Current Affairs Quiz 2011 (Set - 01)

Science
1. Scientists have identified five genes which raise the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Consider the following statements regarding Alzheimer’s disease.
i) Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of Dementia.
ii) Problems that happen due to the Alzheimer’s are personality-disorder, decision making, abstract thinking and loss of initiative.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
a) Only i
b) Only ii
c) Both i and ii
d) Neither i nor ii
Answer: (c) Both i and ii

2. At the European Geosciences Union meeting in Vienna, the scientists calculated that the Earth sees about __ thunderstorms every hour.
a) 670
b) 580
c) 760
d) 960
Answer: (c) 760

3. A giant predatory theropod dinosaur, similar in stature and size to Tyrannosaurus rex, has been identified by palaeontologists. Which of the following statements is/are correct?
i) The new dinosaur, named Zhuchengtyrannus magnus, probably stood four metres tall, was 11 metres long and weighed around six tonnes.
ii) Like T. rex, it was a carnivore with huge powerful jaws.
iii) It ran on back legs, with small front limbs.
a) Only i and ii
b) Only i and iii
c) Only ii and iii
d) All i, ii and iii are correct
Answer: (d) All i,ii and iii are correct

4. A team from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, discovered that a green alga invades tiny developing salamander embryos. What is this phenomenon called?
a) Symbiosis
b) Photosynthesis
c) Ecdysis
d) Aestivation
Answer: (a) Symbiosis

5. Scientists recently developed a computer that could be controlled by the power of thought. It would help people unable to speak or move. What is the name of the technology which they used to develop this kind of computer?
a) electrocortiography
b) symbian C++
c) java
d) flash lite
Answer: (a) electrocartiography

Sports

1. Who won the National Jute Board-Kolkata international squash at Calcutta Racket Club on 3 April 2011 after defeating Omar Mosaad?
a. Karim Darwish
b. Khawaja Adil Maqbool
c. Ritwik Bhattacharya
d. Peter Nicol
Answer: (a)

2. Read the following statements:
1. He won the ATP Miami Masters crown by defeating Nadal and thus remained unbeaten in 2011.
2. He captured all four titles- the Australian Open, Dubai, elite Masters titles at Indian Wells and Miami in 2011.
3. He had won his first Miami Masters title in 2007.
4. He joined Roger Federer, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras as the only players to win the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami in the same year.
Identify the tennis player being referred to.
a. Novak Djokovic
b. Roger Federer
c. Andy Murray
d. Rafael Nadal
Answer: (a)

3. Which of the following companies announced their alliance with Chennai Super Kings as the official team partner for the upcoming IPL Season 4?
a. ONGC
b. Indian Oil Corporation
c. Hindusthan Petroleum
d. Gulf Oil Corporation
Answer: (d)

4. Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was offered and accepted the honour of being chosen to get an honorary commission in which of the following?
a. Indian Navy
b. Territorial Army
c. Indian Air Force
d. Indian Para-military Force
Answer: (b)

5. Which of the following real estate firms on 5 April 2011 announced a gift in the shape of villas worth Rs. 9 crore to skipper M.S. Dhoni and his teammates following their victory in the World Cup 2011?
a. DLF
b. Amrapali
c. Unitech
d. Tata Construction & Projects Ltd
Answer: (b)

6. Which of the following Indian cricket is the most heavily insured player for the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 4 T-20 tournament which begins on 8 April 2011?
a. Sachin Tendulkar
b. Yuvraj Singh
c. M S Dhoni
d. Virender Sehwag
Answer: (c)

7. Union Sports Ministry on 6 April 2011 formed a committee to fine-tune the draft National Sports Development Bill. Who is heading the committee?
a. Justice Mukul Mudgal
b. Justice Tej Pratap Singh Mann
c. Justice Gurdev Singh
d. Justice Jaswant Singh Phogat
Answer: (a)

Economy

1. Which of the following steel plants in India achieved record production of 5.71 million tonnes (mt) of hot metal (a 6.3 per cent growth over 2009-10), 5.33 mt of crude steel (4.3 per cent) and 4.57 mt of saleable steel (4.3 per cent)?
a. Bhillai Steel Plant
b. Rourkela Steel Plant
c. Bokaro Steel Plant
d. Salem Steel Plant
Answer: (a)

