually created on a defined substrate that consists of three-dimensional elements projecting out of or from the substrate. The origin of the art form dates to Picasso. What is this art form called?

2 / 7 |
This is a large 1937 oil painting by Picasso. One of his best-known works, regarded by many art critics as the most moving and powerful anti-war painting in history, features a gored horse, a bull, screaming women, a dead baby, a dismembered soldier, and flames. Name the painting. 

3 / 7 |
After 1906, the work of this older artist motivated Picasso to explore more radical styles, beginning a fruitful rivalry between the two artists, who subsequently were often paired by critics as the leaders of modern art. Name the artist. He was also known for an art form known for a seemingly wild brushwork, while their subject matter had a high degree of simplification. 

4 / 7 |
Picasso was known for two distinct periods characterised by the use of two colours. While the former depicted themes of poverty, and loneliness, the latter represented more pleasant themes of clowns, harlequins and carnival performers. Name the two periods. 

Answer : Picasso’s Blue Period and Rose Period

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5 / 7 |
This is a set of 100 etchings in the neoclassical style by Picasso produced between 1930-1937. The suite is in a number of museums, and individual etchings from the suite are collectable. What is it called?

6 / 7 |
In the 1996 movie Surviving Picasso which notable actor portrayed Picasso?

7 / 7 |
This is an early work of Picasso that is considered a step towards an early 20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting. What is the movement called?

1 / 5 |
Which country was the most recent entrant as a member of the United Nations in 2011? How many total member nations are part of the United Nations today? 

2 / 5 |
Name the country that remains the first and only nation to withdraw its membership from the United Nations (it later joined the organisation). What was the reason offered?

Answer : Indonesia (because Malaysia was made an UN member when both countries were in conflict)

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3 / 5 |
This person was the secretary of the 1955 Bandung conference that led to the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement. Later on, he went on to become the first non-Scandinavian diplomat to take up the post of UN Secretary-General. Name him. 

4 / 5 |
Which former U.N. Secretary-General remains the only posthumous recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize? He was the recipient in which year? 

5 / 5 |
What is being described here (in partial) – “..,representing an azimuthal equidistant projection centered on the North Pole, inscribed in a wreath consisting of crossed conventionalized branches of the olive tree, in gold on a field of smoke-blue with all water areas in white”

1 / 5 |
In November 1979, member countries of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation gathered for the 20th General Conference and determined to observe October 16 as World Food Day from 1981. What does the date commemorate?

Answer : Date on which FAO was founded in 1945

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2 / 5 |
The first of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, i.e. SDG 1, is to end extreme poverty worldwide by 2030. Which SDG deals with ending hunger and improving food security and nutrition?

3 / 5 |
A significant and relatively new threat to food security is _______ ______. It is expected to lower crop yield, make the availability of water more uncertain, reduce soil fertility, and bring plant diseases to new areas. Fill in the blanks.

4 / 5 |
Twelve years after winning the Nobel Prize for peace, ______ _______ asked the Nobel Foundation for help creating a new prize to fete others like him. The Foundation declined, but by 1986, General Foods Corp. offered help and the World Food Prize was born in 1987. Fill in the blanks.

5 / 5 |
Some 3% of terrestrial plant species worldwide use the C4 photosynthetic pathway and thus have higher water efficiency. Name the Indian scientist who led efforts at the International Rice Research Institute to develop rice varieties that used this pathway in the 1980s.