Packet by Yale (Mike Wehrman, Danila Kabotyanski, Richard Marsh, Ian Marpuri)

BOB questions 2008

Packet by Yale (Mike Wehrman, Danila Kabotyanski, Richard Marsh, Ian Marpuri)

Edited by Andrew Uzzell

Tossups:

He is sometimes thought to be an unnamed boy in the anonymous Life of Ceolfrith, a boy who is one of only two people in his monastery not to have come down with the plague. He writes of Ceolfrith as well as Benedict Biscop in his Lives of the Abbots, a historical work chronicling the early years of the twin monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow, where he spent his entire life after the age of seven. His most famous work includes accounts of the death of St. Alban, the deeds of St. Chad, and the missionary work of St. Augustine of Canterbury. FTP name this seventh and eighth-century monk and author of The Ecclesiastical History of the English People.

ANSWER: the Venerable Bede or St. Bede or Baeda Venerabilis

Graham Walker became this institution’s president in 2006, assuming some of the duties of its founder and chancellor Michael Farris, who also heads the Home School Legal Defense Association. Its students generally come from a home-schooled background, require parental permission to date, and are to abstain from sex before marriage. Recently the subject of a study by Hanna Rosin entitled God’s Harvard, its students are typically active in Republican Party politics. FTP name this extremely conservative, evangelical Christian college, located in Purcellville, Virginia, ironically named after a man noted for saying, “Give me liberty, or give me death.”

ANSWER: Patrick Henry College

Carl Sagan once said that this was “the single most significant step in convincing many scientists that life is likely to be abundant in the cosmos”. Based on the Oparin-Haldane Theory, some have criticized that the equal presence of both L and D enantiomers of various molecules during this is a misrepresentation of the ratios in nature. Others argue that the continuous production of sparks between electrodes did not accurately portray the amount of lightning that would have actually present to create a reducing atmosphere. FTP, name this experiment, which showed the spontaneous synthesis of organic molecules was possible in a reducing atmosphere.

ANSWER: Miller-Urey experiment (accept Urey-Miller or Primordial Soup experiment)

The book grew out of a Fortune magazine article written by the author, which described the unexciting nature of Yale’s class of 1949. A segment of this book entitled “The New Suburbia” focuses largely on the planned suburb of Park Forest, Illinois, a typical habitat of the book’s subject, who is victimized by what the author calls “scientism,” the increasingly business-oriented approach to education, and a movement against individuality. The title figure is “the mind and soul of our great self-perpetuating institutions” and typically works for a large, faceless corporation. FTP name this 1956 sociological study by William H. Whyte.

ANSWER: The Organization Man

At a barbecue celebrating his engagement, he is involved in an “inappropriate” conversation confiding his infidelities and fondness for Asians. His lyrics noting that he will “snap off your neck with a crackle and pop” are appreciated for their allusion to Rice Krispies, and he says to Cheryl, “You fine, you know that?” He vows to be Larry’s Caucasian and gives him a jacket only to demand its return when his fiancée Wanda learns of his cheating ways from Cheryl. FTP, name this fictional rapper portrayed by Chris Williams on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

ANSWER: Krazee Eyez Killa

The first argument for the protagonist’s claim is the argument from opposites, by which things come from contrary states, implying that life must come from death. Later, the argument from recollection is mentioned, with reference to the Meno, in which Socrates teaches a slave boy the Pythagorean Theorem. Simmias and Cebes bring up objections, stating that the soul is like a harmony produced by the body, or that Socrates cannot guarantee that the soul does not die after many reincarnations. After answering them, Socrates tells a myth about the nature of the universe. Plato himself is said to be ill in the beginning of this Platonic dialogue on the immortality of the soul at the end of which Socrates drinks hemlock and dies.

ANSWER: Phaedo

In 1845, Juneautown and Kilbourntown fought a “Bridge War” before merging to form this city. The new wing of its art museum, the Quadracci Pavilion designed by Santiago Calatrava, is literally wing-shaped, and the Basilica of St. Josaphat was designed to meet the needs of its large Polish Catholic community. Its industrial heritage led to the elections of Emil Seidel, Daniel Hoan, and Frank Zeidler, this city’s three socialist mayors, and one of its most influential natives was a schoolteacher before she immigrated to Israel. The onetime home of Golda Meir, FTP name this city on the shore of Lake Michigan, the home of Schlitz, Pabst, and Miller beer.

