Episode 9 University Challenge

APPLAUSE

Asking the questions, Jeremy Paxman.

Hello. Two more teams are attempting to clear the first of several

hurdles that stand between them and the title of series champions.

Whichever team wins tonight will earn themselves

a place in the second round

and the losers could get a chance to play again if their total is

amongst the four highest losing scores in the entire first round.

Leicester University were the first series champions back in 1962

and tonight's team quite rightly reckon

they have rested on their laurels a little too long.

It was founded as Leicester and Rutland University College

in 1921 on land donated by a local manufacturer and philanthropist Thomas Fielding Johnson,

to serve as a living memorial to the dead of the First World War.

It became a university in its own right in 1957.

Alumni include the novelists CP Snow and Malcolm Bradbury.

Its staff include Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, the inventor of genetic fingerprinting

and the team who recently discovered the remains of Richard III under a city centre car park.

With an average age of 31, representing around 17,000 students,

let's meet the Leicester team.

Hi, I'm John O'Doherty, originally from Portsmouth,

and I'm studying medicine.

Hello, I'm Adam Brown, I'm originally from Solihull

and I'm currently studying towards a PhD in mechanical engineering.

This is their captain.

Hello, I am Robert Greenhill, I'm from Leicester

and I'm studying humanities and arts.

Hello, my name is Nadal al-Masri and I am also from Leicester

and I'm reading history.

APPLAUSE

Now, the team from the Open University are one up

on their opponents tonight, having been series champions twice

in the past, or the institution, at least, in 1984 and 1999.

It was born out of Harold Wilson's vision of a university of the air

and on becoming Prime Minister in 1964,

he appointed his Arts Minister, Jennie Lee, to make it a reality.

The first students enrolled in 1971.

Since then, it has grown to be the UK's largest institution

in terms of student numbers, now having over a quarter of a million.

Alumni include the actresses Julie Christie and Sheila Hancock,

Micky Dolenz of The Monkees and the comedian and actor Lenny Henry.

Those who have taught there include Gordon Brown

and Glenda Jackson, and the broadcaster Anna Ford.

Tonight's team say their strengths are knitting and red wine.

Whilst admitting that red wine is also one of their weaknesses!

With an average age of 40, let's meet them.

Hello, my name is Danielle Gibney.

I'm originally from Amsterdam in the Netherlands

and I'm studying social sciences.

Hello, my name is Stuart Taylor.

Originally from Stratford-upon-Avon

and I'm studying development management.

And their captain...

Hello, I am Lynne Jones.

I'm a local lass from Bolton in Lancashire

and I'm studying languages and history.

Hello, my name is Kate Law. I live in Sutherland

in the Scottish Highlands and I'm reading engineering.

APPLAUSE

OK. It is too tedious to recite the rules,

so fingers on the buzzers, here's your first starter for ten.

Originally defined as the population of able-bodied

men above the age of 15 in a county within the sheriff may summon

to repress a riot or pursue felons, what short term

derives from a Latin phrase meaning to be able to have an armed...

-Posse.

-Posse is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

Posse comitatus.

So these bonuses. The first set are on coal, Open University.

From the Greek for coal, what term denotes hard coal of high carbon

content that burns with little flame or smoke?

-I think that that produces...

-Sorry?

-I think that that produces...

- it's not anthracite or something? - Anthracite.

-Anthracite.

-Correct.

Referring to a black viscous mixture of hydrocarbons,

what adjective describes the most abundant form of coal with

a wide range of commercial uses?

-Don't know...

-Don't know anything about coal!

-No?

-No.

It's bituminous coal.

And for the Latin for wood, finally, what term denotes coal of low

energy density, midway between subbituminous coal and peat.

It is generally brownish in colour.

-I can only think of coke.

-No...

-No, it's not coke. Carbon...

Lignin? That's Greek for wood, isn't it?

-Go for it.

-Lignin?

-Lignite, I think.

Lignite?

-Lignite.

-Lignite is correct. Yes.

