WASHINGTON, D.C.1) The population of Washington, D.C. (the city itself) is about _________. 0.5 millionThe population of the city in 2006 was about 581,000 people. The whole metropolitan area has more than 8 million.

1.5 million 2.5 million 3.5 million 2) Washington, D.C. lies on the river _________. Columbia HudsonNew York City lies on the Hudson River.

Potomac x - none of the above 3) Washington, D.C. lies within the borders of the state of _________. Maryland VirginiaA part of D.C. was originally taken from the state of Virginia.

Washington x - none of the aboveThe city of Washington lies in D.C., which is a district that doesn't belong to any American state. The land was originally taken from Virginia and Maryland. The part located to the south of the Potomac, however, has been returned to Virginia.

4) The site for Washington, D.C. was personally chosen by _________. Abraham Lincoln George WashingtonGeorge Washington picked the site himself

Pierre L'Enfant Thomas Jefferson 5) The 'C' in D.C. stands for _________. Capital

City ColumbiaD.C. = District of Columbia

x - none of the above 6) Congress moved to Washington, D.C. from _________. Boston New York PhiladelphiaCongress moved to Washington D.C. from Philadelphia in 1800.

Pittsburgh 7) The role of Washington, D.C. as the national capital started in _________. 1776This is when the Declaration of Independence was written. There was no D.C. then.

1790 1800In 1800, US Congress moved to Washington, D.C. together with most important government offices. It was also a year when the first president moved into the White House.

1821 8) Which of the following is not in Washington, D.C.? _________ Arlington National Cemetery Washington Monument the Pentagon the United Nations HeadquartersThe UN Headquarters are in New York City. However, the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery are ACTUALLY IN VIRGINIA, they are located to the south of the Potomac and this part of D.C. has been returned to the state of Virginia.

9) There is a law that prevents the building of _________ in Washington, D.C. outdoor swimming pools shopping malls skyscrapersThere is a law, the Height of Buildings Act, which limits the height of buildings. Originally no buildings could be higher than the Capitol, but today the limit is more complicated (and involves the width of the street where it is built).

the subway system 10) Washington, D.C. _________ in the world. has the largest libraryThe Library of Congress is said to be the largest in the world (by shelf space).

has the tallest monumentThe tallest monument is said to be the Gateway Arch (Jefferson National Expansion Memorial) in Missouri. It is 630 feet tall (192 m). Washington monument is the tallest obelisk in the world (555 feet, 169 m)

is the smallest capital is the youngest capital

USA1) The USA consists of _________. 48 states 50 statesThere are 50 states, 48 continental ones Alaska Hawaii. Washington D.C. is NOT a state.

51 states 52 states 2) The population of the USA is about _________. 100 million 200 million 300 millionIn 2004 the population was 293 million.

400 million 3) The highest mountain in the USA is _________. Mt Logan Mt McKinleyMt McKinley in Alaska is 6194 m high.

Mt Rainier Mt Whitney

4) Which of these lakes does not lie on the border between the USA and Canada. Lake Erie Lake Huron Lake MichiganThe whole of Lake Michigan is in the United States, unlike the other four great lakes.

Lake Superior 5) Which of the following was the first American national park? Everglades Grand Canyon YellowstoneYellowstone National Park was established in 1872 and it was the first national park in the USA and in the world.

Yosemite 6) Which mountain range is in the east of the USA? The Appalachian MountainsThe Appalachians are in the east of the USA.

The Cascade Range The Rocky MountainsThe 'Rockies' are in the west of the USA.

The Sierra Nevada 7) In which of the following states would you probably hear the 'Southern accent'? CaliforniaCALIFORNIA is in the WEST of the USE.

Georgiathe 'Southern accent' is spoken in the 'South' (Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana etc.).

Massachusetts South Dakota 8) Which of the following is not an American state?

Alaska Hawaii New Mexico OntarioONTARIO is a Canadian province and a lake on the border between the USA and Canada.

9) The Rio Grande flows into _________. The Atlantic Ocean The Gulf of California The Gulf of MexicoThe RIO GRANDE flows into the Gulf of Mexico.

The Pacific Ocean 10) The American national anthem is called _________. God Save the President In God We Trust The Star Spangled BannerTHE STAR SPANGLED BANNER has been the national anthem of the USA since 1931.

The Stars and Stripes

NEW YORK1) New York City is the capital of _________. the USA the state of New Jersey the state of New York x - none of the aboveNEW YORK is the capital of the art world, finance... and some people say that 'New York is the capital of the world'.

