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Gods, Goddesses, And Glorious Legends

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Terri Morrison

1. The Roman (or Greek) Pantheon contained twelve gods on Mount Olympus and two on earth. One of these gods was Jupiter, who was:

   A. God of the underworld

   B. Patron of travel

   C. Master of the skies

2. The Aztecs also had a pantheon of gods. True or false: Tonacatecutli was the eternal and supreme Aztec god.
3. Polynesians refer to the mythical concepts of Ao and Po, the universal forces of:

   A. Life and Death

   B. Masculinity and Femininity

   C. Past and Future

4. In Norse mythology, the ruler of the gods was Odin. True or false: Odin had only one eye because he bartered the other for a drink at the Well of Wisdom.
5. Goddesses of love play important roles in the legends of many cultures. Connect each goddess to her respective culture.

   A. Tlazolteotl	1. Egyptian
   B. Venus	2. Aztec
   C. Hathor	3. Roman

6. The Gaelic god of love was Angus Og, who himself fell in love with a magical maiden named Caer. She lived six months each year as a woman and the other six as a:

   A. Tigress

   B. Wolf

   C. Swan

7. The Navajo tell of a great flood that occurred after someone stole the children of the water serpent, Tieholtsodi. True or false: The thief was Coyote.
8. The heroic archetype is found worldwide. Match the following heroes with the appropriate locale.

   A. Siegfried	1. England
   B. Beowolf	2. Africa
   C. Don Quixote	3. Spain
   D. Mwindo	4. Germany

9. Amaterasu, the Japanese sun goddess, was born when Izanagi washed the defilements from the land of the dead out of his left eye. True or false: Tsukiyomi, the moon, was born when Izanagi washed his right eye.
10. The "hitching post of the sun," intihuatana, at Machu Picchu is dedicated to the sun god Inti, who was the ancestor of his people, the:

    A. Maya

    B. Gauls

    C. Inca

Answers

1. C. Jupiter is known in Greek as Zeus.
2. True. Although many are more familiar with the Aztecs' hero god, Quetzalcoatl.
3. B. Ao is the masculine force, as well as the day and the sky; Po is the feminine force, along with the night and the earth.
4. True. In return for wisdom, Odin plucked out his own eye, and threw it down Mimir's well.
5. A, 2; B, 3; C, 1
6. C. And when Angus Og begged Caer to be his bride on Samhain (Halloween), the god of love was transformed into a swan as well.
7. True. The flood was so great it destroyed two worlds. We now live in the fifth world, safe from flooding, because Coyote gave Tieholtsodi's children back.
8. A, 4; B, 1; C, 3; D, 2
9. True. And when Izanagi washed his nose, Susanowo, the storm god, was born.
10. C. Inti was a kind Incan deity, as was his wife, the moon.

That Which We Call A Rose

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Terri Morrison

1. Sculptures of a female figure symbolizing the French nation can be found in most city halls in France. What is this symbol's name?

   A. Brigitte

   B. Catherine

   C. Marianne

2. True of false: The names Sinead, Shena, and Sheena are all Irish versions of the English name Jane.
3. In Singapore, if you meet a Chinese woman named Li Chu Chin, what would be the most proper way to address her in English?

   A. Madame Li

   B. Madame Chu

   C. Madame Chin

4. The names Frances and Francis sound alike in English. One spelling is generally used for men, the other for women. True or false: Frances is the most common version used for a woman.
5. In the Middle East, you might see the name Khadijah binti Oman. True or false: Even if you did not know Khadijah was a woman's name, you could still discern her gender.
6. The sirens encountered by Odysseus on his long journey had counterparts in Germanic mythology. True or false: The most famous of the Germanic sirens was named Lorelei.
7. True or false: You can probably identify the gender of traditional Japanese speakers from transcripts of their dialogue.
8. In Sweden, the names Sara, Margareta, Johanna, Magdalena, Emma, and Kristina all refer to:

   A. The names of days celebrated during "Woman Week" on the traditional Swedish calendar.

   B. The names of female characters in Ingmar Bergman's early films

   C. A singing group known as the Andrewsson Sisters

9. Australia has many distinctive slang terms. True or false: A Margaret is the most common slang term for a young woman in Australia.
10. In the Italian tradition, an old woman on a donkey brings gifts to children on the Eve of the Epiphany, which is January 5. What is the name of this old woman?