2. The Department of Information Technology (DIT) on 5 April 2011 published a draft policy on which of the following to enable the government departments to provide services, including payment of utility bills and filing of tax with the use of a medium?
a. Mobile governance
b. E-governance
c. Service Delivery Gateway
d. Applications Inter-operability
Answer: (a)

3. Engineering and construction major L&T announced that it has achieved financial closure for which of the following with the help of 10-bank consortium led by SBI pitching in with Rs 11478 crore debt?
a. Kolkata Metro Rail Project
b. Pune Metro Project
c. Delhi Metro project
d. Hyderabad Metro Rail project
Answer: (d)

4. At the National Conference on Kharif Strategies, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on 6 April 2011 mentioned that India has achieved an all-time high production of foodgrains. What was the estimation regarding foodgain production in 2010-11?
a. 235.88 million tonnes
b. 215 million tonnes
c. 261.34 million tonnes
d. 222.66 million tonnes
Answer: (a)

5. This agency issued guidelines on distance marketing of products on 6 April 2011 to protect the interest of people who buy policies over phone or Internet. Identify the agency.
a. SEBI
b. IRDA
c. TRAI
d. DoT
Answer: (b)

6. Buyer's Credit was launched by the Commerce and Industry Minister, Anand Sharma, on 6 April 2011 to boost project exports from India. Under which of the following was Buyer’s Credit launched?
a. National Export Insurance Account
b. Export-Import Bank of India
c. Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India
d. Reserve Bank of India
Answer: (a)

7. Record food grain production helped to reduce to food inflation to a four month low for the week ending 26 March 2011. What was the inflation percentage for the week?
a. 9.18%
b. 9.25%
c. 9.21%
d. 9.36%
Answer: (a)

Corporate

1. Solvay, the Belgian soda ash maker which sold a drugs unit a year ago, agreed to buy which of the following French companies to add specialty chemicals spanning ingredients for moisturisers and car-part polymers?
a. Rhodia
b. Danisco
c. Cognis
d. Le Zèbre
Answer: (a)

2. Vivendi agreed to buy Vodafone Group's 44% stake in which of the French mobile-phone operator’s for euro 7.95 billion ($11.3 billion) to win full control of its largest unit and secure more stable earnings?
a. T-Mobile
b. Orange
c. Virgin Mobile
d. SFR
Answer: (d)

3. Which of the following companies in April 2011 filed a petition in the Supreme Court to block penal action initiated by the Income Tax authorities on its contested $2.5-billion tax bill?
a. Vodafone International
b. Bharti Airtel
c. Uninor
d. Tata Teleservices
Answer: (a)

4. The Indian Government in April 2011 issued a notice to which of the following companies to terminate licences for Kerala, West Bengal and Assam for delay in roll- out of services in these three circles?
a. Sistema Shyam Teleservices
b. Tata Teleservices
c. Reliance
d. BSNL
Answer: (a)

5. Which of the following companies bought the Pringles brand from Procter & Gamble Co for $1.5 billion?
a. Diamond Foods Inc
b. PepsiCo's Frito-Lay
c. Emerald Nuts
d. Kettle Potato Chips
Answer: (a)

6. Which Italian luxury sports car makers on 6 April 2011 announced its entry into the Indian market where it will sell its high-performance cars priced between Rs.1.20 crore and Rs.1.43 crore?
a. Maserati
b. Bentley
c. Aston Martin
d. Maybach
Answer: (c)

7. Which of the following companies announced on 6 April 2011 that it won contract to provide broadband internet connectivity to Indian Railways through state-run RailTel Corp of India Ltd?
a. DEL
b. IBM
c. Infosys
d. HCL Infosystems
Answer: (d)

8. Which super luxury carmaker on 7 April 2011 unveiled Continental GT sedan in India?
a. Ferrati
b. Bentley
c. Maybach
d. Maserati
Answer: (b)