2) The population of the urban area of New York City is almost _________. 11 million 19 millionthe city itself has a population of about 13 million, the urban area has a population of about 18,5 million

26 million 6 million 3) Which of the following is not one of the five boroughs of New York: Brooklyn Queens Rhode IslandRHODE ISLAND is the smallest American state, not a part of New York City, it lies between Massachusetts and Connecticut. The five boroughs of New York City are: Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Staten Island

the Bronx 4) The first European settlement in Manhattan was _________. British DutchIn 1614, Dutch colonists founded a settlement on the southern tip of Manhattan, called NEW AMSTERDAM.

French Spanish 5) Which of these is not a nickname for New York City: Gotham The Big Apple The City that Never Sleeps The Cradle of LibertyTHE CRADLE OF LIBERTY is a nickname of Philadelphia or Boston.

6) The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the _________. British Dutch FrenchThe Statue of Liberty was presented to the United States by France in 1886.

Indians 7) Many people go to _________ on New Year's Eve. Central Park Liberty Island

Madison Square Gardens Times SquareTimes Square has been the place of the main New Year's Eve celebration in New York since the beginning of the 20th century. Hundreds of thousands people come here every year to celebrate.

8) _________ is known as a major black cultural and business center. Broadway Greenwich Village HarlemHarlem is a neighborhood in Manhattan, it has always been connected with black culture (and often with poverty and crime).

SoHo 9) Wall Street got its name because _________. Waal is a Dutch word for 'money' there are buildings with high walls there is a wall with the names of people who died in the war in Vietnam there was once a wall to protect the settlement against attacks of IndiansThe Dutch built the wall because they feared attack from Indians and the British, the wall is gone now but the name remains.

10) The place where the World Trade Center used to stand is now sometimes called _________. Area 51 Flushing Meadows Ground Zero'ground zero' is a point of detonation of a nuclear weapon, but the term was quickly adopted by the media for the site of World Trade Center after it was destroyed

Murray Hill

CALIFORNIA1) California lies _________. in the Rocky Mountains on the Gulf of Mexico on the east coast of the USA on the west coast of the USA

California lies on the Pacific coast, of course.

2) The capital of California is _________. Los AngelesLOS ANGELES is the largest city in California, not the capital though.

San Diego San Francisco x - none of the aboveThe capital of California State is SACRAMENTO, and has been since 1854.

3) California is the _________ state in the USA. largest most populousThe population of California State is more than 35 million inhabitants, which makes it the most populous state in the USA.

newestCalifornia is definitely not the newest state. The newest ones are Hawaii (since August 1959) and Alaska (since January 1959). California was admitted into the Union in 1850.

oldest 4) What is the official nickname of California? The Golden StateThe official nickname is THE GOLDEN STATE, mostly because of the California Gold Rush (1848 1852).

The Sunflower State The Sunshine State x - none of the above 5) One of the symbols of California State is _________. the bald eagle the coyote the grizzlyThe grizzly bear symbol can be seen on the flag of The California Republic and on the great seal.

the moose

6) Which of the following is not a Californian national park? Grand CanyonGrand Canyon lies in the State of Arizona.

Joshua Tree Sequoia Yosemite 7) The highest mountain in California is _________. Mount Logan Mount McKinley Mount St. Helens Mount WhitneyMount Whitney (14,505 ft / 4,421 m) is the highest mountain in the contiguous USA.

8) The estuary of which river lies in California? The Colorado The Columbia The Rio Grande x - none of the aboveThe Colorado flows to Baja California which is in Mexico, The Rio Grande flows to the Gulf of Mexico and the estuary of the Columbia is in Washington State.

9) Los Angeles is the _________ city in the USA. fourth largest largest second largestThe largest city in the US is NEW YORK CITY, L.A. is the second (both by population and area)

third largest 10) Who is the current (2009) Governor of California? Arnold Schwarzeneggerthe famous movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California in 2003 and re-elected in 2006.

Brad Pitt Jean-Claude Van Damme

Sylvester Stallone

IRELAND1) Ireland is the full name of _________. a part of the UK a republicthe full name of the Republic is "The Republic of Ireland"

a union an island"Ireland" is the full name of the island, the third largest island in Europe

2) Which of these colours is NOT on the Irish flag? green orange redThere are three vertical stripes, from the left: green, white, orange. There is no RED.

white 3) Who is the patron saint of Ireland? St. Nicholas St. PatrickSt. Patrick was a Christian missionary and became the patron saint of Ireland.