    A. Antonia

    B. Befana

    C. Centimani

Answers

1. C. Her image also appears on French coinage.
2. True. Variations of the name Jane exist in many languages.
3. A. Chinese names are presented in the opposite order from Western names. If her name is Li Chu Chin, Li is her surname and Chin is her first name.
4. True. The mnemonic device is "E is for hEr (FrancEs) and I is for him(FrancIs)."
5. True. The term binti (somtimes spelled "binty" or "binte" in English) means "daughter of."
6. True This siren lured sailors on the Rhone River rather than in the Mediterranean.
7. True. Japanese women traditionally used a highly deferential form of the language called nyobo kotoba.
8. A. This week falls in late July.
9. False. Sheila is the most common term for a woman. Margaret is an Australian surfing term for a big wave.
10. B. On the same night, children often dress up as old people called befani and go door to door collecting treats.

Notorious

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Terri Morrison

1. True or false: Mariano Melgarejo, a former Bolivian dictator, attempted to intervene during the 1870 Franco-Prussian War by marching his army all the way to Europe.
2. Ned Kelly was one of the best-known Australians of the 1870s. What occupation brought him this notoriety?

   A. Con artist and forger

   B. Horse thief, cattle rustler, and bank robber

   C. Pirate and smuggler

3. Mae West (1892-1980) shocked and amused audiences with lines like "When I'm good, I'm very good, but when I'm bad, I'm better." True or false: She was once jailed for obscenity.
4. Canada united as a country in part due to the fear of annexation by the United States. Which of the following constituted the final armed invasion of Canada across its southern border?

   A. Queen Anne's War (1702-1713)

   B. The War of 1812

   C. The Fenian invasions of 1866 and 1870

5. Sir Leander Starr Jameson became notorious in South Africa around the turn of the century. His fame is based upon which of the following?

   A. He led a famous raid against the Boer government of the Transvaal.

   B. He discovered gold in the Transvaal.

   C. He distilled the first good whiskey in Africa.

6. In Shakespeare's Othello, the villainous Iago convinces Othello that his loving wife, Desdemona, is unfaithful. True or false: Enraged, Othello kills Desdemona then commits suicide.
7. Welsh buccaneer Sir Henry Morgan sacked cities in Venezuela and Panama. True or false: For his success against the Spanish Empire, Morgan became lieutenant governor of Jamaica.
8. Lola Montez (1818-1861) was the mistress of such notables as composer Franz Liszt, novelist Alexandre Dumas, and King Louis I of Bavaria. Where was she born?

   A. Brazil

   B. Costa Rica

   C. Ireland

9. True or false: Former Nicaraguan Minister of Culture Ernesto Cardenal, a poet and author, gained notoriety entirely from his writing, which supported the Communist Sandinistas.
10. Alfred Hitchcock directed the 1946 film Notorious, starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, and Claude Rains. Where was the film set?

    A. Argentina

    B. Brazil

    C. Colombia

Answers

1. True. But he called off the march when it began to rain.
2. B. A bushranger in Australian slang, Ned Kelly was captured and hung in 1880.
3. True. In the Twenties, West was sentenced to ten days in jail for obscenity for the content of a play she wrote.
4. C. Several hundred Irish-born veterans of the US Civil War, known as the Fenian Brotherhood, attempted and failed to conquer Canada and trade it for Irish independence.
5. A. Jameson failed in his attempt to overthrow the government of the Transvaal so it could be annexed as a British colony.
6. True. Iago's duplicity is then exposed, and he is arrested.
7. True. Sir Henry Morgan died a wealthy and respected man in Jamaica in August 1688.
8. C. Marie Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert was born in Limerick, Ireland. Lola Montez was her stage name.
9. False. Cardenal, also a Catholic priest, openly defied Pope John Paul II's ban on the participation of the clergy in government.
10. B. Much of the action takes place in Rio de Janeiro.

