Quiz Novembre 2014
Here are some questions about French connections you read about/ heard about from the website in November.
Click the answer you think is correct. Sorry, no prizes.
1. Un bouquet, apart from being a bunch of flowers, can also be....
A. an alternative French word for "bucket"
Sorry WRONG! Mrs Bucket of British TV fame just pronounces it this way.
B. a lump sum deposit
BRAVO CORRECT! See the word of the week or the article about viager purchases of houses and apartments.
C. the French word to designate a "male goat"
Sorry WRONG. A male goat is "un bouc"
2. What does the abbreviation TIG stand for ?
A. Un Train d’Itinéraire Giratoire
Wrong: It might look like a French version of a circle line but this is totally made up.
B. La Température Idéale pour la cuisson d’un Gigot
The ideal temperature to cook a leg of line ? Wrong. This, too, is totally made up.
C. Des Travaux d’Intérêt General
CORRECT: "Work of general interest" is the French equivalent of community service performed under court orders.
3. The wild animal that was thought to be prowling around the Paris region was thought at one point to be near which tourist attraction ?
A. Disneyland - researching his family tree as maybe a descendant of Shere Khan
CORRECT - for the Disneyland part, at least. No update available as yet on the animal's genealogy.
B. Paris Catacombs - the animal was in fact a big cataphile
WRONG - a cataphile is an urban explorer who illegally tours the underground tunnels and mines of Paris
C. La Louve - there was a Le Brun exhibition showing analogies between human and animal features and this live animal had escaped
WRONG: This is not a tourist attraction. This was not a spelling mistake. "Une louve" is a she wolf. Le Louvre is the world's most visited museum.
4. During his time in France as Ambassador of the United States, Benjamin Franklin
A. suggested that the French get up earlier and go to bed earlier in summer to save on candles
CORRECT: This was a precursor of daylight saving but it didn't happen in France until 1976
B. proved that lightning is electricity by flying a kite in a storm
WRONG: This theory was formulated in Philadelphia.
C. booked a plot in the Père-Lachaise Cemetery.
WRONG: but a grandson of his is buried in that very cemetery.
5. Which French actor stars with George Clooney in the Nespresso ads ?
A. Gérard Depardieu
WRONG
B. Daniel Auteuil
WRONG
C. Jean Dujardin
CORRECT: and they have recently started appearing on TV screens in NZ
6. Which fact is NOT TRUE about the Pont du Gard ?
A. It is a three tiered aqueduct.
WRONG: This fact is true.
B. It is the second tallest aqueduct (after the Aqua Appia) that the Romans ever built.
CORRECT: This fact is Not True. The Pont du Gard is the TALLEST aqueduct ever built by the Romans.
C. There is a road on top of the bottom arches.
WRONG: This fact is true.
7. The "casse-croûte" evolved because
A. Culinary freedom was one of the freedoms (libertés) achieved by the ordinary French people at the time of the French Revolution.
WRONG.
B. They were part of the new wave cuisine of the 60s inspired by the first generation of TV chefs.
WRONG.
C. Workers in the fields or in factories didn't have time to go home for lunch.
CORRECT: Le casse-croûte is eaten anywhere, at any time and in any way you want.
8. This year, Le Beaujolais Nouveau arrived on
A: 20th November
CORRECT: It is always on the 3rd Thursday in November.
B: 13th November
WRONG.
C: 6th November
WRONG
9. Le Chateau de Moulinsart in the Tintin books was inspired by which Loire Valley castle?
A: Chaumont
WRONG
B: Cheverny
CORRECT: This is the Tintin castle
c: Chinon
WRONG
10. What is the lady below doing?
A: Demonstrating the length of the fish she's just caught.
WRONG.
B: Demonstrating she is a very modest person.
WRONG.
C: Demonstrating how fit and energetic she is.
CORRECT: This is an expression for fired up and full of get-up-and-go