Prison Bowl IV Questions written and edited by Hunter College High School (Mehnaj Ahmed, Lily Chen, York Chen, William Dou, Jason Gurevitch, Matthew Gurevitch, Willie Ha, Sarah Hamerling, Sophey Ho, Cheyenne Hua, Paul Moschetti, Tenzin Norzin, Charles Pan, Naomi Sweeting, David Xu, Richard Yu, Marianna Zhang, Zihan Zheng), George Berry, Tony Cheng, and Auroni Gupta.
Round 01 – Tossups
1. George Norris tried to take power from one holder of this post, Joseph Cannon, though he was able to retain his position by threatening to resign. The first man to hold this post was Frederick Muhlenberg, while other powerful holders of this post included Samuel Randall, Tip O’Neill, and Thomas Brackett Reed, who attacked the disappearing quorum while holding this post. This position lost an accompanying chairmanship of the Rules Committee following the Revolt of 1910. The Contract with America was suggested by one holder of this office, Newt Gingrich. For 10 points, name this position held in recent years by Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner. ANSWER: Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
2. Genetic resistance to this disease is conferred by G6PD deficiency and a lack of Duffy antigens. This disease causes abnormal posturing and hemoglobinuria, and its ovale and vivax strains are less virulent than its falciparum strain. A heterozygote advantage confers resistance to this disease upon carriers of sickle cell anemia. Carried by female members of genus Anopheles, it is treated with quinine and caused by protozoans of the genus Plasmodium. For 10 points, name this disease prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, transmitted by mosquitoes. ANSWER: malaria
3. One character in this novel locks herself in a room with her bridal gown. The protagonist, who is nearly killed by Orlick, meets the coarse Bentley Drummle through Clara Barley's husband, the gentleman Herbert Pocket. John Wemmick looks after this novel's protagonist and works for Jaggers. The protagonist is fed tar-water by his sister, the wife of the blacksmith Joe Gargery. The anonymous benefactor in this novel is revealed to be the convict Abel Magwitch and not Miss Havisham, whose daughter Estella is Pip's love. For 10 points, name this novel by Charles Dickens. ANSWER: Great Expectations
4. Aglaulus and Herse both committed suicide after this goddess gave them a box containing Erichthonius, born from the semen of Hephaestus. This goddess blinded Tiresias when he stumbled upon her bathing naked, but then gave him the gift of prophecy. Enraged upon discovering Poseidon and Medusa lying together in her temple, this goddess changed Medusa into a Gorgon. She aided Perseus, and Medusa's head ended up on her aegis. She later beat Poseidon in a contest in which his salty spring lost to her olive tree. For 10 points, name this goddess of wisdom born from Zeus's head. ANSWER: Athena
5. A Chinese embassy is located on this city's Sparrow Hills. It contains several ring roads, the innermost of which is the Boulevard Ring around the White Town. This city's International Business Center contains the Imperia Tower and the City of Capitals, and lies on its namesake river. This city is home to a skewed obelisk with a rocket on top, the Monument to the Conquerors of Space, and is the largest city in continental Europe. Home to the Seven Sisters, a group of skyscrapers built in the Stalinist style, this city’s most famous structures are St. Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin. For 10 points, name this capital of Russia. ANSWER: Moscow or Moskva
6. The Melnikov-Arnold integral describes the motion of this system along its phase space separatrix, which occurs when displacement equals pi. The Mathieu equation describes this system's acceleration as "negative (g over L) sine theta." The double kind of these devices exhibit chaotic motion, and the speed of a bullet can be determined using the ballistic type. The small angle approximation simplifies this system's equations of motion, giving the period as "2 pi times the square root of L over g." For 10 points each, name this type of simple harmonic oscillator consisting of a weighted bob on a string. ANSWER: pendulum [prompt on simple harmonic oscillator before it is mentioned]