A Loaf Of Bread, A Jug Of Wine, And Thee

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Terri Morrison

1. The lines "I think that I shall never see / A poem lovely as a tree" were written by US poet Joyce Kilmer. Which of the following is not true about Kilmer?

   A. Kilmer was a man who died in battle during World War I.

   B. Kilmer was a woman who frequented the Algonquin Round Table in the 1930s.

   C. There is a rest stop named after Kilmer on the New Jersey Turnpike.

2. True or false: Vidal Sassoon was an English poet known for his pacifism.
3. Captain John D. McCrae (1872-1918) wrote In Flanders Fields to commemorate the lost soldiers of World War I. Which country is Flanders in?

   A. Belgium

   B. Netherlands

   C. Sweden

4. True or false: Caribbean poet Derek Walcott was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature
5. Which of the following was not written by Canadian poet Robert W. Service (1874-1958)?

   A. Cremation of Sam McGee

   B. The Shooting of Dan McGrew

   C. The Call of the Wild

6. Pablo Neruda won the 1971 Nobel Prize in literature. True or false: During his lifetime, Neruda remained an honored citizen in his home country of Chile.
7. Rubén Darío (1867-1916) was considered the finest poet writing in the Spanish language at the turn of the century. Which country was he from?

   A. Bolivia

   B. Dominican Republic

   C. Nicaragua

8. True or false: Several US beat poets of the 1950s lived and worked in Mexico.
9. South Africa has produced a number of internationally known writers, such as J.M. Coetzee (born 1940) and Nadine Gordimer (born 1923), as well as some accomplished poets. Who among the following is not a South African poet?

   A. Chinua Achebe

   B. Breyten Breytenbach

   C. Roy Campbell

10. Scots author Robert Burns (1759-1796) wrote such well-known poems as Merry Hae I Been Teethin a Heckle. True or false: Burns wrote his poems in Gaelic.

Answers

1.  B. A war hero born in New Jersey, Alfred Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918), has a turnpike rest stop named after him. The lines are from his poem Trees.
2. False. Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967) was an English poet who became a pacifist after serving in World War I. Vidal Sassoon sells hair-care products.
3. A.
4. True. Walcott, born in 1930 in St. Lucia, studied and worked in Jamaica and won the Nobel in 1992.
5. C. This short novel was written by another author associated with the Yukon, US author Jack London (1876-1916).
6. False. A Communist, Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) was in exile from 1948 to 1952. The 1995 film Il Postino (The Postman) was based on his life.
7. C. Darío is also credited with leading the modernism movement of Spanish American literature.
8. True. Among others, Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) and William S. Burroughs (born 1914) lived in Mexico.
9. A. Achebe (born 1930) is Nigeria's most famous novelist.
10. False. Burns wrote in dialect, but the language was English.

To Market, To Market

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Terri Morrison

1. Which European city is a favorite locale for test marketing?

   A. Madrid

   B. Brussels

   C. Rome

2. High-pressure sales and hype are counterproductive in many countries. True or false: Australians tend to fiercely resist pressure tactics.
3. Radio and television commercials are often more effective than newspaper advertisements in:

   A. Sweden

   B. Hawaii

   C. Bolivia

4. German and Brazilian consumers' tastes in advertisements are opposite, because Germans generally like what in their ads?

   A. Lots of data

   B. Fewer facts and more sex

   C. Hysterically manic imagery

5. True or false: Advertising in many Central American newspapers is tantamount to taking a political stand.
6. Marketing in Saudi Arabia must abide by local traditions. This precludes:

   A. Using children in advertisements

   B. Depicting a dog in an ad

   C. Direct marketing

7. Successful toothpaste sales in Canada depend on your target market and pitch. True or false: Promote the cavity-fighting aspects to Canadians of French descent, and the breath-enhancing capabilities to English-Canadian consumers.
8. Local representatives can be invaluable, but local laws often protect them from being terminated. Which country won't penalize you for changing your local agent?

