10 Questions about Let Me Pique Your Interest | General

Answer: Nile

Built between 1960 and 1970, following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 led by Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Aswan High Dam stretches across the Nile River in Aswan, in Southern Egypt, for a length of 4,000 m (13,000 ft) and a height of 111 m (364 ft). The reservoir formed by the dam, one of the world's largest man-made lakes, can hold 132 km³ (32 cu mi) of water; most of it lies in Egypt, where it is called Lake Nasser, while in Sudan, where a much smaller portion is located, the name Lake Nubia is preferred.

The construction of the dam contributed significantly to the improvement of the economic conditions in Egypt, providing better control of the Nile's annual floods, increased water storage for irrigation, and hydroelectric power. However, in order to complete this massive engineering feat, it was necessary to relocate over 100,000 people, as well as some important archaeological sites - the most famous of which is the temple complex of Abu Simbel.

The rivers listed as incorrect choices have also had massive dams built on them: Three Gorges (Yangtze), Itaipu (Paraná), and Kariba (Zambezi).

Answer: tennis

The Grand Slam tournaments are the four major professional tennis events that are organized annually: the Australian Open (late January - early February), the French Open (late May - early June), Wimbledon (late June - early July), and the US Open (late August - early September). The Australian and US Opens are played on hard courts, the French Open on clay, and Wimbledon on grass.

In doubles, the Grand Slam can be achieved by a team playing together, or by a player with different partners. It is also possible to win all four championships consecutively, though not within the same calendar year - in which case the achievement is referred to as non-calendar-year Grand Slam. A Career Grand Slam, on the other hand, consists of winning all four tournaments in one discipline (e.g. women's singles).

Answer: goat

The three animals mentioned in the question are among the species that compose the genus Capra, to which domestic goats (Capra hircus) belong. The subfamily Caprinae (part of the family Bovidae) also includes other genera, such as sheep (Ovis), muskoxen (Ovibos), North American mountain goats (Oreamnos), and chamois (Rupicapra).

Distinguished by the large, recurved horns of the males, ibexes are the most numerous of these species, which are native to Europe, Asia and Africa; the type species is the Alpine ibex, or steinbock (Capra ibex). The markhor (Capra falconeri) is the national animal of Pakistan: both sexes boast a striking pair of corkscrew-shaped horns. The two species of tur (Capra caucasica and Capra cylindricornis) both live in the Caucasus Mountains, at the intersection of Europe and Asia.

Answer: alliteration

The word "alliteration" comes from the Latin "littera", meaning "letter of the alphabet". It refers to one of the most commonly used literary devices, in which the same initial consonant sound is repeated a number of times in the same line, phrase or sentence. As illustrated by the tongue twister in the question, alliteration is also very effective as a mnemonic device - hence its use in sayings and proverbs, as well as poetry and other literary genres.

Alliteration was the main ornamental device in the oldest examples of poetry in Germanic languages (such as Old English, Old Norse, and Old High German), in which alliteration had the function of connecting the two halves of a line. The national epics of Finland and Estonia - the "Kalevala" and the "Kalevipoeg" - are also written in alliterative verse. Some examples of alliterative verse in modern English are found in the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, who was a scholar of Old and Middle English.

Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in words placed near each other, while onomatopoeia is a word or phrase that imitates a real-life sound. A metaphor, being an implicit comparison, is related to meaning rather than sound.

Answer: small

"Piccolo", meaning "small" in Italian, is an apt description of this diminutive woodwind instrument, which looks like a half-sized transverse flute. The standard Italian name for it, however, is "ottavino" ("little octave"), because it produces a sound that is an octave higher than written. In fact, in the Middle Ages this instrument was used in a military context, because its sound was so high and piercing that could be heard above the noise of battle.

