Basic general knowledge.

1.	Grand Central Terminal, Park Avenue, New York is the world's
	A. largest railway station B. highest railway station C. longest railway station D. None of the above Answer & Explanation Answer: Option A

Grand Central Terminal (GCT)—colloquially called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a commuter railterminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. Built by and named for the New York Central Railroad in the heyday of American long-distance passenger trains, it is the largest train station in the world by number of platforms:^[3] 44, with 67 tracks along them. They are on two levels, both below ground, with 41 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower, though the total number of tracks along platforms and in rail yards exceeds 100. When the Long Island Rail Road's new station opens in 2016 (see East Side Access), Grand Central will offer a total of 75 tracks and 48 platforms. The terminal covers an area of 48 acres (19 ha).

Entomology is the science that studies

A. Behavior of human beings B. Insects C. The origin and history of technical and scientific terms D. The formation of rocks Answer & Explanation Answer: Option B Explanation: Entomology: The branch of zoology concerned with the study of insects.

Eritrea, which became the 182nd member of the UN in 1993, is in the continent of

A. Asia B. Africa C. Europe D. Australia Answer & Explanation Answer: Option B

For which of the following disciplines is Nobel Prize awarded?

A. Physics and Chemistry B. Physiology or Medicine C. Literature, Peace and Economics D. All of the above Answer & Explanation Answer: Option D

	Galileo was an Italian astronomer who
	A. developed the telescope B. discovered four satellites of Jupiter C. discovered that the movement of pendulum produces a regular time measurement D. All of the above Answer & Explanation Answer: Option D

Habeas Corpus Act 1679

A. states that no one was to be imprisoned without a writ or warrant stating the charge against him B. provided facilities to a prisoner to obtain either speedy trial or release in bail C. safeguarded the personal liberties of the people against arbitrary imprisonment by the king's orders D. All of the above Answer & Explanation Answer: Option D

With which sport is the Jules Rimet trophy associated?

A. Basketball B. Football C. Hockey D. Golf Answer & Explanation Answer: Option B Explanation: It is associated with football (soccer if you're yanks). The Jules Rimet trophy was the original trophy awarded to the winners of the World Cup. Although originally being named Victory, the trophy was later named after the then president of FIFA, Jules Rimet.