St. Peter St. Wenceslas 4) What is a 'shamrock'? a Celtic cross a city in Ireland a three-leaf cloverit is the three-leafed clover, a symbol of Ireland

an Irish dance 5) The population of Ireland is _________.

about 10 million about 14 million about 18 million about 6 millionThe Republic of Ireland's population is about 4.2 million, the population of Northern Ireland is about 2 million. The population of the whole island is about 6 million.

6) In the 1840s many Irish people died or left Ireland because of _________. a flood hungerThere was a great famine in 1845-1849 - potato crops were infected and people lost their major food source. As a result, many people died and many emigrated to the USA, Canada etc.

political problems religious problems 7) A typical Irish family name _________. ends with -sanin Japan they ad SAN after a name as a title (Mr. Smith = Smithsan)

ends with -son is Smith starts with O'Typical Irish names start with O' - O'Brian, O'Connor, etc. O' originally meant GRANDSON OF. Another typical prefix is Mac - which means SON OF (MacDonald etc.)

8) 'Hurling' is a typical Irish _________. dish drink musical instrument sportHurling is an outdoor team sport of Gaelic origin

9) The Republic of Ireland has been independent since the _________. 1890s 1920sIreland gained independence in 1921 following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty .

1940s 1960s 10) Which of these writers was NOT Irish? G. B. Shaw Jonathan SwiftJonathan Swift was an Irish cleric and a writer, he was born in Dublin.

Oscar Wilde x - all of them were IrishAll of the above were Irish writers.

AUSTRALIA1) 'Australia' is _________. a continentAustralia is the smallest continent.

a monarchy an island x - all of the aboveAlhough you could say that Australia is a monarchy, you can definitely not consider Australia to be an island.

2) The full name of the country known as 'Australia' is _________. The Australian UnionAustralia is a federation, but the name is not 'Australian Union'.

The Commonwealth of AustraliaThe name of the country is THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA, it was formed in 1901.

The Republic of Australia The United States of Australia 3) Which of the following is the flag of Australia?

This is the flag of New Zealand.

This is the flag of Australia - a blue field with the Union Flag in the upper left-hand corner, and a large white sevenpointed star (known as the Commonwealth Star) below. On the right there is the Southern Cross constellation(four seven-pointed stars and one smaller, five-pointed star).

4) Which of the following is a colloquial term for Australia? Down Below Oz'OZ' is one of the nicknames of Australia, another nickname is 'DOWN UNDER'.

The Outback Uluru 5) The capital of Australia is _________. Botany Bay CanberraCanberra, located in the ACT (Australian Capital Territory), is the capital of Australia. 'Canberra' is also an aboriginal word meaning 'a meeting place'.

Melbourne Sydney 6) The population of Australia is about _________ million. 20The population of Australia in 2007 was about 21 million.

40 60 80 7) Which of the following is not an Australian state?

New South Wales Nova ScotiaNOVA SCOTIA is a province in Canada.

Queensland TasmaniaTasmania is an Australian state, the capital is Hobart.

8) The first Europeans to 'discover' Australia were _________. the DutchThe Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first European to see Australia, it was in 1606.

the English the French the Spanish 9) _________ claimed Australia as British territory. Abel 'Tasman' Cook James CookJames Cook was a British explorer, he first landed in Botany Bay in 1770, mapped the western coast and claimed it for Britain.

Mount Cook Thomas Cook 10) 'Wombat' is an Australian _________. aboriginal animalWOMBAT is a small Australian marsupial with short legs and a small tail.

holy place kind of boat

NEW ZEALAND1) Which of the following is the flag of New Zealand?

This is the flag of New Zealand - a blue field with the Union Flag in the upper left-hand corner. On the right there is the Southern Cross constellation (four red five-pointed stars with a white lining).

2) The name 'New Zealand' was given to the land by _________. Abel TasmanThe Dutch sailor Abel Tasman named the land NEW ZEELAND (Sea Land) in 1642

James CookJames Cook came to New Zealand and mapped it between 1769-1777.

Queen Elizabeth I. Willem Jansz 3) The population of New Zealand is about _________. 2 million 4 millionThe 2007 estimate is 4,2 million.

6 million 8 million 4) The capital of New Zealand is _________. Auckland Christchurch Dunedin WellingtonWellington has been the capital of New Zealand since 1865.

