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Quiz about Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome

"Winter Holiday" by Arthur Ransome Quiz

What could be better than curling up by a fire and reading Arthur Ransome's "Winter Holiday"? I hope you have the same pleasure answering questions about it.

A multiple-choice quiz by Philian. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
Philian

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
131,355

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
12 / 15

Plays
325

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. What are Dick and Dorothea doing in the old barn up on the fellside before they start "signalling to Mars"? Hint

They are building a hut.

They are looking at the stars.

They are getting turnips from a special store.

They are helping to get a sledge ready.

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Question 2 of 15

2. Where are the Swallows (John,Susan, Titty and Roger) staying on this holiday? Hint

Dixon's Farm

A small cottage in Rio

Beckfoot

Holly Howe Farmhouse

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Question 3 of 15

3. Which two of the eight children end up getting their feet wet in the tarn which hasn't yet frozen over? Hint

Dick and Dorothea

Nancy and Peggy

Titty and Roger

John and Susan

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Question 4 of 15

4. When the tarn freezes and they finally start skating which of the 8 children proves to be the best? Hint

Dick

Nancy

Dorothea

Peggy

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Question 5 of 15

5. What do the Swallows and Amazons call the stone hut with the corrugated iron roof? Hint

The Dog's Dinner

The Igloo

The Heald

Polar Base Number 1

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Question 6 of 15

6. Who is in command of the rowing boat when Dick and Dorothea make their first boat journey with the others to Beckfoot? Hint

Susan

Nancy

Peggy

John

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Question 7 of 15

7. Which adult does Mrs. Blackett ask them to hold up on the snowy road? Hint

Mr. Dixon

The doctor

Mr. Jackson

Captain Flint/Uncle Jim

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Question 8 of 15

8. What illness does Nancy develop that means that all the rest of them have to go into quarantine and not go back to school? Hint

measles

mumps

German measles

chicken pox

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Question 9 of 15

9. Who rescues the Cragfast sheep from the high ledge? Hint

Dick

John

Roger

Susan

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Question 10 of 15

10. What is the new name that Nancy gives them for Wild Cat Island as the lake freezes in round it? Hint

Spitzbergen

Maddon's Rock

Bear Island

The Orkneys

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Question 11 of 15

11. What was the single word that Nancy had sent with the key that the doctor had taken to the others? Hint

Scott

Discovery

Fram

Titanic

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Question 12 of 15

12. What was the problem of trying to sail the sledge like an ice yacht? Hint

The wind was never strong enough to move it.

They didn't have a sail of a suitable size.

The runners of the sledge caused too much friction.

It was impossible to tack into the wind or to steer it.

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Question 13 of 15

13. Why can't they read the semaphore message that Nancy sends in her picture when they first try to do so? Hint

Only Dick knows the semaphore code.

She has made a mistake in the semaphore code.

She's deliberately put it backwards.

The picture gets wet and obscures some of the figures.

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Question 14 of 15

14. Who do Peggy, John, Susan, Titty and Roger find on board the houseboat the morning after the night the "D"s were meant to sleep there? Hint

Captain Flint

Mr. Dixon

Nancy

Mr. Jackson

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Question 15 of 15

15. Why do Dick and Dorothea set off for the North Pole before everyone else? Hint

They have further to go than the others.

Roger gives them the wrong information.

Dick sees a flag at Beckfoot which is the sign to start.

They want to go there all by themselves.

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What are Dick and Dorothea doing in the old barn up on the fellside before they start "signalling to Mars"?

Answer: They are looking at the stars.

Dick has got a book about astronomy and he is trying to find all the major stars that can be seen from the northern hemisphere in the winter months. Unfortunately the book is also filled with lots of distracting poetry as well as the star charts Dick wants to use.

2. Where are the Swallows (John,Susan, Titty and Roger) staying on this holiday?

Answer: Holly Howe Farmhouse

For Nancy all the houses have become Eskimo settlements. In winter there can be no sleeping outside even when you are on a polar expedition. Dick begins the signalling by using the lantern and the Swallows down at Holly Howe flash their torches back from the bedroom. Unfortunately Dick doesn't know morse code and can't read their message.