APPLAUSE

Ten points for this.

The Amati family were makers of what musical instruments?

In the mid-16th century,

Andrea Amati developed an early standard form

of the instrument in Cremona...

-Violin?

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

You're off your mark. Your bonuses are on homophones.

In each case, give the single pronunciation shared by both the words described.

Firstly, the vegetable Allium porrum

and a path between isolated parts of a circuit with reduced

resistance allowing small currents to flow?

-Leak.

-Leak is correct.

Secondly, a root vegetable with high-levels of provitamin A

and an inverted V shape used in proofreading to indicate

where something should be inserted.

In Latin, the word means "It is lacking."

-Carrot.

-Correct.

A beet with dark green leaves, thirdly, and succulent stalks

that are often cooked as a vegetable,

and an adjective meaning burnt.

I was going to say okra... No.

THEY WHISPER

-We don't know.

-It's charred. Ten points for this.

The Danish physician Niels Finsen gives his name to a unit that

measures the intensity of rays in which band of the electromagnetic spectrum?

He received the 1903 Nobel prize for their application

in the treatment skin diseases.

-Infrared?

-Anyone like to buzz from Leicester?

-Ultraviolet?

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

Your bonuses, Leicester, are on diseases of trees using

information from the Forestry Commission website.

In each case, give the scientific or the common name of the genus or

species affected. First, DNB, or red band needle blight.

It is caused by a fungus and affects conifers,

in particular those of which genus?

THEY WHISPER

Yeah, well, that's a good genus, isn't it?

-Pine.

-Correct.

Cryphonectria parasitica is a fungus that has caused severe

epidemics resulting in the widespread loss of which tree,

noted for its edible seed used in cooking, or to make flour?

Edible seed...?

THEY CONFER

-Nominate O'Doherty.

-Almond?

No, it's chestnut.

The sweet or Spanish chestnut.

The fungus Chalara fraxinea is the cause of a serious disease

known as dieback that affects which common species of deciduous tree?

-Ash.

-Correct.

We're going to take a picture round now.

For your pictures starter you'll see a map of part of the UK

on which is highlighted a lake formed by glaciation.

Ten points if you can name the lake.

-Ullswater.

-Well done.

APPLAUSE

These bonuses could give you the lead.

They are more maps featuring inland bodies of water

formed by glaciation.

Give the name the lake in each case. Firstly, for five.

THEY CONFER

Is it near Betws-y-Coed?

It's near Betws-y-Coed, so...

-Vrynwy?

-Coed Water?

-Lake Vyrnwy?

-No, that's an artificial lake. It's Bala Lake.

Secondly...

That's... That's Lough Neagh.

-Oh, yes. Lough Neagh.

-Yes.

Lough Neagh.

Lough Neagh is correct, yes. And finally, this one, please.

Scotland... Where is that in Scotland? Is Loch Lomond?

-It could be.

-It is quite far down...

-Lomond?

-It is Loch Lomond, yes.

APPLAUSE

Ten point at stake for this.

Born in County Kilkenny in 1761,

the architect James Hoban is best known for the design

of which neoclassical building known until 1902 as the Executive Mansion?

-The White House?

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

These bonuses are on a novelist, Leicester.

The Arrow Of God and A Man Of The People

are works by which Nigerian novelist who died in 2013?

-Chinua Achebe.

-Correct.

Referring to a short novel in 1899,

Achebe criticised which author for turning the African continent

into a metaphysical battlefield devoid of all recognisable humanity?

-Joseph Conrad.

-Correct, Heart Of Darkness.

First published in 1960, Achebe's novel No Longer At Ease

takes its title from lines in the Journey Of The Magi by which poet?

THEY CONFER

-TS Eliot.

-Correct. Ten points for this.

APPLAUSE

Used figuratively for a concluding event or remark,

what term was originally used in music to signify a passage

introduced after the completion of the essential parts of a movement

to form a definite and satisfactory conclusion?

-Coda.

-Correct.

You get a set of bonuses this time on ballets with music by Stravinsky.