ANSWER: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The title figures appear satisfied with their well-manicured wheat field on the right side of the painting, and their flock of sheep gazes in the distance. Tilted as a landscape instead of a traditional portrait, the church in the background was the site of the couple’s marriage, and a large tree shades the subjects. The female title figure sits on a bench while the male, on the far left of the painting leans against the bench with his hunting rifle under one arm and his dog gazing up at him. FTP, name this Gainsborough painting from around 1750, a portrait of Robert and his wife Frances Mary.

ANSWER: Mr. and Mrs. (Robert) Andrews or Robert Andrews and His Wife Frances

His administration saw the repeal of the death penalty with the Badinter Act. However, he appeared somewhat conservative upon linking his country’s currency to the Deutschmark, a marked change from his publication of The Permanent Coup d’Etat. Actively opposed to the formation of the Fifth Republic, he was a three-time presidential election loser, twice defeated by Charles DeGaulle. When he finally became president, he enhanced his reputation by “cohabiting” with more conservative cabinets headed by Edouard Balladur and Jacques Chirac. FTP name this French socialist president from 1981 to 1995.

ANSWER: Francois Mitterand

Greek legend states that he became bishop of Cyprus, and another states that Mary was shipwrecked at what later would become Mt. Athos on her way to visit him. French legend says he became a missionary around Marseilles, and Vincent DePaul named his order after a church dedicated to him in Paris, which later lent its name to a major train station. He shares his name with a beggar in Luke 16 in Christ’s parable of Dives, or the rich man. The most famous story of this Bethany native involves his sisters Mary and Martha, who lamented their brother, who died before Jesus arrived. FTP name this man, who, according to John 11, was raised from the dead.

ANSWER: Lazarus

The story of wealthier families such as the Gregoires is contrasted with those who live in a village only called “Two Hundred Forty,” within in the town of Montsou. These include the Levaques and “Bonnemort,” his son Touissant Meheu, and his family. The former railroad worker Etienne Lantier is the novel’s hero, who moves in with the Meheus and had previously appeared in the author’s novel L’Assomoir. Lantier is outraged by the conditions and pay at Le Voreux, the coal mine he and the rest of the villagers work in, calling for a strike. FTP name this novel, the 13th in the Rougon-Macquart of Emile Zola, named for a springtime month in the French Revolutionary calendar.

ANSWER: Germinal

Scientists have considered making this substance inhalable through a spray to help deal with mental illnesses involving fear. It was discovered by Vincent du Vigneaud in 1953 along with another molecule with a similar nine-peptide structure. In the brain, it can cause sexual arousal, while it is also ejected into the blood during orgasm. It also acts on the mammary glands and triggers milk letdown. However, it is better known for causing a type of positive feedback. FTP, name this hormone, more notable for causing vaginal contractions during childbirth.

ANSWER: oxytocin

Its composer found inspiration in a line from Vergil’s Georgics discussing the gradual growth of a river from a small rivulet. This is evident in the middle section of the work, as the cellos crescendo from mezzo piano to a booming forte fortissimo as the other sections slowly join, exemplifying the piece’s arch form. It was originally written as the second movement of its composers String Quartet No. 1, but it is usually performed by itself. Arturo Toscanini conducted its first performance in 1938, and it has been used frequently in media like Platoon. FTP, name this piece, the best-known work of Samuel Barber.

ANSWER: Adagio for Strings

Two small lights are visible in the background, as is a large chandelier hanging over a large crowd of people. A bowl of oranges sits next to two flowers in the foreground of the painting. The main person in the center of the picture, probably based on a woman named Suzon, wears a gold locket around her neck. The image of a man in a top hat is reflected in the upper right-hand corner, an homage to Velazquez’s Las Meninas. Bottles of alcohol are prominent in, for ten points, what painting of a woman standing in front of a mirror, the last painting of Edouard Manet.