5) The largest city in New Zealand is _________. AucklandThe population of the urban area is about 1.3 million.

Christchurch Hamilton Wellington 6) New Zealand officially became a part of the UK in _________. 1642 1770 1840Treaty of Waitangi was signed in February 1840 - ensuring British sovereignty and Maori rights.

1910 7) New Zealand was the first country in the world to let women _________. drive cars join the armed forces play rugby voteIn 1893 women were allowed to vote in New Zealand, which makes it the first country in the world!

8) New Zealand has _________ official languages. 1 2 3The official languages of New Zealand are English, Maori (since 1987) and sign languagage (since 2006).

4 9) 'Tuatara' is a _________. bird reptileA TUATARA is a unique greenish brown reptile that is equally related to lizards and snakes.

tree

volcano 10) The name of the traditional Maori war dance is _________. HakaHAKA is a traditional Maori dance famous especially thanks to THE ALL BLACKS (an international Rugby team from New Zealand)

Pakeha Rotorua Uluru

CANADA1) The full name of the country is _________. CanadaThe name of the country is simply CANADA.

The Commonwealth of Canada The Republic of Canada The United States of Canada 2) Canada is the _________ country in the world. fourth largest largest second largestCanada is the second largest country in the world (9,984,670 square km), the first is RUSSIA.

third largest 3) The word "canada" comes from a native American word that means "_". forest home meeting place villageThe word CANADA comes from St. Lawrence Iroquoian word 'kanata' which means "village" or "settlement."

4) The population of Canada is almost _________. 20 million

35 millionThe 2007 estimate is about 33 million.

55 million 70 million 5) The capital of Canada is _________. Montreal OttawaOttawa was chosen to be the capital by Queen Victoria in 1857.

Toronto Vancouver 6) Canada consists of _________. 10 provinces and 2 territories 10 provinces and 3 territories10 Provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador) and 3 territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut).

12 provinces and 1 territory 14 provinces and 2 territories 7) Which of the following is NOT in Canada: New Brunswick New South WalesNEW SOUTH WALES is an Australian state

Newfoundland Nova Scotia 8) Which of the following is a symbol of Canada: a maple leafTHE MAPLE LEAF is one of the official symbols of Canada, it is also included in the flag.

a thistle a three-leaf clover mistletoe 9) How many official languages are there?

1 2There are two official languages in Canada - English and French.

3 4 10) Which of the following about Canada is NOT true? The highest mountain is Mt Logan. The largest city is Montreal.The largest Canadian city is TORONTO (about 5 million people), not Montreal. However, this question is a little tricky, because actually the LARGEST LAKE ENTIRELY IN CANADA is GREAT BEAR LAKE. Lake SUPERIOR is larger, but the Canadian portion is smaller than GREAT BEAR LAKE.

The largest lake is Lake Superior. The longest river is the Mackenzie.

Places in UK1) Loch Lomond is the largest lake in _________. EnglandLoch Lomond is in Scotland, not England.

Great BritainLoch Lomond, Scotland, 71 square kilometres - largest lake in Great Britain.

the British Isles the United Kingdom 2) The highest mountain in the UK, Ben Nevis, is between _________ metres high. 1000-1500Ben Nevis is actually lower than Snka. It's 1344 meters high.

1500-2000 2000-3000 500-1000 3) The capital of Northern Ireland is _________. Belfast

Belfast became the capital of Northern Ireland in 1921, right when Nortern Ireland was established.

Cardiff Dublin Glasgow 4) Stonehenge is a famous _________. chalk giant chalk horse stone circleStonehenge is probably the most famous prehistoric monument in the UK - a circle of standing stones.

wall 5) The Isle of Man is to the _________ of Great Britain. east north south westThe Isle of Man lies between Great Britain and Ireland in the Irish Sea, to the west of Britain

6) There are many _________ in Cornwall and Devon. cities lakes moorsCornwall and Devon, two counties in the southwest of Britain, are famous for their moors, they were the setting of Doyle's HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, for example.

mountains 7) Which of these rivers is not in England? Avon ClydeThe River Clyde is a major river in Scotland, not England.

Severn Trent 8) The Lake District is connected with _________.

Geoffrey Chaucer The Beatles William Shakespeare William WordsworthWilliam Wordsworth is one of the so called LAKE POETS, poets who lived in the Lake District at the beginning of 19th century.

9) Which of these is not a castle? _________ HastingsHastings is a town in the south of England. In 1066 there was a famous battle, but it is not a castle. It's always been a fishing port.