8. Tolman linked cognitive maps to a sign variety of this theory, and Kurt Lewin applied it to social behavior. Ehrenfels proposed a form of this theory, which explains the phi phenomenon. The Necker Cube and Rubin’s vase illustrate its concept of multistability. This theory’s central principle, pragnanz, implies its principles of grouping, including Common Fate, Closure, and Proximity. Propounded by Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Kohler, for 10 points, name this psychological theory that claims the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. ANSWER: Gestalt psychology
9. In one work by this composer, a conflict between Don Carlo and Don Alvaro leads to the stabbing of Leonora, while in another the "Anvil Chorus" is sung by the gypsies. Along with La Forza del Destino, he composed an opera in which Giorgio Germont forces the tubercular Violetta to end her relationship with Alfredo. This man composed La Traviata, as well as the aria “La donna e mobile” from an opera about a hunchbacked court jester, while another opera is about the title enslaved Ethiopian princess. For 10 points, name this composer of Aida and Rigoletto. ANSWER: Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi
10. This artist has a Rilke quote tattooed on her left arm. One music video shows her dumping hundred-dollar bills out of a Vixen's Visions bag, while another shows her dancing in front of "Guido's Meat Market." This artist of "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich" uses a stage name based on the title of a Queen song. She dances in a subway car and sings "I wanna take a ride on your disco stick" in "LoveGame." This artist of "Alejandro" sings "I left my head and my heart on the dance floor" in "Telephone." For 10 points, name this pop singer of "Bad Romance" and "Poker Face." ANSWER: Lady Gaga or Stefani Germanotta
11. In order to escape from a convent, Justa Grata Honoria sent this man a ring, which he interpreted as a wedding proposal. According to the diplomat Priscus, this ruler returned the dwarf Zerco to Flavius Aetius after he murdered his brother Bleda. This ruler's son Ellac was defeated by Theodemir and Ardaric. During his invasion of Italy he stopped at the Po River and negotiated his withdrawal with Pope Leo I. He was the son of Rugila and invaded northern Gaul, where he was defeated by a combined Visigoth-Roman force at Chalons. For 10 points, name this ruler of the Huns. ANSWER: Attila
12. In one play by this author, Laura takes custody of Bertha, causing Doctor Ostermark to proclaim the title character insane. Another of his works centers on the title café and the journalist Arvid Falk. This author of The Father and The Red Room wrote a play beginning after a house collapses and the Old Man Jacob Hummel approaches the student Arkenholz; that play is his "chamber play," The Ghost Sonata. In his most famous play, a bird is beheaded by Jean, who then gives the razor to the title character to commit suicide. For 10 points, name this Swedish author of Miss Julie. ANSWER: August Strindberg
13. An annual meteor shower in late October originates in this constellation, home to M42. Its Kappa star, Saiph, emits mostly ultraviolet light, and its alpha star lies at one vertex of the Winter Triangle. One asterism in this constellation is composed of Mintaka, Alnilam, and Alnitak, and points towards Aldebaran and Sirius. The Horsehead Nebula lies in this constellation, found between Taurus and Canis Major. Home to the stars Bellatrix, Rigel, and Betelgeuse, this constellation features a namesake three-star “belt.” For 10 points, name this constellation named after a mythical Greek hunter. ANSWER: Orion
15. In one work by this author, Gabilan is a gift from Mr. Tiflin to Jody, while in another, Coyotito falls sick and Kino throws the title object into the sea. In addition to The Red Pony and The Pearl, this author wrote a novel featuring the Bear Flag Restaurant, a brothel run by Dora Flood, and Lee Chong's Heavenly Flower Grocery, all located on the title Cannery Row. He wrote about Jim Casy and Tom Joad in one novel, and in another, Lennie kills Curley's wife and is shot by George. For 10 points, name this author of The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men. ANSWER: John Steinbeck
16. The Marquess of Pombal designated this country’s Douro region for wine production. This country had a succession crisis following the death of its King Sebastian I at the Battle of Ksar El Kebir, and won back its independence under the Duke of Braganza. The All Saints Day earthquake of 1755 occurred in this country, whose Carnation Revolution overthrew Antonio Salazar’s Estado Novo. This nation’s Prince Henry the Navigator sponsored voyages along the West African coast and to India by Vasco da Gama. For 10 points, name this country with capital Lisbon. ANSWER: Portugal