   A. Japan

   B. UAE

   C. Ecuador

   D. USA

Answers

1. B. As headquarters of the European Commission, and in addition to its historic Flemish, French, and German influences, Brussels is home to consumers with many different tastes.
2. True. Be honest, direct, and brief with Aussies.
3. C. Another useful venue is the cinema, which shows many ads before the feature presentation.
4. A. The more facts in Germany -- particularly of a technical nature -- the better.
5. True. Newspapers in Central America are often associated with a political outlook. For example, each of Belize's largest newspapers supports a different political party.
6. B. Dogs are considered unclean.
7. False. Do the reverse.
8. D

The Mother Of Invention

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Terri Morrison

1. The open-air thermometer was invented by Galileo Galilei, c.1607. Match these improvements to their country and year of discovery.

   A. The clinical thermometer, by Santorio Santorio	1. Germany, 1714
   B. Absolute-temperature (or Kelvin) scale, by William Thomson, Lord Kelvin	2. Sweden, 1742
   C. The mercury (also called the Fahrenheit) scale, by Gabriel D. Fahrenheit	3. England, 1848
   D. The centigrade scale, by Anders Celsius	4. Italy, c.1612

2. True or false: The parachute, hot-air balloon, and airplane were all invented in France.
3. Belgian inventor Leo Hendrik Baekeland (1863-1944) was a pioneer in the plastics industry. True or false: He named his breakthrough substance Orlon.
4. Alfred Nobel of Sweden (1833-1896) left the bulk of his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes, which are awarded each year in the categories of medicine, physics, literature, chemistry, peace, and economics. Nobel made his fortune inventing and marketing:

   A. Pneumatic tires

   B. Dynamite

   C. Hydrofoils

5. Dutch naturalist Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) reported his observations of microscopic animalcules in a series of letters to the Royal Society of London. True or false: van Leeuwenhoek constructed only one microscope.
6. Luis F. Leloir's discovery of sugar nucleotides won him the 1970 Nobel Prize for chemistry. He is a citizen of which South American country?

   A. Argentina

   B. Brazil

   C. Chile

   D. Peru

7. The 1965 Nobel Prize for physics was jointly awarded to scientists from Japan (Shinichiro Tomanaga) and the USA (Julian Schwinger and Richard P. Feynman). Their Nobel Prize was awarded for work in which field?

   A. Nanotechnology

   B. Quantum electrodynamics

   C. Education

8. Many Italian scientists came to the United States to work, except for which of the following. (Hint: He's the only one who didn't win a Nobel Prize.)

   A. Enrico Fermi (1901-1954), nuclear physics

   B. Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937), telegraphy

   C. Giulio Natta (1903-), polymer chemistry

   D. Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), electricity

9. Which specialists work in Hawaii?

   A. Astronomers

   B. Botanists

   C. Volcanologists

   D. All of the above

10. Two scientists from Canada, Sir Frederick Banting and John J.R. Macleod won the 1923 Nobel Prize for medicine. True or false: They are credited with discovering insulin.

Answers

1. A, 4; B, 3; C, 1; D, 2
2. False. The airplane's invention is generally credited to the Wright brothers, who first flew an engine-powered craft near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903. In 1783, the first successful parachute descent was made by Louis S. Lenormand, and the hot-air balloon invented by Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier in France.
3. False. Baekeland's revolutionary thermosetting resin was named Bakelite. He moved from Belgium to the USA in 1889, where he founded the Bakelite Corporation. He is also credited with major innovations in photography, which were purchased by Eastman Kodak Company in 1899.
4. B. Nobel named his new explosive dynamite and patented it in 1867.
5. False. Constantly tinkering with his instruments, van Leeuwenhoek built as many as 550 different microscopes. Only nine of these are known to have survived.
6. A
7. B
8. D
9. D. It should come as no surprise that scientists study Hawaii's rare fauna and volcanoes, but there is also an astronomical observatory atop Mauna Kea on Hawaii, and NASA has a tracking station at Kokee on Kauai.
10. True

Happy Holidays

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Terri Morrison

1. In Scotland, New Year's Eve is traditionally celebrated with "first footing," or visiting friends and family. True or false: To bring luck, the first guest to cross your threshold should be a woman with red hair.
2. The African-American festival known as Kwanzaa lasts for seven days. At what time of year is the holiday celebrated?