FAMOUS TOWNS in WORLD

Name	Famous For
No 10, Downing Street	Official residence of the British Prime Minister.
Abadan(Iran)	Famous for oil refinery
Alaska (U.S.A.)	In 1958 it was declared as 49th State of U.S.A. It is near Canada
Alexandria	City and sea-port of Egypt, founded by Alexander the Great. Handles about 80% of the country's exports.
Angkor Wat	Ruined temple in Cambodia. Signposts of ancient oriental civilisation.
Aswam Dam	A dam in Egypt across the River Nile.
Baku	Oilfields of Azerbaijan.
Bastille	It was a Jail in Paris. Destroyed during the French Revolution.
Beding (Australia)	Famous for gold mines.
Bethlehem	A town Palestine, the birth place of Christ.
Bikini Atoll	In Pacific Ocean, where first hydrogen bomb was tested by U.S.A.
Bikini	An atoll of the Marshall Islands. Atomb Bomb was dropped here experimentally in 1948.
Bratislava	A town in Czechoslovakia on Czech-Russian border.
Buckingham Palace	London residence of the British monarch.
Chushul	In Ladakh, highest airfield in the world. Chinese troops attacked it in 1962.
Corsica	An island where Napoleon was born.
Detroit (U.S.A)	The biggest car manufacturing town in the world.
Elephanta Caves (India)	Situated in an island 15 miles from Bombay. Famous for the statues of Siva and Parvati.
Fleet Street	Press Center in London.
Gaza Strip	In Egypt near Israeli border, was seat of United nations Emergency Force till 1957. Now under Israeli occupation.
Gibraltar	Key to Mediterranean, fortress and novel base situated on rock in the extreme South of Spain.
Golden Temple (India)	Famous temple of the Sikhs at Amritsar, constructed by Guru Ram Dass.
Hiroshima	An industrial center of Japan which was destroyed by atom bomb in 1945.
Hollywood (California. U.S.A.)	Famous for film industry
Hyde Park	A huge park in London.
Jerusalem	City in Israel. Jesus Christ was crucified here (now capital of Israel)
Khajuraho	It is the State of chattarpur, Bundelkhand in Madhya Pradesh. It is famous for Mahadev Temple.
Khorkov	Important town of Ukraine, manufactures motor cars, tractors and agricultural machinery.
Lop Nor	Palace in Sinkiang (Red China), site for atomic tests.
Los Angeles A part of California (U.S.A.)	The famous film industry of Hollywood is established here. It is famous as Cinima City of the world.
Lusaka	Venue of non-aligned nations summit in September 1970. Capital of Zambia.
Manchester (U.K.)	Cotton manufacturing city. It is one of the world's biggest cloth manufacturing center.
Marseilles	City and Seaport of Southern France. Famous for silk, wine, olive soap, margarine and candles.
Mecca (Saudi Arabia)	Sacred place of the Muslims because Prophet Mohammed was born here.
Montreal	Longest city of Canada. Famous for iron and steel works and motor car factories.
Nagasaki (Japan)	It is noted for its iron and steel industries. Atom was dropped here during World War II.
New Castle	An important port on the Tyne in England, famous for coal industry.
New Orleans (U.S.A.)	It is the greatest cotton and wheat exporting center in the world.
Osaka (Japan)	Known as the Manchester of Japan. It is sometimes called the Venice of Japan.
Pisa	In Italy, famous for Leaning Tower, one of the seven wonders of the world.
Pentagon	Headquarters of American Defence Forces.
Phnom-Penh	Capital of Cambodia.
Plais Des Nations	Venue in Geneva for holding international conferences.
Potala	Dalai Lama's palace at Lhasa (Tibet).
Sinai	Peninsula of Egypt between the Gulfs of Suez and Aquba, at the head of Red Sea.
Seychelles	Island in Indian Ocean, got freedom on June 28, 1976.
Sodom	In Israel, the lowest point on earth.
Vatican	Official residence of the Pope of Rome.
Versaillers (France)	Famous for the treaty of Versailles which ended World War I in 1918.
Vienna	Capital of Austria. The venue of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) between Russia and U.S.A.
Walling Wall	Part of the Western Wall of the Temple Court in Jerusalem. Part of the wall, probably dates from the time of Solomon, is regarded by both Jews and Moslems as one of special sanctity.
Wall Street	In Manhattan, New York, famous for American's stock exchange market.
White House	The official residence of the President of U.S.A. in Washington D.C.
Zurich (Switzerland)	Famous for the manufacture of cotton and silk and for its lenses.

Did you know?

 

General Knowledge for children and parents

1. What is the biggest planet in our solar system?

2. What is the chemical symbol for the element oxygen?

3. Another name for a tidal wave is a?

4. True or false? Dogs are herbivores.

5. What is the 7th element on the periodic table of elements?

6. What is the name of the long appendage that hangs from an elephants face?

7. True or false? DNA is the shortened form of the term ‘Deoxyribonucleic acid’?

8. The highest mountain on earth is?

9. What is the name of the closest star to the earth?

10. True or false? Frogs are cold blooded animals.

11. What is the name of the element with the chemical symbol ‘He’?

12. The fear of what animal is known as ‘arachnophobia’?

13. Pure water has a pH level of a around?

14. The molten rock that comes from a volcano after it has erupted is known as what?

15. True or false? Yogurt is produced by bacterial fermentation of milk.

16. What is the name of the part of the human skeleton which protects our brain?

17. Is the compound ‘HCl’ an acid or base?

18. True or false? The fastest land animal in the world is the zebra.

19. How many bones do sharks have in their bodies?

20. What famous scientist was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on theoretical physics?

General Science Quiz Answers

1. Jupiter	2. O	3. Tsunami	4. False - They are omnivores
5. Nitrogen	6. A trunk	7. True	8. Mount Everest
9. The sun	10. True	11. Helium	12. Spiders
13. 7	14. Lava	15. True	16. The skull
17. An acid (hydrochloric acid)	18. False (it is the cheetah)	19. 0	20. Albert Einstein

