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General Knowledge > Ch 11-20 > Flashcards

Ch 11-20 Flashcards

1
Q

This 1955 defense treaty between the Soviet Union and seven other Central and Eastern European states, planned to counter American power in the region, ended in 1991.

A

Warsaw Pact

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2
Q

With the handing over of all powers and nuclear launch codes on 25 December 1991, he became the first President of the Russian Federation.

A

Boris Yelstin

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3
Q

This country, the geographical centre of Europe, became the first Soviet republic to declare itself independent on 11 March 1990.

A

Lithuania

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4
Q

With its capital as Chişinău, this nation is home to some of the world’s largest wine cellars.

A

Moldova

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5
Q

Home to the famous space launch facility called Baikonur Cosmodrome, this is the world’s largest landlocked country.

A

Kazakhstan

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6
Q

Dissolved in 1991, this was the highest legislative body in the Soviet Union. It had the power to appoint the Presidium and form the Council of Ministers.

A

Supreme Soviet

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7
Q

He was the only person to have been the President of the USSR, a post established in March 1990 and soon abolished in December 1991.

A

Mikhail Gorbachev

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8
Q

Home to the infamous Chernobyl nuclear power plant, this is the largest country entirely within Europe.

A

Ukraine

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9
Q

Name this flower. It lends its name to an iconic 1757 battle between the British East India Company and the joint forces of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah and the French.

A

Palash (Flame of the forest)

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10
Q

Name this fort in Tharangambadi (or Tranquebar), the second largest Danish fortification built after Kronborg Castle. We know the latter as Elsinore, the setting of Shakespeare’s 3 Hamlet.

A

Fort Dansborg

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11
Q

Name this Portuguese conqueror, regarded as the greatest naval commander of his age. He lends his name to a variety of mango!

A

Afonso de Albuquerque

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12
Q

Which legendary ruler of Mysore is the famous French admiral Pierre André de Suffren meeting in this painting?

A

Hyder Ali

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13
Q

Who is this military figure, instrumental in the British victories over Mysore and the Marathas? He also led the British force that defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.

A

Arthur Wellesley

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14
Q

From the logo, identify the organization that controlled more than twice the sea traffic than its closest competitors. It is acknowledged as the world’s first multinational enterprise.

A

United East India Company (or Dutch East India Company)

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15
Q

Which famous French governor-general’s statue stands at one end of Promenade Beach in Puducherry? He was Robert Clive’s rival.

A

Joseph François Dupleix

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16
Q

Atop which monument dedicated to the first ‘Empress of India’ would you find this bronze statue?

A

Victoria Memorial

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17
Q

President Salva Kiir Mayardit leads this African nation, the world’s youngest sovereign state, having gained independence in 2011.

A

South Sudan

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18
Q

One of the world’s youngest state leaders, Finland’s Prime Minister describes herself as hailing from a rainbow family

A

Sanna Marin

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19
Q

In 2015, he became the first Chinese leader in a decade to make a state visit to the UK

A

Jinping

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20
Q

Alexander Lukashenko, who calls himself the last dictator in Europe’ heads an authoritarian government in this landlocked nation

A

Belarus

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21
Q

Law student Gabriel Boric, known for his role in student protests, is the youngest President in the history of this South American nation

A

Chile

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22
Q

First woman, first African American and first Asian American to be elected Vice-
President of the USA

A

Kamala Harris

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23
Q

The Interview, a controversial 2014 film, features a plot to assassinate this third- generation North Korean leader

A

Kim Jong Un

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24
Q

Draupadi Murmu, India’s 15th President and the second woman to hold this office, hails from this state

A

Odisha

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25
Q

Former actor who became Ukraine’s President and gained praise for leading his nation bravely to resist the 2022 Russian invasion

A

Zelensky

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26
Q

Topper of the Forbes ‘List of World’s Most Powerful Women’ a record nine times, she was also Time ‘Person of the Year’ in 2015

A

Angela Merkel

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27
Q

I’m a cool microblogging site where, on your handle, you ‘tweet what you feel about any issue and #tag the keywords. If people like it, they ‘retweet Then more people read it and some even follow you!

A

Twitter

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28
Q

I’m basically your life in snippets: status updates, images, videos, memories, comments. Your timeline is as informative or secretive as you want it to be. You can also join groups connected to your interest areas.

A

Facebook

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29
Q

You turn to me when you want to hear a new song, or an old one. You can create your own channel and upload your songs, demos, trip videos, tutorials, anything really. Or you can subscribe to any streams in my ever- expanding database.

A

YouTube

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30
Q

You spot something cool and want to tell all your friends, right then! I help you do that instantly with your ‘feed’ of photos, videos, reels and stories. You follow handles, they follow you back. And remember those hashtags!

