A Beginning, a Middle and an End Quiz

Answer: Beginning

"In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth..." and so begins the beginning of the Bible. Genesis is the first book of the Christian Old Testament or the Hebrew Torah and tells the creation story, the story of Adam and Eve and of the covenant between Abraham and God.

Answer: Middle

The "Book of Proverbs" comes midway through the Old Testament. The exact order depends on which version you are reading. Known as Mishlei in the Hebrew Tarakh, it is one of the books of wisdom, acting as a guide to morality and personal conduct.

Answer: End

The "Book of Malachi" is the last book of the Christian Old Testament. It is the last of the books of the prophets, known in the Hebrew Tanakh as The Twelve. It is structured as a series of conversations between God and the people and covers such topics as the role of the priesthood and the importance of worship.

Answer: Beginning

The surrender of the US Army at Fort Sumter following its bombardment by the South Carolina militia in April 1861 is considered the opening battle of the US Civil War. When South Carolina declared its secession from the United States of America in October 1860, it seized many federal assets and buildings in its territory including those in and around Charleston Harbour. Two that it failed to claim were Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumter.

The US Army still occupied Fort Moultrie and despite an agreement being in place to leave, the US Army not only continued its presence but moved into Fort Sumter, a strategic fort based at the entrance to the harbour. The confederate forces encircled the harbour in an attempt to force the army out. When President Lincoln attempted to re-supply the fort, the militia launched a bombardment. The army tried to respond but was massively outgunned and soon surrendered.

Answer: Middle

Taking place from April 29 to May 1, 1863, the Battle of Snyder's Bluff was almost exactly halfway between the first battle and the last. It was a relatively minor skirmish in the Mississippi theatre, part of the campaign to wrest control of the crucial city of Vicksburg on the Mississippi river from the Confederate Army.

Answer: End

The Battle of Palmito Ranch was the last land battle of the US Civil War. It was fought on May 12-13, 1865, on the banks of the Rio Grande in Texas and came more than one month after the surrender of General Lee's forces at Appomattox and just shy of a month after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Answer: Beginning

"Police Academy" (1984) was the first film in the comedy franchise of the same name. The academy in question is based in an unnamed American city that has a shortage of available officers. The mayor of the city tells the police that they have to accept all applications to the academy without vetting for suitability. Faced with a tranche of inappropriate applicants, including cadet Mahoney, a petty criminal played by Steve Guttenburg, the chief of police, Commissioner Hurst, decides to ensure that none of the cadets makes it through the course. Hilarious events ensue.

Answer: Middle

"Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol" (1987) comes in the middle of the franchise. It returns to a similar concept to the first movie - with a shortage of available officers, the commissioner of police decides to recruit civilians to help the police with their work. The cadets from the original movie are now the trainers. Hilarious events ensue.

Answer: End

The series came to an end with "Police Academy: Mission to Moscow" (1994). The seventh movie featured few of the original cast and a contrived plot that saw the academy graduates travel to Russia to help the local police apprehend a mafia boss who was taking control of the world's security systems via a trojan horse in a computer game.

Answer: Beginning

The Qin dynasty was the first ruling dynasty of the Chinese Empire. The dynasty was established by Ying Zheng, the king of Qin in 221BC. Having conquered and unified all the states of the Zhou dynasty, he proclaimed himself First August Emperor of all China and named the dynasty after his home state.

Answer: Middle

The Tang dynasty lasted from 618 to 907 AD, a period that included the midway point of the imperial Chinese period. It was a dynasty that saw great achievements in literature, engineering and trade, and made China an influential player on the global stage. The great writings of the period were accompanied by the development of woodblock printing that made literature more accessible to a wider audience.

The Tang dynasty was notable for the only Empress of China, Wu Zetian, who ruled either from behind the throne or on it for 40 years.

Answer: End

Qing was the last dynasty of imperial China, lasting from 1636 to 1912. The last emperor, later immortalised in an Academy Award-winning movie by Bernardo Bertolucci, was the infant Puyi who was forced to abdicate at the age of just six years old. More than 2000 years of imperial rule ended with the edict of abdication, bringing into existence the Republic of China.

Answer: Beginning

"Love Me Do" was the first single by The Beatles to be credited to them alone. Released in October 1962, it was the beginning of an extraordinary run of success for the four lads from Liverpool. It reached the top 20 in the UK charts and was a number one on the Billboard Hot 100 when it was released there two years later.

Answer: Middle

"Day Tripper" was released in December 1965 as part of a double-A side with "We Can Work It Out". It was their ninth UK number one, the halfway point in their run of 17 number ones that they achieved before their split was announced in 1970.

Answer: End

"Now and Then" was stated by Paul McCartney in 2023 to be "the final Beatles record". Coming some 61 years after the first, it neatly bookended their singles career by including "Love Me Do" as the b-side of the release. The recording included all four Beatles; John from a demo recording from 1977, George from parts recorded for "The Beatles Anthology" in 1995 and Paul and Ringo adding finishing touches in 2023.

It reached the top of the charts in several countries around the world, including the UK.

Answer: Beginning

If you know your "Chronicles of Narnia", you will know that the sixth book released in the series is the one that comes first chronologically, not "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". It is the book in which the world of Narnia is created by Aslan the Lion. It was originally written as an attempt to explain the presence of a lamppost in the middle of the woods in Narnia.

Answer: Middle

The second published novel of the "Chronicles of Narnia" series, "Prince Caspian" is the fourth chronologically, which places it in the middle of the series. It takes place one earth year after the events of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" but 1300 years later in Narnia.

Answer: End

The chronology of the publishing world and of the world of Narnia finally met with the release of the final book in the "Chronicle of Narnia" series. "The Last Battle" tells the final tale of Aslan and the world he created and the resolution of the battle between the forces of good and evil. The protagonist of the book is King Tirian, a descendent of Prince Caspian.