General Knowledge for all

1. When was the Olympic flag created?
The Olympic flag, created in 1913 at the suggestion of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, was solemnly inaugurated it Paris in June 1914, but, it was raised over an Olympic stadium for the first time at the Antwerp Games in 1920. There is also a second Olympic flag is made of white silk and contains five intertwined rings. From left to right the rings are blue yellow, black, green and red. The rings are meant to recall the five continents. At least one of these colours is found on the flag of every country.

2. How did arithmetical numbers come into existence? Where was ‘zero’ invented?
The arithmetical numbers, which are universal today, were first invented system in India. This is known as Hindu numeral system. It simplified calculations by marking the values of a number depend on its position as well as the number itself. In the number 444, the single figure 4 represents 400, 40 and 4, and the whole number is the sum of these values. In contrast, the Romans used symbols whose values were the same irrespective of their positions.
Hindu numeral system included a zero. So, zero was first invented in India. Zero revolutionised arithmetical calculations and the numeral system. It was adopted by the Arabs and then reached Europe 
3. What are the viruses and bacteria?
Viruses and bacteria are the smallest living things. Viruses have no cell walls and can only work properly inside the cells of other living organisms. Bacteria are larger than viruses and can exist by themselves. 
A virus is made up of a protean coat wrapped around a small amount of DNA or RNA. It can reproduce itself but only when it is inside a living cell. Versus are, there fore, on the borderline between living and non-living things. When they invade cells they usually cause disease. 
Bacteria are tiny, single-celled organisms. Some are round, others are rod-shaped and some even look like cork-screws.
Some bacteria cause disease but many other are useful. A large number feed by breaking down dead plant and animal matter. They release chemicals into the soil that can be used by plants.

4. Why is it harmful to see solar eclipse with naked eye?
Doctors always warn people, especially children, against watching the solar eclipse, either directly or through smoking glasses or even in shallow water as in utensil. The harmful rays in the sunlight (infrared rays) are at the maximum during the eclipse and it burns the most sensitive part of retina, forea and macula, leading to irreversible loss of eyesight.
The surface of the sun is about four times as hot as a furnace. The lens or cornea in our eyes acts like a burning-glass. If one looks straight at the sun, the lens will be destroyed for life. Even if we look at the sun through smoked glass, the sun may look dim, but the dangerous heat rays can still pass through. Whenever there is an eclipse of the sun, some people are blinded because they take foolish risks of this sort.

General knowledge for all

Who first climbed Mount Everest?

The highest mountain peak in the world is Mount Everest, in the Himalayas, with a height of 8848 metres. The Himalayas lie to the north of India from Kashmir to the north-eastern states. Most of the Himalayan ranges are in Nepal and so is Mount Everest. It is always covered with ice and snow. Everest is a very dangerous mountain to climb because of sheer rocks faces and storms. Many Mountaineers failed to climb the peak. But a New Zealand mountaineer, Edmond Hillary along with his guide Tenzin Nargay, became the first person to scale summit of the world on May 29, 1953.

Who became the first woman to sail around the world?

The first woman to sail around the world single-handed was a 28-year old New Zealander, Naomi James. In September 1977, she set sail from Dartmouth on the south coast of England. Her 16-metre yacht, named Express Crusador, was fitted with all modern navigation aids and steering gear. Her 48,000-kilometer journey was full of adventure. At sea, after four weeks, her radio broke and after another five weeks, the self-steering gear was smashed in a storm. By putting into port for sometime, Naomi had to get it repaired. In June 1978 she successfully completed the sail and was made Dame Commander of the British Empire. She set another record becoming the first woman to cross Atlantic single-handed in 1980.