ANSWER: A Bar at the Folies-Bergere

Scheduled to be completed in 2008, it is one of the largest undertakings in the history of science, with over 2,000 physicists collaborating. Scientists hope that it will be able to produce the elusive Higgs boson, and thus further the search for a Grand Unified Theory. Situated at CERN, near Geneva, this is FTP, what structure that will soon be the world’s largest and highest energy particle accelerator?

ANSWER: Large Hadron Collider or LHC

First proposed by Alan Guth, it seeks to explain why the universe appears flat, homogeneous, and isotropic when, using standard big bang physics, a curved, inhomogeneous universe is expected. It solves this problem by suggesting the universe underwent a period of exponential expansion, faster than the speed of light, which kept physical conditions stabilized throughout the universe and lead to a high level of symmetry. FTP, what is this theory of rapid universal expansion during the first seconds of the universe?

ANSWER: cosmic inflation

Adopting Nietzschean opposites of “Apollonian” and “Dionysian”, she did extensive research on a wide variety of Native American cultures, citing the Pueblo as an example of a culture valuing restraint and the Plains Indians as an example of abandon. She argued that environment was more important than birth in determining intelligence in a paper entitled “The Races of Mankind”. She is more famous for expounding the cultural relativism of her teacher Franz Boas in Patterns of Culture, as well as her study of Japanese culture entitled The Chrysanthemum and the Sword. FTP, Name this teacher of Margaret Mead.

ANSWER: Ruth Benedict

Sappho lived in this city after her exile from Lesbos, and Archimedes built siege weapons to protect it from invasion during the Second Punic War. This city refused to help the Spartans and Athenians expel Xerxes from Greece because its tyrant, Gelon, wished to have command of the entire Greek force, though in that same year, it defeated Carthage at the battle of Himera. Plato came here in an attempt to teach its ruler how to be a philosopher-king based on the principles of his Republic. Name this ancient city that was the main target of the Sicilian expedition during the Peloponnesian War, which gives its name to a modern town in upstate New York.

ANSWER: Syracuse

In 1821 he published two tragedies set in late medieval Venice, Marino Faliero and The Two Foscari. In another work set in Venice, the title character is disguised as a Turk and calmly resolves the plot over a cup of coffee. A year after Beppo, he published a poem in which a Ukrainian leader tells his life’s story, entitled Mazeppa. Another work is set in the Alps and features the ghost of Astarte who foretells the death of Manfred, the title character. FTP name this English poet and Greek freedom-fighter best known for such works as Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage and Don Juan.

ANSWER: George Gordon, Lord Byron

He was aided with Mezentius by the queen of the Volsci, Camilla. Other helpful women included his sister, the water nymph Juturna, who helped him battle his nemesis. Though the conflict itself was over a woman named Lavinia, the wife of king Latinus, this character may have been spared had he not killed king Evander’s son Pallas and taken his belt. FTP, name this king of the Rutuli whose last great feat was to throw a large stone at Aeneas, by whose hand he dies in the last lines of the Aeneid.

ANSWER: Turnus

Extras:

His play The Persians seems to have been heavily influenced by his own active military role at the battle of Marathon, and he deals with the war caused by Eteocles and Polynices in his Seven Against Thebes. He probably wrote a trilogy about a Titan who was punished by imprisonment on a mountaintop, though only the first play of the series survives. More famous, though, is his trilogy about the house of Atreus in Argos which centers on the protagonist Orestes’ vengeance for his father Agamemnon. FTP, name the first Greek tragedian, who added a second actor to the stage and wrote the Oresteia.

ANSWER: Aeschylus

Although primarily recognized for his contributions to the science fiction genre, he actually wrote over 90,000 letters and 500 books, with at least one publication in nine categories of the Dewey Decimal System. His Guide to the Bible, History of the World, and his Guide to Shakespeare, as well as his many popular science works were read by many. He, along with Heinlein and Clarke, are often considered the “big three” of the golden age of sci-fi. This is FTP, what author who combined his Galactic Empire, Robot, and Foundation series into a massive 14- book future history?