Firstly, which ballet opens with the birth the eponymous Greek god

and depicts his coming of age under the tutelage of the three Muses?

THEY CONFER

Apollo...

Yeah.

-Apollo.

-Correct.

Depicting a 19th-century wedding,

what is the French title of the 1923 ballet,

the score of which consists of vocal parts

accompanied by two groups of percussion,

one tuned and one untuned?

THEY CONFER

-We don't know.

-That is Les Noces.

And finally, the eponymous hero, amour and a ballerina

are the three puppets embroiled in a love triangle in which ballet?

-Petrushka.

-Correct.

Ten points for this.

Which figure from Greek mythology features as a hologram and watermark

on a new five-euro note issued by the European Central Bank in 2013?

She was a noble Phoenician woman

who bore sons including Minos of Crete, having been...

-Europa.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

Right, these bonuses, Leicester, are on books about economics.

Firstly, for five points,

subtitled A Rogue Economist Explores The Hidden Side Of Everything,

what's the title of the 2005 bestseller by Steven Levitt

and Stephen Dubner?

-Nominate O'Doherty.

-Freakonomics.

Freakonomics is right.

The title of which 2007 work by Nassim Taleb has come to be used

colloquially to mean an unexpected and rare occurrence?

THEY CONFER

-Don't know.

-We don't know.

The Black Swan. How Do We Fix This Mess?

is a 2012 work about the global economic crisis

co-written by Laurence Knight and which journalist?

In 2013, he became the economics editor for BBC News.

-Preston.

-Robert Preston.

-Correct. Ten points for this.

First isolated in 1783 by charcoal reduction of the oxide

derived from the mineral wolframite, which metallic element...

-Tungsten.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

These bonuses are on the nervous system, Leicester.

What general term denotes substances released from synaptic vesicles

which bind to the postsynaptic membrane and elicit a response?

-Nominate O'Doherty.

-Neurotransmitter.

-Correct.

What is the neurotransmitter at neuromuscular junctions

of the autonomic motor system?

-Nominate O'Doherty.

-Acetylcholine.

-Correct.

GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter.

For what do the letters GABA stand?

Nominate O'Doherty.

-Gamma-aminobutyric acid.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

We're going to take a music round now.

For your music starter, you'll hear a piece of popular music.

Ten points if you can name the artist.

# Young hearts... #

-Rod Stewart.

-It is Rod Stewart, yes.

APPLAUSE

You look rather embarrassed to know that!

LAUGHTER

His Young Turks featured on the soundtrack

to Grand Theft Auto San Andreas,

one of several Scottish associations in the series

that pay tributes to the game's origins in Dundee.

For your bonus, here are three more Scottish artists or bands

that have featured in the soundtracks

of the Grand Theft Auto series.

Firstly, for five, this band.

# I don't want a lover

# I just need a friend

# I don't want a lover... #

-Texas.

-Correct.

Secondly, the artist and composer of this song, please.

SAXOPHONE MUSIC PLAYS

-Gerry Rafferty.

-Gerry Rafferty.

-That's Gerry Rafferty.

-It is indeed. And, finally, this band.

# I like kicking in the gutter

# And wishing I was lucky

# Wishing I was lucky

# Wishing I was lucky... #

-Wet Wet Wet.

-Correct.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Right, ten points for this.

Anthony Browne, Quentin Blake

and Jacqueline Wilson have all held which title...?

-Children's Laureate.

-Correct.

Your bonuses are on the languages of London, Open University,

according to the 2011 Census.

In each case, name the language from the description.

Firstly, which Cushitic language is the most spoken African

main language in London, with around 55,000 speakers?

What's Cushitic?

I suppose it's either around... Either Nigeria or...

So, I think Nigeria.

-Just try Nigerian.

-Nigerian?

Nigerian.

No, it's Somali.

Two South Asian main languages have more than 100,000 speakers.

One is Bengali, what's the other?

It was the first language of Mahatma Gandhi.

Hindi or Urdu?