Stirling The Tower of London Warwick 10) The Channel Islands belong to _________. Denmark France Ireland the UKThe Channel Islands, although they are closer to France, are British Crown dependencies - but not actually part of the UK, are not represented in the UK Parliament.

The UK1) The population of the UK is about _________. 100 million 40 million 60 millionThe 2006 estimate was 60,587,300 (Wikipedia)

80 million 2) Which is the capital of Northern Ireland? BelfastThe capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast.

Cardiff

Dublin Glasgow 3) The flag of the UK is sometimes called _________. The Crosses and Stripes The Queen's Banner The Union JackThe flag of the UK is called The Union Flag and is generally known as 'the Union Jack'.

The United Cross 4) Which of the following is the oldest? Cerne Abbas chalk giant Hadrian's Wall Oxford University StonehengeStonehenge was built before 3000 BC.

5) The Isle of Man belongs to _________. Northern Ireland Scotland Wales x - none of the aboveThe Isle of Man is a direct dependent of the UK, it does not belong to England, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland. It even has its own currency.

6) Snowdon is a _________. building in London lake in the Lake District mountain in WalesSnowdon is the highest mountain in Wales (1085 m).

valley in Scotland 7) Which of the following rivers is not in England? Avon Clyde

Clyde is a major river in Scotland, it flows through Glasgow.

Severn Trent 8) Which mountain range is sometimes called 'The Backbone of England'? The Cambrian Mountains The Cumbrian Mountains The Grampian Mountains The PenninesThe Pennines is a mountain range that stretches from Derbyshire (in the middle of England) to the border with Scotland - thus forming a kind of 'backbone'.

9) Loch Lomond is the largest lake in _________. EnglandLoch Lomond is in Scotland, not in England.

Great BritainLoch Lomond (in Scotland) is the lagest lake in Great Britain. The largest lake in the UK and the whole of the British Isles is Lough Neagh (Northern Ireland)

The British Isles The United Kingdom 10) 'Gatwick' is _________. a coach terminal in London a place near the Channel Tunnel entrance a port in the south of England an airport near LondonGatwick is London's second largest airport.

LONDON1) London has about _________ inhabitants. 10 millionThe city itself has a population of about 7.5 million, the urban area more than 8 million, the whole metropolitan area has more than 12 million people

15 million 20 million

4 million 2) Londinium at the beginning of the first millenium was a _________ settlement. Anglo-Saxon Celtic French RomanThe settlement called LONDINIUM was founded by Roman legions in 43 AD.

3) In 1666, most of the city was destroyed by _________. a storm an earthquake barbarians firea large part of the city was destroyed by the Great Fire in 1666

4) The architect who constructed a large number of buildings in London was _________. Guy Fawkes Henry Hudson Pierre L'Enfant Sir Christopher WrenSir Christopher Wren, (1632 1723) was the greatest English architect of his time, designed for example 53 London churches, including St Paul's Cathedral.

5) The construction of the Tower of London started in _________ century. 11ththe construction started with William the Conqueror, who invaded Britain in 1066

13th 15th 9th 6) Heathrow is one of the largest _________ in London. airportsHEATHROW is one of the largest airports in London, together with Gatwick, for example.

bus stations ports railway stations 7) The Poets' Corner is in _________. Buckingham Palace Hyde Park St James Park Westminster AbbeyThe Poets' Corner is in the south part of Westminster abbey, it is called POETS' CORNER because of the writers and artists who are buried there

8) The Houses of Parliament can be found in the _________. Buckingham Palace The Mall Trafalgar Square Westminster PalaceThe whole building is WESTMINSTER PALACE.

9) Big Ben is actually the name of _________. a bellOfficially the bell is called THE GREAT BELL, although it has an unofficial nickname BIG BEN - there are several theories about teh origin of the name. The commonly accepted one is that it was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who was responsible for the order.

a clock a palace a tower 10) English kings and queens are traditionally crowned at _________. Buckingham Palace St. Paul's Cathedral The House of Lords Westminster AbbeyThe CORONATION CHAIR (or King Edward's Chair) at Westminster Abbey, a throne where English Kings and Queens have been crowned here since 1308 (with the exception of Queen Mary I and Mary II)

11) Trafalgar Square was named after a famous _________.

admiral battleThe Battle of Trafalgar (21st October 1805), a naval (sea) battle in which the British (led by Admiral Nelson) defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet.

explorer king