   A. Between December 1 and December 15

   B. Between Christmas and New Year's Day

   C. Between January 1 and January 15

3. The Twelfth Day after Christmas is significant for many Christians because:

   A. It is the day the Magi visited Jesus.

   B. It is the feast of Epiphany.

   C. Both

4. Christmas is an important holiday to Catholics in the Philippines. True or false: Filipino children often celebrate the holiday by constructing Christmas lanterns out of bamboo and tissue paper.
5. This year, the Jewish festival Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 23. How many days does Hanukkah last?

   A. Six

   B. Seven

   C. Eight

6. The Spirit of Christmas is personified in many forms. True or false: The Dutch version, Sinterklaas, is a saintly bishop who arrives on horseback after a sea journey from Spain.
7. Many island nations observe Boxing Day on December 26. True or false: Boxing Day commemorates pugilists.
8. The Hindu festival of Deepavali commemorates the return of the deity Lord Rama to his throne. This tradition is also known as:

   A. The Festival of Lights

   B. The Full Moon Festival

   C. The Harvest Festival

9. Christmas is not an official national holiday in Taiwan. True or false: There is no holiday celebrated on December 25 in Taiwan.
10. Christmas carols are sung throughout the world. In the 1970s, Puerto Rican native José Feliciano recorded what is now a Christmas staple. This song was:

    A. "Dreidel, Dreidel"

    B. "Feliz Navidad"
    C. "Blue Christmas"

Answers

1. False. A man with dark hair is considered most auspicious.
2. B. This nondenominational festival begins on December 26.
3. C.
4. True. These lanterns are known as parols. There are competitions for finely crafted lanterns made by adults.
5. C. One candle is added to the branched menorah each night.
6. True. And rather than Mrs. Claus, he is accompanied by Zwarte Piet, his Moorish servant.
7. False. Boxing Day is named for the former English custom of giving gift boxes to employees and tradespeople.
8. A. As part of this festival, Hindus place lights outside their homes.
9. False. Taiwan's Constitution Day is celebrated on December 26.
10. B.

From Concertos To Calypso

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Terri Morrison

1. Some say that Argentina has two national anthems -- the official hymn and the tango. True or false: The best bandoneóns (tango accordions) are made in Germany.
2. Technically speaking, a tenor has to be able to sing a two-octave range from approximately B-flat to B-flat. Match these tenor arias with their operas.

   A. "Nessun dorma"	1. Carmen
   B. "Flower Song"	2. Lohengrin
   C. "In Fernem Land"	3. Turandot
   D. "Il mio tesoro"	4. Don Giovanni

3. True or false: Scottish bagpipes were once quite popular in much of Europe.
4. When the Portuguese introduced an instrument called the braginha to Hawaii, the Hawaiians adopted it and called it the ukulele. The word ukulele is Hawaiian for:

   A. Four strings

   B. Tiny guitar

   C. Jumping flea

5. P.T. Barnum billed a famous soprano who toured the United States in the 1800s as "The Swedish Nightingale." Her real name (short version) was:

   A. Annie Oakley

   B. Jenny Lind

   C. Helga Pfeffernusse

6. True or false: Brazilians can lay claim to the most widely played of all guitar concertos, Concierto d'Aranjuez, by Joaquín Rodrigo.
7. St. Gregory the Great was pope from 590-604. True or false: His accomplishments included systematizing the monodic liturgical plainsong of the Roman Catholic Church, also called "chant."
8. Many Caribbean music styles are fusions of African and European sounds. Musical Mensas will be able to match the styles of music with their various homes.