-I think Punjabi.

-Yeah. Punjabi.

No, it's Gujarati.

Which West Slavic language is the most spoken main language

after English with more than 140,000 speakers?

Polish.

Polish is correct, ten points for this.

Since 2011, the graphic novelist Guy Delisle

and the chefs Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi and the historian

Simon Sebag-Montefiore have all published books...?

Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is correct, yes.

These bonuses are on geology, Open University.

It's name meaning new animal life,

which is the most recent of the three Phanerozoic eras?

Nominate Taylor.

Neo-zine. No.

No, it's the Cenozoic.

During the Cenozoic era, which ancient ocean between the continents

of Gondwana and Laurasia closed as a result of continental collision?

No, sorry.

It's the Tethys Ocean.

The Cenozoic era began with the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs.

What class of animals proliferated after that event?

-Mammals.

-Correct. Ten points for this.

Nagapie, night ape

and galago are alternative names for a tree-dwelling primate native

to Africa and known by what common name,

thought to refer either to its appearance or cry?

The aye-aye.

-No.

-Bushbabies.

Correct.

This set of bonuses, Leicester, are on columns.

Which marble column in Rome was erected in the 2nd century by

the Emperor after whom it's named to commemorate his campaigns in Dacia?

-Trajan's Column.

-Correct.

Built in imitation of Trajan's Column,

the statue of Napoleon on the column of the Place Vendome

was toppled during which uprising of 1871?

Paris Communards.

The Paris Commune is correct, yes, by the Communards, I think.

Trajan's Column and the column of the Place Vendome

are examples of which architectural style,

the simplest of the five classical orders?

-Doric.

-Correct. Ten points for this.

The helix, tragus, triangular fossa and...

-Ear.

-The ear is correct, yes.

These bonuses, Leicester, are on Latin legal terms.

Meaning "at first sight",

what two-word phrase is used of a case in which a conclusion is

indicated but not necessarily proved from the appearance of things?

-Prima facie.

-Correct.

Meaning "by this very fact", what Latin term is used to signify

a consequence that is the inevitable result of an act?

-Ipso facto.

-Correct.

And, finally, referring to actions, methods or processes that

are particular to one person, what phrase is often abbreviated to MO?

-Modus operandi.

-That's correct.

We're going to take a second picture round.

For your picture starter, you're going to see

a photograph of a well-known British figure.

For ten points, I simply want his name.

-Edward Heath.

-It is Edward Heath at the helm of one of his yachts.

One of his hobbies was yachting

and conducting orchestras extremely badly.

For your bonuses, you will see three US presidents

engaged in extra-curricular activities.

Five points for each president you can name. Firstly...

That's Dwight Eisenhower.

It is indeed, painting. Secondly...

That's Harry Truman.

It is. And finally?

That looks like a young George Bush Snr.

It is George H W Bush, yes.

Ten points for this.

Who scored nine goals in the 1984 European Championship finals

tournament won by the French team...?

Is it Platini?

It is Platini, yes.

These bonuses, Open University, are on geography.

Around 30km long, which narrow stretch of gravel and shingle

runs along the Dorset coast, sheltering the town of Weymouth?

-Chesil Beach.

-Correct.

Chesil Beach is connected to which island?

Its quarries provided limestone for St Paul's Cathedral.

-Portland.

-Correct.

The area around Chesil Beach has been identified as the setting

for which story of smuggling by John Meade Falkner, published in 1898?

-Come on.

-No, sorry.

It's Moonfleet. Ten points for this.

Answer clearly and audibly as soon as your name is called.

What word is spelt by concatenating the silent

letters in the words sawed, business and autumn?

-Win.

-Yes.

Your bonuses are on scientific terms.

All begin with the same Greek prefix.

Give each term, please, from the definition.

A conic section, firstly, formed by the intersection of a plane

with both halves of a double cone.

-Tangent?

-No, it's a hyperbola.

Secondly, a term used in biology to describe a solution of higher

osmotic pressure than another.

-Hypertonic.