Who was Buddha?

A prince of North Indian Kingdom Kapilvastu, Siddhartha Gautama was given the title, Buddha, who founded the Buddhist religion. Siddhartha turned into Buddha after he came across two truths of life. One day he saw an old man with bent back moving with the help of a stick. Second time he saw a dead man being taken for cremation. He felt very sad by seeing this. Why this happens in life is what he wanted to know. Siddhartha left home when he was young to look for an answer to life's problems. He found enlightenment while sitting under a Bodhi tree in Gaya. He realized that Nirvana, a state of absolute peace and happiness, could bring release from the pressures of life. Only by giving up all desires for worldly things, this state could be reached.

Who was Aristotle?

Aristotle was a Greek thinker, educator and Scientist. Than those of almost any other person, his ideas have had more influence on the thinking of the Western World. For 20 years, he was a pupil of the Philosopher Plato and these two men are regarded as the most important of the Ancient Greek thinkers. Aristotle was the tutor of Alexander the Great. He founded lyceum, a school in Athens. He deeply taught and wrote on many subjects, including Science, Politics, Astronomy, Religion and Logic. Aristotle's philosopher is characterized by its emphasis on reason and practicality. He was accused by the people of Athens for not worshiping their gods properly and so he left Athens to avoid a sentence of death.

Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.?

Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Negro who led the fight for fair treatment for his fellow Negroes. In 1955, King first gained national attention, when he organized a boycott of segregated buses in Montgomery, Alabama. He used non-violent methods like Gandhi. During a massive demonstration in Washington, he made an inspired speech. In his struggle for the social rights for Negroes, this was a turning point. To give Negroes equal rights with whites, laws were passed soon. For his efforts he received the Noble Peace Prize. Like Gandhi, King was killed by some fanatic who opposed his ideas.

What is International Court?

In Holland, a group of statesmen met to discuss ways of stopping wars and solving disagreements between nations in 1899. To set up the International Court of Justice, this was one of the ways they found. Countries who quarrel should go to the international court where fifteen judges from different countries decide who is in the right. Decisions are based on a majority of judges present. The countries in dispute have to agree to accept the decision before they go to court. Disputes are very often about where exactly frontiers between countries are drawn.  The European Court of Justice is another international court that sits in Luxembourg. This was set up by the countries of the European Community. It makes sure that all the countries of the common market obey the rules and it can fine countries, who disobey, very heavily. Every member country appoints a judge.

Who fought World War I?

The World War which started in August 1914 went on for 4 years to end November 1918. On one side were the two empires of Germany and Austria-Hungary, later joined by Bulgaria and Turkey. They were called the Central Powers. Against them were Allies-the Russian Empire to the east, the French to the west, the British and the Belgium. Later the Italy, the Japan, United States, and many smaller nations joined the Allies. Because so many countries were involved, it later came to be called a World War. After four years, these nations that had started the war were weary and exhausted. More than ten million soldiers had been killed. By coming fresh into the struggle, the United States tipped the scale, and the Central powers collapsed in defeat.

Why World War II began ?

When Adolf Hitler, the German dictator sent his soldiers to attack two small neighbouring countries, Austria and Czechoslovakia, nobody stopped him. This was the time, the second world war began. But on 1st September, 1939, when Hitler attacked Poland, the polish fought back. To help them, the British and the French stepped in. Over-running Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium and France, he conquered Poland and then launched a surprise attack in the west. He then tried to break the spirit of the British but in 1941 lost the battle of Britain against the R.A.F. Meanwhile, the Italian dictator Musolini an ally of Hitler along with Japan had come in the war. The American, British and other forces landed on the Normady beaches and forced the Germans out of France. They swept across Germany to meet their Russian allies in 1945. In May 1945, Germany surrendered to the allied forces. A few months later i.e in August 1945 the first atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In September 1945, Japan surrendered and the war ended.