   A. Zouk	1. Puerto Rico
   B. Merengue	2. Jamaica
   C. Plena	3. Dominican Republic
   D. Calypso	4. Martinique
   E. Reggae	5. Trinidad

9. According to many archaeologists, Australian Aboriginal culture has been traced back 50,000 years, which makes it the world's oldest civilization. Its most well-known instrument is made from a eucalyptus limb that has been hollowed out by termites, and often is beautifully carved. This instrument is called a:

   A. Bilma

   B. Lali

   C. Didgeridoo

10. Da-da-da-dum! Of course you recognize the first four notes from Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. There is another Beethoven symphony that contains a brilliant, and exceedingly popular, movement. True or false: "Ode to Joy" is the last movement in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Answers

1. True. Around 1860, this box-shaped button accordion was invented in Germany so that musicians could play hymns in churches without organs. The bandoneón has more than seventy buttons!
2. A, 3; B, 1; C, 2; D, 4
3. True
4. C
5. B. Jenny Lind, or Johanna Maria Lind-Goldschmidt, was born in Sweden. She was a coloratura soprano.
6. False. Señor Rodrigo was Spanish.
7. True. And he would no doubt be pleased to see the resurgence in the popularity of Gregorian chants 1,300 years later! The musical Benedictine monks of the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos have produced a best-selling recording called Chant, which has sold millions of copies.
8. A, 4; B, 3; C, 1; D, 5; E, 2
9. C. The didgeridoo (a k a didjeridu, yidaki, yiraki, magu, kanbi, or ihambilbilg) was originally only played by select Aboriginal men. It is blown in a circular manner, and emanates a variety of haunting tones.
10. True. There are four movements in a symphony, and "Ode to Joy" was the last one, a choral movement. Beethoven composed and conducted it when he was totally deaf.

In The Beginning

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Terri Morrison

1. The first European king to reign in the Americas was:

   A. Larry King

   B. John, ruler of the Empire of Brazil

   C. Maximilian, ruler of the Empire of Mexico

   D. Armand Assante, the Mambo King (cha-cha-cha!)

2. Today, the Caribbean is host to a thriving tourist industry. Who was the first US president to visit a Caribbean island? (It was the island of Barbados.)

   A. George Washington

   B. Millard Fillmore

   C. Teddy Roosevelt

   D. Herbert Hoover

3. Any group of rebels can declare independence, but that declaration isn't much good until another country recognizes the rebels as independent. True or false: The first country to recognize the United States as an independent nation was the United Kingdom.
4. True or false: Enslaved people have often revolted against their masters, but the first slave revolt to take over an entire nation was in Haiti in 1804.
5. Match the earliest known indigenous inhabitants with their countries.

   A. New Zealand	1. Borinquénos
   B. Peru	2. Maori
   C. Puerto Rico	3. Guaraní
   D. Paraguay	4. Incas
   E. South Africa	5. !Kung (Bushmen)

6. True or false: Scotland's independence was won by Robert the Bruce in 1628.
7. Despite their proximity and small size, Belgium and the Netherlands are quite distinct countries. But it wasn't always this way. True or false: The Netherlands successfully revolted against Belgian rule in 1830.
8. Ireland and England have been feuding for centuries. Not all of these conflicts have erupted on Irish or English soil. In what country did the Fenian Revolt take place?

   A. Canada

   B. Wales

   C. Australia

   D. Scotland

9. And now for something completely different: The island of Curaçao produces a unique liqueur of the same name. Curaçao's flavor is derived from:

   A. Apricots

   B. Mangoes

   C. Oranges

   D. Papaws

10. Firearms are hard to come by today in Japan, but they used to be even more scarce. True or false: Japan conducted the world's first (and only) total ban on guns.

Answers

1. B. In 1807, after Napoleon I invaded Portugal, the Portuguese royal family fled to Brazil, where the Portuguese Empire was ruled from 1808 to 1821.
2. A. George Washington visited in 1751 with his older half-brother, Lawrence.
3. False. France was the first to recognize the new nation on December 17, 1777.
4. True. Haiti is the only country where former slaves have taken over the reigns of government.
5. A, 2; B, 4; C, 1; D, 3; E, 5
6. False. The Battle of Bannockburn was fought in 1314, and was the deciding battle for Scotland's independence. The Treaty of Northampton was signed by King Edward II in 1328. Robert the Bruce died the following year.
7. False. Belgium broke away from the Netherlands in 1830.
8. A. In 1866, several thousand Irish veterans of the US Civil War invaded Canada and held the nation for ransom to force Britain to give Ireland its independence. This ill-conceived Fenian Revolt ended with relatively few casualties.
9. C. These unique Curaçao oranges also provide flavoring to Triple Sec, Cointreau, and Grand Marnier.
10. True. The Portuguese brought guns to Japan in the 1500s, but the weapons were eventually considered to be incompatible with samurai honor and were banned for almost two centuries.

