Answers

1 The Queen's official birthday ceremony was understandably a

relatively low-key affair this year. What is the name of the ceremony usually held to celebrate the monarch’s birthday?

a. The Trooping of the Colour b. The Changing of the Guard

c. Ceremony of the Keys

a. The Trooping of the Colour - It is only the second time in her 68-year reign that the usual parade in London has not gone ahead. The Queen celebrated her 94th birthday in April, but it is officially - and publicly - celebrated on the second Saturday of June every year.

2 According to a new study by French scientists, dogs are able to

detect the presence of COVID-19 on infected patients by sniffing …? a. their armpits

b. their feet c. their noses

a. their armpits - Researchers trained eight Belgian Malinois shepherd dogs to identify people infected with the coronavirus from odour samples taken from the armpits of more than 360 subjects, both healthy and suffering from COVID-19. The dogs' overall success rate was 95 per cent.

3 US presidential candidate Joe Biden, has said he is worried Donald

Trump might …? a. try and tamper with the election results

b. refuse to leave the White House if he loses the election c. declare martial law (military control) over ‘Black Lives Matter’

protests

b. refuse to leave the White House if he loses the election - Mr Biden also said he fears Mr Trump may try and claim postal votes are fraudulent.

In which UK city did this event occur last week?

a. Bristol b. Brighton c. Bath

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a. Bristol - City officials will retrieve the statue of Edward Colston and place it in a museum after protesters hurled the monument into the harbour as part of anti-racism protests. The bronze of Colston, a 17th-century slave trader, was dragged through the streets of the city before being dumped in the water.

5 Why has Twitter suspended and removed 32,000 accounts from

China, Russia and Turkey? a. they contain Government propaganda

b. they contain false COVID-19 cures c. they contain computer viruses

a. they contain Government propaganda - Twitter is disclosing the details of more than 32,000 accounts it has suspended and removed from its platform after investigations found ties to state-run propaganda and disinformation operations in China, Russia and Turkey.

6 What significant change has occurred with power generation

around the Britain in the last 2 months? a. Daily demand for electricity in Britain has doubled

b. Britain has met 50% of the electricity demand with wind power c. Britain has not burned any coal to make power

c. It has not burned any coal to make power - Britain has gone two full months without burning coal to generate power. A decade ago about 40% of the country's electricity came from coal. The figures apply to Britain only, as Northern Ireland is not on the National Grid.

7 The International Cricket Council has introduced a ban on

players shining cricket balls using …? a. saliva b. sweat

c. hair gel

a. saliva - Players will be banned from the age-old technique of using saliva to shine a ball when cricket emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is the name of this story that recently celebrated its 120th

anniversary?

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The Wizard of Oz - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum, was first published on May 17, 1900. It became America's greatest and best-loved homegrown fairytale.

9 Who is being sued for at least $5 billion for claims it illegally invades

the privacy of internet users, by tracking people while they are in “private mode”?

a. Facebook b. TikTok c. Google

c. Google - Many internet users assume their search history isn't being tracked when they view in private mode, but Google says this isn't the case. The search engine denies this is illegal and says it is upfront about the data it collects in this mode.

10 Why was one of Banksy's artworks in the news last week?

a. a stolen artwork had finally turned up in Italy b. French authorities have accused him of breaking local

lockdown rules to create it c. it appeared on the side of the Whitehouse in Washington DC

a. a stolen artwork had finally turned up in Italy - The artwork was cut out and removed from the Bataclan music hall in Paris last year by a group of hooded people using angle grinders. The Bataclan music hall was the site of a tragic terrorist attack in 2015. It has since been found in a farmhouse in rural Italy.

11 Why has mining giant Rio Tinto, been in the news recently?

a. they blew up 46,000-year-old Aboriginal caves in Australia b. they have announced they will be closing most of their

global operations c. they have discovered large gold deposits in the Amazon

a. they blew up 46,000-year-old Aboriginal caves in Australia - The Juukan Gorge caves, in the Pilbara region, were destroyed as Rio Tinto expanded an iron ore project. Many prehistoric artefacts have been found at the remote heritage site.

Which Asian country is home to this spectacular landscape that has been

badly affected by flooding? a. China b. Philippines c. Singapore

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a. China - Floods and mudslides in south China have uprooted hundreds of thousands of people and have claimed dozens of lives, according to state media. Torrential downpours unleashed floods and mudslides that caused nearly 230,000 people to be relocated and destroyed more than 1,300 houses.

13 A deal has been struck between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury for two boxing matches in 2021. How are fights being promoted?

a. The Battle of the Belts b. The Battle of Britain

c. The Battle of Best Friends

b. The Battle of Britain - Joshua holds the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts, while Fury is the reigning WBC champion. Both men hail from the United Kingdom.

14 The record label for artists that include Drake and Ariana Grande, has stopped using which word in an effort to recognise the broad range of

styles performed by its artists? a. soul

b. urban c. grime

b. urban - Republic Records, one of the most powerful record labels in the US, will stop using the word "urban" to describe music. The term is often considered to be a generalisation that lumps very different styles under one word, and marginalises music by black artists.

15 A British man was successfully rescued last week after being trapped down an Indonesian well. For how many days had he been trapped?

a. 2 days b. 4 days c. 6 days

c. 6 days - The 29 year-old man broke his leg after falling into the 4m-deep well in while being chased by a dog in Bali.The well was dry but his leg meant he was unable to get out. There was a small amount of water in the well which likely kept him alive. His cries for help were eventually heard by a local resident.

Which country has this flag?

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Jamaica

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True or false, sporting great, Roger Federer, has announced an injury will keep him out of tennis until 2021?

True - The 20-time Grand Slam champion underwent surgery to his right knee in February, but his rehabilitation has not gone according to plan, meaning he won't return to action until next year.

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In what country would you be most likely to see a kookaburra? a. Colombia

b. South Africa c. Australia

c. Australia - Kookaburras are a large type of kingfisher bird famous for their 'laughing' call. This noise is often used in movies to set an Australian scene

19 By how much have economists estimated the UK economy

shrunk in April due to lockdown? a. around 10% b. around 20% c. around 50%

b. around 20% - Figures showed that the country's economy shrank by 20.4% in April - the largest monthly contraction on record - as the country spent its first full month in lockdown. The contraction is three times greater than the decline seen during the whole of the 2008 to 2009 economic downturn. But analysts said April was likely to be the worst month, as the government began easing the lockdown in May.

What is the name of this iconic British comedy series that has been in the news?

a. Only Fools and Horses b. Open All Hours c. Fawlty Towers

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c. Fawlty Towers - An episode of the comedy will be reinstated to streaming service UKTV with a warning about "offensive content and language". The platform had temporarily removed the episode while it carried out a review of racial slurs that are used by a character in it.