-Hypertonic.

Correct.

In medicine, a term denoting abnormally high blood

pressure in humans.

-Hypertension.

-Correct.

There's about five minutes to go and here's another starter question.

Which clear, colourless liquid has the chemical formula CHCL3?

The Scottish physician Sir James Simpson...?

Chloroform.

Correct, yes.

Your bonuses this time are on German cities.

In each case, give the federal state in which the following are located.

You can give their English or their German name.

Firstly, Cologne, Dortmund and Essen.

-Nordrhein-Westfalen.

-Correct.

Secondly, Leipzig, Kemnitz and Zwickau.

-Come on.

-Saxony.

Correct. Finally, Nuremburg, Regensburg and Augsburg.

-Bavaria.

-Bavaria is correct, four minutes to go. Ten points for this.

Listen carefully, give both answers as soon as your name is called.

Name the two men who were Prime Minister at the accession

of Queen Victoria and at her death.

Melbourne and Salisbury.

Correct.

Your bonuses are on astronomy now, Open University.

In 2010, the astronomer Mark Thompson suggested that the

appearance of the star of Bethlehem may have been

caused by conjunctions involving the star Regulus and which planet?

Venus? Venus is very bright.

Unless they're expecting Venus and it's something else.

-Venus.

-No, it's Jupiter.

Regulus is the brightest star in which constellation

lying in the northern sky between Cancer and Virgo?

-E-o.

-No, Leo.

-Leo.

-I think you misheard it.

-Yes, I did.

No, I can't accept that, it's Leo.

And, finally, having its point of apparent origin in Leo,

the Leonids meteor shower reaches a peak in which month?

-August.

-No, it's November. Ten points for this.

Which city on the Atlantic coast of Africa is generally said to

be the most populous Portuguese-speaking capital

in the world ahead of Brasilia, Maputo and Lisbon?

-Dakar?

-No.

Luanda?

Luanda is correct, yes.

Leicester, your bonuses are on French artists.

In each case, listen to the two names and give the unique

full decade of the 19th century, during which both were alive.

First, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

-1850s.

-Correct.

Secondly, Edouard Manet and Henri Matisse.

-Come on, let's have it, please.

-1870s.

Correct. Finally, Paul Cezanne and Georges Braque.

-1890s.

-Correct, well done.

Ten points for this.

In ancient Greek theatre, what name was given to the circular or

semi-circular area in which the chorus would dance?

It has since come to mean a large and specific group of musicians.

-Orchestra.

-Correct.

Your bonuses are on Roman Britain.

In each case, give the present-day name of the following settlements.

All three names have the same suffix.

Firstly, for five points, Camulodunum,

the first Roman colony in Britain founded in AD 49.

-Colchester.

-Correct.

Second, Venta Belgarum, later an Anglo-Saxon capital.

-Winchester.

-Correct.

Finally, Durnovaria, situated close to the hill-fought Maiden Castle.

-Dorchester.

-Correct. Ten points for this.

"Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to

"answering the fundamental question of philosophy."

Which French thinker makes that statement

in the 1942 work The Myth...?

Sartre.

No, you lose five points, The Myth Of Sisyphus?

Camus.

Albert Camus is correct,

you get a set of bonuses on the Mitford sisters.

Which of the Mitford sisters wrote of her upbringing

and eccentric family in the 1960 work Hons and Rebels,

and three years earlier, published The American Way Of Death?

Come on, let's have it, please.

-Jessica.

-Correct.

GONG SOUNDS

And at the gong,

Open University have 190, Leicester have 245.

Well, it was a pretty good game.

Quite a high-scoring game and, Open University, I think

I'd take a small wager that you'll be coming back

as one of the highest-scoring losing teams.

Congratulations to you, Leicester,

you certainly go through to the second round.

I hope you can join us next time for another first round match

-but until then, it's goodbye from the Open University...

-Goodbye.

-..it's goodbye from Leicester University...

-Goodbye.

..and it's goodbye from me, goodbye.

APPLAUSE