What’s In A Name?

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Terri Morrison

1. A distinguished Hispanic executive hands you a business card that looks like this: Miguel Eduardo Cela y Banderas. You should call him:

   A. Señor Eduardo

   B. Señor Cela

   C. Señor Banderas

   D. Señor y

2. The current ruler of Saudi Arabia is King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud. What was his father's name?

   A. Fahd

   B. Bin

   C. Abdul Aziz

3. True or false: The king is addressed as "King Fahd."
4. You are introduced to a French executive who states his name as "Robert, Pierre." What do you do?

   A. Apologize for not speaking French, and ask him if his last name is Robert or Pierre.

   B. State your last name.

   C. Avoid the firm US-style grip when you shake hands.

   D. All of the above.

5. Your friend, a Russian Jew named Fyodor Nikolaievich Medvedev, follows many Russian traditions. The polite but informal way you address him is:

   A. Fyodor Medvedev

   B. Teddy

   C. Fyodor Nikolaievich

6. Match the correct formal and informal forms of the pronoun "you" with their languages:

   A. Spanish	1. "Sie" and "Du"
   B. French	2. "Ud." and "Tú"
   C. German	3. "Vous" and "Tú"

7. You are about to give a speech in Germany. Dr. Hans Schmidt, the moderator, is a personal friend. Before you launch into your presentation, you say:

   A. "Thank you, Hans, for that complimentary introduction."

   B. "Thank you, Herr Doktor Schmidt, for that kind introduction."

   C. "Thank you, Herr Schmidt, for that complimentary introduction."

   D. "Thanks, Schmitty!"

8. Many Hong Kong Chinese have relocated to Western Canada, Australia, and other countries because Hong Kong will no longer be a British Crown Colony after 1997. True or false: There are only approximately 400 different Chinese surnames.
9. Chang Wu Jiang, president of a Hong Kong multinational, meets you in Vancouver, his new headquarters. You know that Chinese names include a family name, a generational name, and a given name. So you say, "It is a great pleasure to meet you, President Chang." He reacts by:

   A. Nodding and extending his hand.

   B. Applauding your phenomenal knowledge of Chinese name order.

   C. Grimacing and directing his assistants to show you the door.

10. Americans are always asking total strangers to use their first names or nicknames. For example, during the 1992 presidential campaign, the winning party used this ditty urging voters to feel comfortable with the vice-presidential candidate:

    A. "You Can Call Me Al"

    B. "Danny Boy"

    C. "My Boy Bill"

Answers

1. B. Many Hispanics have two surnames: one from their father, which comes first, followed by one from their mother. Sometimes the two surnames are separated by "y," which means "and" in Spanish. Miguel Eduardo Cela y Banderas' father was Señor Cela, so that's what you call him.
2. C. There are many parts of the world where your paternal line is incorporated into your name. In this case, "bin Abdul Aziz" is a patronymic (a name derived from the first name of one's father) meaning "son of Abdul Aziz."
3. True
4. D.
5. C. Among themselves, Russians often address each other by their first names and patronymic. Thus, Fyodor Nikolaievich Medvedev's first name is Fyodor (a Russian version of Theodore), his last name is Medvedev, and his middle name means "son of Nikolai."
6. A, 2; B, 3; C, 1
7. B. Formality rules in German business settings. Never call Hans by his first name at work.
8. True. However, when these 400 surnames, or clan names, are translated into English, there are several possible variations. For example, Wong, Wang, and Huang are all English versions of the same Chinese clan name.
9. A.
10. A.