Globescan - Compiled by Reshma Majithia and Satarupa Bhattacharya

1. Who became the first woman Prime Minister of Iceland on February 1, 2009?
   a. Helen Clark
   b. Johanna Singurdardottir
   c. Kim Dae Jung
   d. Nancy Pelosi
   
   
2. He is currently Minister in High Commission of India and has been appointed as the new High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Botswana. Identify him.
   a. Shri Kamal Nath
   b. Praful Patel
   c. Pradeep Kapur
   d. Madhav Chandra
   
   
3. Name the actor who broke the Guinness World record for maximum public appearances in 12 hours while promoting his latest film.
   a. Anupam Kher (A Wednesday!)
   b. Abhishek Bachan (Delhi 6)
   c. Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionnaire)
   d. Rishi Kapoor (Luck by Chance)
   
   
4. An American actor, director, film producer and composer, he has won five academy awards, twice each as Best Director and as producer of the Best Picture. He also won the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1995. Recently he received an honorary Palme d’Or from the organisers of the Cannes film festival at a private ceremony in Paris. Name him.
   a. Clint Eastwood
   b. Quentin Tarantino
   c. Edward Burns
   d. Steven Spielberg
   
   
5. He is the president of Libya and was recently made the Chairman of the African Union. Name him.
   a. Abdul Razzaq as-Sawsa
   b. Miftah Muhammed K'eba
   c. Muammar Qaddafi
   d. Jadallah Azzuz at-Talhi
   
   
6. The current Secretary-General of the United Nations, he was presented the Sustainable Development Leadership Award at the 9th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit in Delhi. The summit was organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). Identify him.
   a. Ban Ki-moon
   b. Kofi Atta Annan
   c. Nursultan Nazarbayev
   d. Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann
   
   
7. She is a former No. 1 professional tennis player, has won nine Grand slam titles in her career and has been elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, USA in January 2009.
   a. Gabriela Sabatini
   b. Martina Navratilova
   c. Monica Seles
   d. Maria Bueno
   
   
8. A Sri Lankan cricketer, he became the highest wicket-taker in One Day Internationals (505) by overtaking Wasim Akram’s ODI record of 502 wickets. He is also the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket (769). Name him.
   a. Marvan Atapattu
   b. Mahela Jayawardene
   c. Chaminda Vaas
   d. Muttiah Muralitharan
   
   
9. An American athlete, she became the first woman on record to swim several sections of the Atlantic Ocean from the Cape Verde Islands to Trinidad for a total of an estimated 250 miles. Name her.
   a. Kami Gardner
   b. Jennifer Figge
   c. Dara Torres
   d. Sheila Taormina
   
   
10. A Malaysian Indian lawyer, she is one of the eight women who received the “women of courage” award from secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton in the US as recognition in the international arena for taking a firm stand on national issues such as judicial independence, gender equality and good governance. Name her.
    a. Preeta Bansal
    b. Sudha Sundarraman
    c. Indira Jaising
    d. Ambiga Sreenevasan
    
    
11. An American business tycoon, philanthropist, author and chairman of a software company, he reclaimed the title of the richest man in the world overtaking Warren Buffet as the global financial meltdown wiped out $2 trillion from the net worth of the world's billionaires according to Forbes Magazine. Name him.
    a. Steve Jobs
    b. Bill Gates
    c. Ross Perot
    d. Marc Rich
    
    
12. A well-known electrical engineer, information theorist, Indian control engineer, entrepreneur, he has authored several books including the well-known book Linear Systems, which ranks as one of the most referenced books in the field of linear systems. Recently he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India for his contribution to Science and Engineering. Identify him.
    a. C.S. Seshadri
    b. Surinder Mehta
    c. Thomas Kailath
    d. Sam Pitroda
    
    
13. Name the West African nation where the President, J Bernardo Vieira was killed by the army in retaliation after he admitted to having ordered the killing of the Army Chief of Staff.
    a. Guinea- Bissau
    b. Sierra Leone
    c. Nigeria
    d. Cape Verde
    
    
14. An American actor, producer, director, and political activist, he won a Tony in 1988 for his work in the play Speed the Plow. The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. He also won an award for his role as a political strategist Bruno Gianelli in the film ‘The West Wing.’ He passed away on March 16, 2009. Identify him.
    a. Ronald Silver
    b. Sydney Pollack
    c. Ron Silver
    d. Richard Belzer
    
    
15. An Indian origin scientist and director of MIT (Microsystems Technology Labs), he was presented the Semiconductor Industry Association's (SIA) University Researcher Award at the annual SIA conference in Washington for his work in micro-power design, wireless micro-sensor arrays and ultra-wideband radios. Name him.
    a. Rajendra Pachauri
    b. Rajesh Gokhale
    c. Dr. Charan Kapil
    d. Anantha Chandrakasan
    
    
16. Who has been appointed as the new election commissioner of India?
    a. Ashok Gupta
    b. N Gopalaswami
    c. Navin Chawla
    d. Santwana Bhattacharya
    
    
17. Who is the winner of Indian Idol Season 4?
    a. Kapil Thapa
    b. Prashant Tamang
    c. Harshida Madhaparia
    d. Sourabhee Debbarma
    
    
18. An American actor, filmmaker and political activist, he bagged the Best Actor award for his role in the film 'Milk'.
    a. Ashton Kutcher
    b. Clint Eastwood
    c. Sean Penn
    d. George Clooney

Globescan Answers

1. b 2. d 3. b 4. a 5. c
6. a 7. c 8. d 9.b 10. d
11. b 12. c 13. a 14. c 15. d
16. c 17. d 18. c