17. This man planted a vineyard and got drunk, after which his youngest son saw him naked; he later cursed that son. This man is associated with the only Biblical mention of gopher wood and is described as being "blameless in his age” and having "walked with God." This father of Jephthah, Ham, and Shem sent out a raven and a dove to find solid ground, after which God promised to never again destroy the world. One of the only survivors of a forty day and forty night flood, for 10 points, name this Biblical figure who brought two of every animal on his ark. ANSWER: Noah
18. This architect created a building nicknamed the “Plywood Palace” because its mirrored windowpanes kept falling off. This creator of the tent-like Luce Memorial Chapel also designed the cubist Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. Concrete was substituted for marble in a tower connected to a black glass pavilion in this man’s JFK Library. A similar glass structure can be found in his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For 10 points, name this architect of the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong and the glass and steel pyramids at the Louvre. ANSWER: Ieoh Ming Pei
19. In this work, Wee Willie Winkie is the father of the main character's rival, who earns his living by playing accordion and singing at Methwold's Estate. Another musician in this novel is the Brass Monkey, the narrator’s sister, whose real name is Jamila Singer. The protagonist’s rival has strong knees while the protagonist himself is a telepath with an unusually large nose. Shiva and Saleem Sinai were born together in 1947 at this novel’s title time. For 10 points, name this allegory for the partition of India, a novel by Salman Rushdie. ANSWER: Midnight's Children
20. This process is impeded by the Leidenfrost effect and differs from cavitation in that it does not involve a change in ambient pressure. To prevent bumping, one may use its namesake “chips.” In the absence of nucleation sites, this process is delayed, resulting in superheating. Its corresponding line on a phase diagram ends at the critical point. Used to separate mixtures in distillation, it occurs when a liquid's vapor pressure reaches the atmospheric pressure. The reverse of condensation, for 10 points, name this process of vaporizing a liquid, which for water occurs at 100 degrees C. ANSWER: boiling [accept word forms]
1. In this short story, the title character wanders in the Catskills with his dog Wolf. For 10 points each: [10] Name this short story in which the title character sleeps for twenty years, through the American Revolution. ANSWER: “Rip Van Winkle” [10] This author of "Rip Van Winkle" wrote about Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," and also authored the collection Tales of the Alhambra. ANSWER: Washington Irving [10] Both "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle" are collected in this book by Irving, written under the pseudonym "Geoffrey Crayon." ANSWER: The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon
2. It premiered in the Hanover Square Rooms. For 10 points each: [10] Beginning with an adagio first movement, this symphony gets its nickname from a sudden fortissimo chord, after which the music returns to its original dynamic. ANSWER: Surprise Symphony or Symphony No. 94 or Symphony mit dem Paukenschlag [10] The Surprise Symphony is part of this compilation written during the composer's travels to its namesake city. Other symphonies in this collection include the Miracle, Clock, and Drumroll symphonies. ANSWER: London Symphonies or Salomon Symphonies [10] This man wrote the London Symphonies and is called the "father of the symphony" and the "father of the string quartet." ANSWER: Joseph Haydn
3. Their duty is to "grasp the long and the short swords and to die." For 10 points each: [10] Name this bushido-obeying warrior class of feudal Japan. ANSWER: samurai [10] This period saw the Boshin War and the Satsuma Rebellion against the abolition of the samurai class after the overthrow of the Tokugawa Shogunate. This period’s namesake emperor promised reform in the Charter Oath. ANSWER: Meiji Restoration [10] The Meiji Restoration happened in part due to this American’s “opening” of Japan at the Convention of Kanagawa. He came to Japan with a fleet of what the Japanese referred to as “black ships.” ANSWER: Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry
4. This element is the first namesake of a cycle of fusion reactions occurring in heavy stars. For 10 points each: [10] Name this nonmetallic group 14 element present in all organic compounds. ANSWER: Carbon [10] The armchair form of these cylindrical fullerenes is metallic, while their zigzag form is semiconducting. They have very large tensile strengths and may be single-walled or multi-walled. ANSWER: carbon nanotubes [10] The carbon atoms in graphene, a planar sheet of carbon atoms bonded in a hexagonal lattice, exhibit this kind of orbital hybridization also found in alkenes. ANSWER: sp 2 (“s p two”) hybridization
5. Name the following about a certain period in French history, for 10 points each: [10] This collaborationist government ruled France during German occupation in World War II, and was opposed by Charles de Gaulle. ANSWER: Vichy Regime [10] This Hero of Verdun was brought out of retirement to lead the Vichy government. He spent the rest of his life in prison. ANSWER: Henri-Phillipe Petain [10] Operation Exporter was an Allied attempt to retake two Middle Eastern Vichy territories for Free French forces. Name either or both. ANSWER: Syria and/or Lebanon
7. In this play, the title character and Calonice swear an oath over wine. For 10 points each: [10] Name this play in which the wives of soldiers fighting in the Peloponnesian War withhold sex from their husbands to precipitate peace negotiations. ANSWER: Lysistrata [10] This Greek author and exponent of Old Comedy wrote Lysistrata as well as a satire of Sophists featuring the Thinkery, titled The Clouds. ANSWER: Aristophanes [10] In this Aristophanes play, the sausage-seller Agoracritus argues with Cleon, whose fellow slave Demosthenes blames him for a beating. ANSWER: The Knights
8. These molecules occur as zwitterions and are joined together via peptide bonds. For 10 points each:
[10] Name these compounds containing both an NH2 group and a COOH group, known as the “building blocks of proteins.” ANSWER: amino acids [10] This simplest and only non-chiral amino acid has a hydrogen atom as its side chain and is found in collagen. ANSWER: glycine [accept Gly or G] [10] One variant of this amino acid contains selenium instead of the usual sulfur in its thiol side chain. It can be oxidized to form a dimeric amino acid containing a disulfide bond. ANSWER: cysteine [accept Cys or C]
9. In July 2010, this organization published a collection of U.S. military logs known as the Afghan War Diary. For 10 points each: [10] Name this whistle-blowing organization responsible for "cablegate," the November 2010 release of U.S. diplomatic cables. ANSWER: WikiLeaks [10] This Australian man is the spokesperson and editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks. Following the cable leak, he was arrested in England on allegations of rape in Sweden. ANSWER: Julian Assange [10] This U.S. Army intelligence analyst was charged with releasing confidential information to WikiLeaks, including thousands of diplomatic cables and video footage of U.S. airstrikes. ANSWER: Bradley Manning
10. For 10 points each, name some inhabitants of Tartarus: [10] This king of Sipylos killed his son Pelops and offered the body as dinner to the gods. Pelops was later brought back to life, while this person is eternally tempted by the water and fruit hanging just out of reach. ANSWER: Tantalus [10] This founder of Corinth murdered travelers, betrayed the gods' secrets, and chained Thanatos. When he finally died, Hermes had to drag him into the underworld where he forever rolls a boulder up a hill. ANSWER: Sisyphus [10] This king of the Lapiths killed his father-in-law Deioneus and slept with an illusionary Hera. As punishment, Zeus bound him to a flaming wheel. He caught a temporary break when Orpheus played his lyre. ANSWER: Ixion
12. In this painting, a waiter dressed in white is apparently trapped behind a triangular counter. For 10 points each: [10] Name this painting featuring a couple, a lonely man, and a waiter in a cafe late one night. An ad for Phillies cigars appears above the building, and the street outside is empty. ANSWER: Nighthawks [10] This American artist known for depicting the gloominess of urban life painted Nighthawks as well as Office at Night, Office in a Small City, and Chop Suey. ANSWER: Edward Hopper [10] In this Hopper painting, a lone woman sits at a table, staring at her coffee cup. Two rows of lights are reflected in the pitch-black window behind her, and the title food-dispensing machine sits to the left. ANSWER: Automat