A

Instagram

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31
Q

I am a very popular microblogging site for teenagers, especially because! encourage communities based on gender expression. You can create many types of blog posts: text, quote, chat, link, photo, video or audio.

A

Tumblr

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32
Q

You will need me as you grow up and look for internships, projects, jobs. I’m a business networking site and I help people connect with each other to hire or get hired. You can create a profile and when you land that job, people ‘congratulate’ you!

A

LinkedIn

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33
Q

Pioneered by Mahatma Gandhi first in South Africa and then in India, this can be loosely translated as ‘insistence on truth

A

Satyagrah

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34
Q

Often called ‘Operation ______, the White Revolution led by Dr Verghese Kurien transformed India from a milk-deficient nation to the world’s largest milk producer.

A

Flood

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35
Q

This voluntary land reform movement was initiated in 1951 by Acharya Vinoba Bhave with two objectives: (1) to collect land as gift from zamindars and (2) to distribute the obtained land amongst the landless

A

Bhoodan

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36
Q

The short-lived India Against Corruption of 2011-12 was spearheaded by Anna Hazare to urge the government to draft an anti-corruption bill titled the Jan _____ Bill.

A

Lokpal

37
Q

Save ______ was a social movement in the 1970s to protect an evergreen forest in Palakkad, Kerala, home to the endangered lion-tailed macaque.

A

Silent valley

38
Q

The ______ Andolan was initiated in 1980 by Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi, when child labour was still unrecognized by legislation; he rescued over 80,000 children from inhumane working conditions.

A

Bachpan bachao

39
Q

This became a global andolan when activists across the world joined farmers and adivasis in protests against the Sardar Sarovar project.

A

Narmada bachao

40
Q

This name is now synonymous with social campaigns to advocate environmental protection, especially tree conservation; pioneered by Amrita Devi of the Bishnoi community

A

Chipko Movement

41
Q

After resigning from Thomas Edison’s company in 1885, he became a pioneer of alternating currents and induction motors, fluorescent Lamps, radio and limitless free energy projects. He has over 300 patents to his name, and is regarded as one of Edison’s greatest rivals.

A

Nikola Tesla

42
Q

Founder of the world’s largest maker of vertical transportation systems (elevators, escalators), he shot to fame after inventing a mechanism to lock the elevator car in place if the ropes failed. He also patented a steam plough, a rotary oven and the oscillating steam engine

A

Elisha Otis

43
Q

In 1901, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen received the very first Nobel Prize in Physics, for detecting and producing electromagnetic radiations in the 3x10 Hz to 3x10 Hz frequency range, which find widespread medical use today. How do we better know them?

A

X rays

44
Q

Identify this English naturalist and geologist, who became a legend in the field of evolutionary biology after he published On The Origin Of Species in 1859.

A

Charles Darwin

45
Q

First detected on 14 September 2015, these phenomena were predicted by Albert Einstein in his theory of general relativity. A system of mirrors and lasers, to observe minute disturbances in reflections, helped detect these.

A

Gravitational waves

46
Q

Known for her work on Charles Babbage’s analytical engine, this British mathematician designed the first ever algorithm for a machine, and is known as the first computer programmer.

A

Ada Lovelace

47
Q

The ______ response, accompanied by increased heartbeat, dilated pupils and a sudden burst of energy, is our body’s response to any situation we think might be a threat.

A

Fight or fight

48
Q

The nervous system transmits signals through ________ and chemical synapses.

A

Electrical

49
Q

The reflex arc helps the body perform split-second, lifesaving actions by not sending signals to the brain in an emergency but by routing them through the _______

A

Spinal cord

50
Q

Numbering over 90 million______ cells, which help us see in poor lighting, have only one type of light-sensitive pigment. This is why very few colours are visible in darkness.

A

Rod

51
Q

Comprising eight muscles and equipped with up to 8,000 lingual papillae, the _____ is also used as another word for language.

A

tongue

52
Q

Bearing perhaps the highest concentration of nerve endings in our body, the _______are responsible for tactile perception and help us sense touch.

A

fingers

53
Q

A subject of great curiosity for thinkers and philosophers, ________ can be of two types: knismesis and gargalesis. When subjected to it, “…men even in a grieved state of mind cannot sometimes forbear laughing”, said English philosopher Francis Bacon.

A

Tickling

54
Q

With a name derived from the Latin for ‘snail shell’, the_______ is a spiral-shaped, fluid-filled tube that contains the main sensory organ for hearing.

A

Cochlea

55
Q

Found abundantly in the monante sands of South India, a key element of the three-stage Indian nuclear power programme envisioned by Homi J. Bhabha

A

Thorium

56
Q

Lightning company that gets its name from the two main components originally used in its incandescent lamps: osmium and tungsten.

