Málfríður - 15.09.1997, Page 25

“Is my guess as good as
yours?” asks Leo Munro
It has been my experience
over several years that when I
tell a class that there’ll be a test
on Friday the announcement is
received with moans and
groans and the dramatic hold-
ing of heads, but when I suggest
that we take the period off on
Friday and have some fun with a
general knowledge quiz they
applaud. So I fill the quiz with
most of the test questions - dis-
guised a little - and congratu-
late myself upon this sneaky
manner of review.
On the other hand, there are
people who insist that general
knowledge questions are too
trivial for “proper” education; in
no way mental exercise and
therefore a shocking waste of
time. Who cares, they insist,
who the 16th president of the
United States was? Why should
anyone wish to know that a
British prime minister once
owned Geysir in Haukadalur?
Does it improve one’s life to
know that Burma is no longer
named Burma? Who gives a
damn if you ask about the
Hoover or Grand Coulee? Will
knowing what a pun is ever
improve one’s grade? Who won-
ders about how many people
are on the planet Earth? Is
knowing Steinn Steinarr’s cor-
rect name helpful to any stu-
dent? Is it really all that import-
ant for Icelandic learners of
English to know that country is
not pronounced „kántrí"?
You'd be surprised. Ask the
kids who show up to cheer their
team on television’s Gettu Betur
every winter - to them it’s fun,
rather noisy but fun. And, I dare
say, to many it may even mean
some new and interesting infor-
mation.
Below is a quiz - a light and
easy, ungraded, sort of spoken-
English occasion for mennta-
skóli pupils - that could be put
on as a contest between mem-
bers of a class, other classes
and later, perhaps, between
schools. You may care to give it
a try - devising your own meth-
od of giving points etc. Forty
questions, played with a buzzer
usually takes about forty minut-
es. See what our young friends
think of this little break from
“normal” classroom work.
Should it be of any use please
contact me and see if I can be of
help to you with further efforts.
My telephone number is 587
0945 and my fax number is 587
0948.
Leo Munro.
Answers to quiz:
1 Stalin. 2 River of January. 3 Gymnastics. 4 New York. 5 Stanley & Oliver. 6 Schwartz. 7 Six.
8 Tree of knowledge. 9 C. 10 Because the mayor refused to pay him for removing the rats. 11
Calf. 12 Moose. 13 Fled & flown. 14 A bull. 15 Spanish. 16 Gibraltar. 17 Peter. 18 Venus. 19
Leonardo da Vinci. 20 The Mediterranean & Red Sea. 21 Turkey. 22 Peter Sellers 23 Bhutto.
24 Elton John. 25 Interval. 26 Portuguese. 27 Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Greak Sark, Little
Sark, Brechou, Herm, Jethou & Lihou. 28 Gunnar Huseby. 29 A railway engine. 30 The Einar
Jónsson Gallery on Njarðargata in Reykjavík. 31 112. 32 1. 33 Any six of 37. 34 Cherie. 35
Joseph. 36 The colours of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo & violet. 37
Janus. 38 Cheese. 39 Can-can. 40 A musical instrument.
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