1110- A quiz on the occasion of the ‘World Book and Copyright Day’ and ‘UN English Language Day’.

V. V. RAMANAN

1. Which canonical collection of texts gets its name from the Latin for ‘the books’?

2. Why is the English Language Day at the UN celebrated on April 23 ?

3. Which Asian Capital has been chosen by the UN to be the World Book Capital City for 2013: New Delhi, Bangkok or Tokyo?

4. Name the legendary essayist and lexicographer who’s A Dictionary of the English Language contributed to the standardisation of that language.

5. Which famous character has a wonderful adventure after lamenting “…and what is the use of a book…without pictures or conversation?”

6. What were the first names and nationality of the Brothers Grimm, authors of numerous fairy tales?

7. Name the ancient inter-related collection of animal fables in verse and prose attributed to the authorship of Vishnu Sharma.

8. Which English word holds the record for most meanings and which word is set to best it when the next major edition of OED is released in 2037?

9. Which popular children’s work begins with these lines: “The pretty little Swiss town of Mayenfield lies at the foot of a mountain range, whose grim rugged…”?

10. The English language is replete with unusual words. So what do the following mean: A. Philtrum, B. Triskaidekaphobia, C. Vulpine?

11. Who wrote these all-time classics: A. The Wind in the Willows, B. Swami and Friends, C. Little Women?

12. Simply put, what is the legal concept giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time called?

13. Which series of ‘books’ popular among the young and not-so-young was started by Anant ‘Uncle’ Pai?

14. Complete these common similes: A. As cool as a….; B. As blind as a….; C. As pale as…?

15. What is one reading if the book’s common title was ‘Hobson-Jobson’?

Answers: 

1. The Bible (from biblia); 2. It’s the date traditionally observed as the birthday of William Shakespeare. He also died on the same day; 3. Bangkok; 4. Samuel Johnson; 5. Alice in ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’; 6. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were from Germany; 7. Panchatantra; 8. ‘set’ and ‘run’ respectively; 9. Heidi by Johanna Spyri; 10. a. The vertical groove in the middle area of the upper lip; b. Fear of No. 13; c. Relating to a fox or foxes; 11. a. Kenneth Grahame; b. R.K. Narayan; c. Louisa May Alcott.; 12. Copyright; 13. Amar Chitra Katha; 14. a. Cucumber; b. Bat; c. Death; 15. It is a historical dictionary of Anglo-Indian words and terms from Indian languages which came into use during the British rule of India.

(The Hindu, Young World, 23:04:2013)

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