3. Which two of the eight children end up getting their feet wet in the tarn which hasn't yet frozen over?

Answer: Nancy and Peggy

John and Susan are far too sensible to get their feet wet in this way and they would make sure that Titty and Roger would keep well back from the edge of the tarn. It is the Amazons, impetuous as ever, who think nothing of trying the ice and falling through.

4. When the tarn freezes and they finally start skating which of the 8 children proves to be the best?

Answer: Dick

The Swallows and the Amazons are stunned to see Dick take to skating as easily as breathing. Nancy and Peggy have skated before during other cold winters in the past but Dick has practised nearly every day at the indoor rink near his home.

5. What do the Swallows and Amazons call the stone hut with the corrugated iron roof?

Answer: The Igloo

Of course when they first see it Dick and Dorothea realise it can only look like a real igloo when it has snow piled on top of it.

6. Who is in command of the rowing boat when Dick and Dorothea make their first boat journey with the others to Beckfoot?

Answer: Peggy

This is the moment that we first get the suspicion that all is not well with Nancy. Peggy has to take the place of her elder sister and John does not take command because it is a Beckfoot boat. Nancy is at home with a "jaw-ache".

7. Which adult does Mrs. Blackett ask them to hold up on the snowy road?

Answer: The doctor

The difference between Peggy and Susan is shown in the way the ambush is arranged. To Peggy it is the opportunity for a dramatic surprise and she wants to leap out of hiding. For Susan it is a situation that might become fraught with danger with a lot of them on a narrow snowy road.

8. What illness does Nancy develop that means that all the rest of them have to go into quarantine and not go back to school?

Answer: mumps

Self-sacrificing Nancy declares that this is the very best thing that could have happened. The other explorers will now be able to use the time and make a proper polar expedition instead of going back to school before the whole lake freezes over.

9. Who rescues the Cragfast sheep from the high ledge?

Answer: Dick

Dicks climbs up, ties a rope round the sheep and lowers it down to Dorothea, Titty and Roger. In gratitude Mr. Dixon makes a small sledge just for Dick and Dorothea.

10. What is the new name that Nancy gives them for Wild Cat Island as the lake freezes in round it?

Answer: Spitzbergen

Even the maps in the endpapers of the books make the usual Lake territory look different. Spitzbergen is marked as is the usual Long Island and the new Cache Island.

11. What was the single word that Nancy had sent with the key that the doctor had taken to the others?

Answer: Fram

The key was the key to the houseboat and the "Fram" was the name of the boat used by the explorer Nansen. It got frozen into the polar sea. Even though she is laid up with mumps Nancy is still planning the adventures for the others.

12. What was the problem of trying to sail the sledge like an ice yacht?

Answer: It was impossible to tack into the wind or to steer it.

The sledge isn't really broad enough in the beam for it to provide much resistance when the wind came from the sides. A wind directly behind would suit a square sail such as the one that was fitted to the sledge Dick and Dorothea used.

13. Why can't they read the semaphore message that Nancy sends in her picture when they first try to do so?

Answer: She's deliberately put it backwards.

They all know the semaphore code and Dick is the first one to realise that the waving figures are meant to represent letters in different words. However, it takes a while for them to understand that the sentence has been reversed. A signpost in the picture in fact shows the right way to read it. Even then they misunderstand Nancy's meaning.

14. Who do Peggy, John, Susan, Titty and Roger find on board the houseboat the morning after the night the "D"s were meant to sleep there?

Answer: Captain Flint

Nancy and Peggy's Uncle Jim (Captain Flint) had come home early from his continental holiday because he had heard the lake was frozen. He found Dick and Dorothea on board his houseboat and took them back to Dixon's farm. The following day he pretended to Peggy and the others that he had hanged the trespassers.

15. Why do Dick and Dorothea set off for the North Pole before everyone else?

Answer: Dick sees a flag at Beckfoot which is the sign to start.

It's really all Nancy's fault. She had forgotten that a flag at Beckfoot meant to start for the pole. Thus Dick and Dorothea set off in good faith and are the first to arrive there in the blizzard.

Source: Author Philian

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor minch before going online.
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