The piccolo was first introduced as an orchestral instrument in the early 18th century, but did not become a regular feature until almost a century later. It is generally made of hardwood, metal, or plastic, though in the past materials such as ivory and glass were used. The piccolo is prominently featured in some famous classical pieces, such as Beethoven's Symphonies no. 5 and no. 6, the Overture of Gioachino Rossini's "The Thieving Magpie", and the fourth movement of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade". An international festival dedicated to this instrument has been organized in Grado, in northeastern Italy, since 2014.

Answer: Germany

The English word "chancellor" comes from the late Latin "cancellarius", meaning a court official stationed at the latticed barrier ("cancelli") separating the judges from the public. While in the English-speaking world "chancellor" usually refers to the leader of a college or university, in Germany and Austria the title of Chancellor designates the head of government - corresponding to the title of Prime Minister used in other European countries. Since both Germany and Austria are federal states, the official title is "Bundeskanzler" for a man, and "Bundeskanzlerin" for a woman - meaning "Federal Chancellor".

In the former German Empire, the Weimar Republic, and Nazi Germany, the title was "Reichskanzler" ("Reich Chancellor") - a title held, among others, by Otto von Bismarck and Adolf Hitler.

Answer: Luke

The fifth book in the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles relates the events following the end of the Gospel of Luke - namely the founding of the Christian Church, and its spread from Jerusalem to other parts of the Roman Empire. The Gospel of Luke, the longest of the four Gospels, ends with the ascension of Jesus to Heaven, forty days after his resurrection; these events are briefly summarized in Chapter 1 of Acts.

Because of the continuity of the events narrated in these two texts, they are generally referred to as "Luke-Acts", and credited to the same person - in Christian tradition, Luke the Evangelist, a Greek physician and follower of Paul. Both books are addressed to a man named Theophilus, and written in Koine Greek (the dialect of Greek spoken in the Roman Empire). In some editions of the Bible, the two books are presented as a single volume.

Answer: The English Patient

Directed by Anthony Minghella (who sadly passed away in 2008), "The English Patient" is based on the novel of the same name by Canadian author Michael Ondaatje. Set during WWII, the film stars Ralph Fiennes as the titular character (who is not English, but Hungarian), Kristin Scott-Thomas as his doomed lover, Katharine, and Juliette Binoche as nurse Hana. The film, released in November 1996, was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, and won nine - including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress (Binoche); it also won five BAFTA Awards and two Golden Globes.

All the films listed as wrong answers are based on books, but their Academy Awards for Best Picture date from earlier times: 1939 for "Gone With the Wind", 1972 for "The Godfather:, and 1985 for "Out of Africa".

Answer: Phobos and Deimos

Although the planet Mars is named after the Roman god of war, its two moons bear the names of the Greek deities (or "daimones", i.e. personified spirits) of fear and terror. Phobos and Deimos were the twin sons of Ares and Aphrodite, and accompanied their father into battle, driving his chariot and spreading the negative emotions after which they were named in their wake. Both are mentioned several times in Homer's "Iliad", together with other rather scary deities associated with the fury and madness of war.

The two moons of Mars were discovered in August 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall at the US Naval Observatory in Washington, DC. They are both smaller than Earth's Moon, Deimos being the smaller and the outermost of the two. Their names were suggested by Henry Madan, the science master of Eton College, who was inspired by an episode of the "Iliad".

Answer: brain

The cerebellum (diminutive of Latin "cerebrum", meaning "little brain") is part of the hindbrain, or rhombencephalon. It is located at the back of the skull, beneath the cerebral hemispheres, though it appears to be separated from the rest of the brain. Consisting of tightly folded layers of cortex (gray matter) enclosing white matter, the cerebellum is also divided into two hemispheres.

In spite of its small size, this structure contains more neurons than the rest of the brain; its main function lies in motor control, though it may also be involved in some cognitive functions. This essential role of the cerebellum has been understood through the study of humans and animals with cerebellar dysfunction, who are still able to perform movements, though without the same level of precision as a healthy individual.