Islands around the world

NALAKA GUNAWARDENE and VINDANA ARIYAWANSA

An island is any mass of land that is surrounded by water. There are two main types of islands: continental islands and oceanic islands. There are also artificial islands. There is no standard of size which distinguishes islands from islets and continents. But Australia, which fits the definition of an island, is considered a continent.

Sri Lanka is an island, but there are many smaller islands around the main island: in fact, the Survey Department has mapped and documented as many as 113 such islands. The world’s islands are fascinating, these reflect the diversity of our physical and natural worlds. Today’s Wiz Quiz starts with some questions on notable islands.

1. This island, part of Micronesia in the South Pacific, is the world’s smallest island nation (which is an independent state). Its total land area covers just 21.2 square kilometres (or 8.1 square miles), and was formerly known as Pleasant Island, and became independent in 1968. It is a phosphate rock island, with deposits close to the surface, which was extracted for several decades in the 20th Century before the island ran out of phosphate. What is this island state’s name?

2. Easter Island, a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, is also known as Rapa Nui or Isla de Pascua. It is considered to be the most isolated island in the world and home to one of the world’s greatest cultural mysteries – the giant stone statues. The name ‘Easter Island’ was given by the island’s first recorded European visitor, the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who encountered it on Easter Sunday 1722. Which Latin American country today administers this island, although it is located more than 3,600 kilometres (2,200 miles) off of its coast?

3. Greenland covers an area of 2,166,086 square kilometres, which makes it the world’s largest island that is not a continent. With a population of 56,452 in January 2010, it is also one of the least densely populated land masses in the world. In which European country is Greenland an autonomous part?

4. The first film adaptation of author Salman Rushdie’s celebrated novel Midnight’s Children has recently finished shooting in Sri Lanka. The movie adaptation is by Indian-born Canadian director Deepa Mehta, who chose the Sri Lanka as a location instead of India or Pakistan, where the book is set, to avoid problems with religious fundamentalists. The film, which is in English, Hindi and Urdu, will be released in the first half of 2012 under what name?

5. Altogether, six Apollo missions landed a total of 12 American astronauts on the Moon between July 1969 and December 1972. The Apollo lunar missions ended with Apollo 17, and of its three astronauts, which one is known as the ‘Last man on the Moon’ because he was the last to re-enter the Apollo Lunar Module during its third and final extra-vehicular activity (EVA)?

6. This African-American actor rose to prominence for his supporting roles in the Steven Soderbergh-directed films Out of Sight, Traffic, and global blockbuster Ocean’s Eleven. In 2004, his lead role as Rwandan hotel manager in the genocide drama film Hotel Rwanda earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He also starred in, and was one of the producers of Crash, which won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Picture. He actively campaigns for the end of genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and co-authored a book concerning the issue, and co-founded the ‘Not On Our Watch Project’ with George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and others. Who is he?

7. Pre-history is the entire time before events were written down and recorded. Human pre-history is usually divided into three periods. The Stone Age lasted the longest, which was followed by which two more recent Ages before documented history began?

8. “DON’T PANIC!” (which is always written in upper-case) was timeless advice that the writer deeply etched into the minds of all those who followed the famous science fiction creation, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Originally a science fiction comedy series on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and over several years gradually became an international multi-media phenomenon. Who created this story?

9. This renowned scholar Buddhist monk lived from 1895 to 1977. He was a teacher at the Vidyodaya Pirivena since 1922, and served for long years as the chief incumbent at the Parama Dhamma Cetiya Pirivena in Ratmalana. He authored many Buddhist texts and notably, wrote a nine-volume history of the Sinhala newspapers and magazines which remains a definitive reference on the subject to date. Who was he?

10. He was trained as a zoologist, but excelled in the underwater realm as a free diver, SCUBA diver, spear-fisherman and underwater photographer. In 1946, he founded the ‘Reefcombers of Ceylon’, one of the world’s earliest diving clubs, and in 1967 he discovered the wreck of the British aircraft carrier Hermes, which was sunk by Japanese bombers in 1942 off the east coast of Sri Lanka. He authored a few books and numerous scientific papers, and was responsible for introducing Sir Arthur C Clarke to the underwater attractions in the seas around Ceylon. Who was he?

11. The XXX (30th) summer Olympic Games are to be held in London, in the United Kingdom, in 2012. This will be the third time that London hosts the modern Olympics. It was the venue of the fourth Olympic Games in 1908, and once again hosted the Olympics in which previous year?

12. Queen Elizabeth II of Britain was born on 21 April 1926, and ascended to the British throne on 6 February 1952. She has been queen for over 59 consecutive years, which makes her the second longest-reigning British monarch. The longest reigning British monarch was also a queen. Who was she?

13. This blockbuster film was partially based on a true event that haunts the memory of the modern world. First released in 1997, its original version was the highest grossing movie of the world until it was surpassed by another movie in 2009. It is to be released in a 3D version in 2012, to commemorate the centennial of the tragic event on which it is based. What is this movie?

14. Whose world record in the long jump event, set in 1968, stood for 23 years until Mike Powel broke it in 1991? This is the second longest holding of this record, as Jesse Owens held the same record for 25 years, from 1935 to 1960.

15. Which country refused to play in 1950 soccer World Cup because the governing body FIFA told that country’s players that they had to play wearing soccer boots (cleats) rather than barefoot as they preferred?

Answers will be published next week.

Last week’s answers

1. Henri Matisse (1869 - 1954)
2. Jayadeva
3. Gotami Viharaya, Borella
4. Mullaitivu District
5. Gisele Bundchen
6. Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992)
7. Salman Rushdie
8. Gajaman Nona
9. Caesar
10. Greece (because the Olympic Games originated there)
11. Volvo
12. State of Victoria, Australia
13. Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821 - 1881)
14. Australia and New Zealand
15. Paul Collingwood