A

osram

57
Q

A brittle, high-carbon intermediate product in iron ore refining, named after the shape of the die it takes

A

Pig iron

58
Q

Despite being highly toxic to humans, lead is widely used in everything from batteries to radiation shields, and is the heaviest non- _______element

A

Radioactive

59
Q

The lightest metal and least dense solid element, this highly reactive metal derives its name from the Greek word for ‘rock’

A

Lithium

60
Q

Common in dentistry, these are alloys of mercury with metals like gold or silver

A

Amalgams

61
Q

naturally occurring precious metal; best conductor of heat and electricity; most reflective of all metals

A

Silver

62
Q

The most abundant (over 8%) metal in the earth’s crust, aluminium derives its name from the Latin word alum that literally means

A

Bitter salt

63
Q

also a chart-topping David Guetta track, a super-strong, corrosion-resistant metal used in products from supersonic aircraft to prosthetics to jewellery!

A

Titanium

64
Q

Named for the Roman goddess of agriculture, the most abundant rare earth element, used widely in catalytic converters (in automobile exhausts)

A

Cerium

65
Q

The Statue of Liberty appears greenish because the copper used in making it gets exposed to atmospheric oxygen, via this process

A

Patination

66
Q

Its chemical symbol is derived from its earlier name hydrargyrum, which means ‘liquid silver’

A

Mercury

67
Q

first Indian cricketer, an Uttarakhandi, to score a century in the Indian Premier League

A

Manisha Pandey

68
Q

Chhattisgarhi ballad singing style, featuring tales from and characters of Mahabharata

A

Pandavani

69
Q

built in 1591 CE by Quli Qutb Shah, this landmark is featured on the seal of Telangana

A

Charminar

70
Q

annual festival celebrated in Telangana involving a ‘meal’ offered to Goddess Kali

A

Bonalu

71
Q

on his 125th birthday, Jharkhand was carved out from Bihar and officially became India’s 28th state

A

Birsa Munda

72
Q

Uttarakhand is also known as_____________ to the large number of places of worship and pilgrimage centres it is home to

A

Devbhoomi

73
Q

built across the Mahanadi river, this dam is the longest in Chhattisgarh

A

Gangrel

74
Q

a ‘Mirror of the Sky’, once owned by the Nizam of Hyderabad, ‘palace’ operated by Taj Hotels

A

Falaknuma

75
Q

venue of the confluence, or Triveni Sangam, of the three holy rivers of Chhattisgarh Mahanadi, Pairi, Sondur

A

Rajim

76
Q

the only tiger reserve in the state of Jharkhand

A

Palamnu

77
Q

State bird of Uttarakhand

A

Himalayan monal

78
Q

State flower of Telangana

A

Cassia (tangedu)

79
Q

State animal of Chhattisgarh

A

Wild buffalo

80
Q

State tree of Jharkhand

A

Sal

81
Q

Along with Avebury, this is the world’s most famous group of megaliths from prehistoric times. It has menhirs (remember the strong Obelix who would make and deliver menhirs, carrying them on his back?) arranged in a pattern with astronomical significance, which scientists are yet to decipher!

A

Stonehenge @ London (UK)

82
Q

This picturesque park is the site of vital fossil discoveries made from the Age of Reptiles (75 million years ago). especially 35 species of avian ancestors!

A

Dinosaur provincial park @ Alberta (Canada)

83
Q

This ancient amphitheatre saw some ferocious combat in its heyday and is now an icon of the Eternal City founded, according to legend, by twins Romulus and Remus who were raised by a she- wolf!

A

Colosseum @Rome (Italy)

84
Q

in the middle of a tropical mountain forest, at a height of 2430 ml lie the breathtaking remains of this ancient citadel from the Inca empire. Its gigantic walls, its endless terraces, its massive ramps appear one with the rock they stand on!

A

Historical Sanctuary of Machu Picchu @ Peru

85
Q

Covering 1.5 million hectares of savannah, this green space is best known for the annual migration of huge herds of zebras, gazelles and wildebeest, chased by their predators! You’ve seen it, in animated form, in The Lion King remember the sad scene, when Mufasa dies?)

A

Serengeti national park @ Serengeti (Tanzania)

86
Q

Also called Uluru, this 1000-feet-high massive sandstone monolith is ‘owned’ by the Anangu Aboriginal people. Its surrounding area has several springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings.

A

Ayers Rock @ Northern Territory (Australia)

87
Q

These three railway lines, are examples of engineering skills and human willpower, as they are built in high, mountainous regions where it is difficult to create even roads!

A

Mountain Railways of India @ Darjeeling, Tamil Nadu, Kalka-Shimla(India)

88
Q
  1. Lying between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, this prehistoric city is half-built, half-carved into sheer rock. To enter it you walk through the 1-km-long, Siq, a narrow gorge flanked by towering cliffs!
A

Petra @ Jordan

General Knowledge (5 decks)

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