13. He claimed to have been born on Baekdu Mountain. For 10 points each: [10] Name this Dear Leader who presided over his country’s Arduous March, a famine in the 1990s. His son Jong- Un was recently designated heir apparent as ruler of North Korea. ANSWER: Kim Jong-Il [prompt on Kim] [10] This rival of Kim Jong-Il’s father, Kim Il-sung, married an Austrian diplomat and carried out the Jeju massacre. He was the first President of South Korea. ANSWER: Syngman Rhee or Yi Seungman [10] This current President of South Korea set off mass protests after lifting a ban on U.S. beef imports, and was formerly the CEO of a branch of Hyundai. ANSWER: Lee Myung-bak
14. Spoiler alert: Nora leaves Torvald in the end. For 10 points each: [10] Name this play in which Nora's blackmail by Krogstad causes unrest in her marriage with Torvald. ANSWER: A Doll's House [10] A Doll's House was written by this Norwegian playwright, who also wrote The Wild Duck and Peer Gynt. ANSWER: Henrik Ibsen [10] In this Ibsen play, neither Dr. Stockmann’s brother the Mayor nor the townspeople believe Dr. Stockmann's claims that the bath water is contaminated. ANSWER: An Enemy of the People
15. Name some parts of North America that are quite dry, for 10 points each: [10] This region consists mostly of xeric shrubland, but also contains pine-oak forests in Sierra de la Laguna. This peninsula of Mexico lies between the Pacific and a namesake gulf, and borders the U.S. in the North. ANSWER: Baja California [10] This desert partially located in Baja California contains the city of Phoenix and is home to the saguaro cactus. It shares its name with a northern Mexican state south of Arizona. ANSWER: Sonoran Desert [10] This other desert lies north of the Sonoran Desert and is home to the distinctive Joshua tree. It contains landmarks such as Lake Mead and Death Valley, and covers a large portion of Southeastern California and Nevada. ANSWER: Mojave Desert
17. Name these things about a famous student of Plato, for 10 points each: [10] This philosopher was the personal tutor of Alexander the Great and the author of Poetics and Politics. His works span the topics of physics, metaphysics, rhetoric, logic, and biology. ANSWER: Aristotle [10] Headed by Theophrastus after Aristotle, this Athenian building was both a gymnasium and home to Aristotle's Peripatetic school. ANSWER: Lyceum [10] This work of Aristotle consists of 10 books based on notes from his lectures at the Lyceum. It attempts to define eudaimona and describes the development of a good character to achieve happiness. ANSWER: Nicomachean Ethics
18. For 10 points each, name the following ancient languages: [10] This Hellenic language featured the neuter gender and the middle voice, and it was often written in boustrophedon. It was used in such classics as the Iliad. ANSWER: Ancient Greek [10] The first complete grammar of this ancient language, the Ashtadhyayi, was written by Panini. It is the language of the Puranas and the Upanishads. ANSWER: Sanskrit [10] Along with the closely related Old Frisian language, this language was originally written with futhorc runes. One famous work in this Germanic language sees a dragon kill the hero of the Geats after he defeats Grendel. ANSWER: Old English or Anglo-Saxon [prompt on “English”]
19. In this novel, Mr. Brocklehurst's negligence at Lowood School results in Helen's death. For 10 points each: [10] Name this novel in which the title character rejects the clergyman St. John Rivers and returns to Thornfield Hall. ANSWER: Jane Eyre [10] Upon first meeting Jane, this character falls off his horse and insults Jane. He later becomes Jane's employer and lover, and loses his eyesight in a fire set by his crazy wife Bertha Mason. ANSWER: Edward Rochester [accept either name] [10] This author wrote Jane Eyre under the pseudonym Currer Bell and also wrote The Green Dwark, The Professor, and Villette. ANSWER: Charlotte Brontë [prompt on Brontë]
20. Name these founders of U.S. States, for 10 points each: [10] This Quaker received permission from King James II to establish a state known for its religious tolerance, nicknamed the “Keystone State.” ANSWER: William Penn [10] This Anabaptist founded a state that would house Anne Hutchinson following her expulsion from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Rhode Island. ANSWER: Roger Williams [10] This man established a crown colony in the state of Maryland, and also served as a governor of Newfoundland. ANSWER: Cecilius Calvert or Lord Baltimore