Episode 21 University Challenge

APPLAUSE

Asking the questions, Jeremy Paxman.

Hello. Another second-round match lies ahead of us,

with a prize for the winning team being a place in the quarterfinals.

Perhaps almost as welcome for the losers

will be the opportunity to watch the quarterfinals

from the comfort and safety of their own homes.

Wolfson College Cambridge gained an early lead

in their first-round match

against the School of Oriental and African Studies, then lost it,

then had a neck-and-neck race to the gong, which ended on a tie-break.

Knowing what goes on in the mouth of a mollusc gave victory to Wolfson,

proving, as so often in this contest, that no knowledge,

however recondite, is ever wasted.

With an average age of 25, let's meet the Wolfson team again.

Hi, my name is Justin Yang, I'm from Vancouver, Canada

and I'm studying for a PhD in public health and primary care.

Hi, I'm Ben Chaudhri, from near Cockermouth in Cumbria,

-and I'm studying natural sciences.

-And this is their captain.

Hi, my name is Eric Monkman, I'm from Oakville, Canada,

and I'm studying for a Masters in economics.

Hi, I'm Paul Cosgrove, I'm from Cookstown in Northern Ireland,

and I'm studying for a Masters in nuclear energy.

APPLAUSE

Now, the team from Jesus College Cambridge lost a first-round match

which was pretty close against Corpus Christi College Oxford,

but then won their play-off against Queens College Cambridge,

having built up a commanding lead by the halfway point.

After that, they rather rested on their laurels,

and only beat Queens to the buzzer twice in the second half.

With an average age of 20, let's meet the Jesus team again.

Hiya, I'm Sam Fairbrother, I'm from greater Manchester

and I'm currently studying for my finals

in education with drama and English.

Hi, I'm Rosa Price, I'm from East London, and I'm studying English.

And this is their captain.

Hi, I'm Theo Morris Clarke, I'm from London,

and I'm reading for a Masters in economics.

Hello, I'm Daniel Petrides, I'm from Petts Wood in Kent,

and I'm reading for an MPhil

in political thought and intellectual history.

APPLAUSE

Let's not waste valuable time with a recitation of the rules,

let's just crack on with it.

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

Which of Shakespeare's title characters is addressed

in the line that immediately precedes the following?

"Deny thy father and refuse thy..."

-Romeo.

-Romeo is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

Right, these bonuses are on the author Bruce Chatwin, Wolfson.

Which region of South America

is the subject of Chatwin's first major work, published in 1977?

He describes it as the,

"Furthest place to which man walked from his place of origins"

THEY TALK OVER EACH OTHER

-Patagonia.

-Correct.

Chatwin's 1980 novel, The Viceroy Of Ouidah,

was the basis for a for a film, Cobra Verde,

by which German director, also noted for Fitzcarraldo?

-Nothing's coming to mind.

-I don't know.

-Pass.

-That was by Werner Herzog.

And finally, Chatwin's 1987 work, The Songlines,

is set mainly in which Commonwealth country?

Canada, I don't know?

-Canada.

-No, it's Australia.

Ten points for this.

Which city gives its name to the battle during which

Horatio Nelson declined to heed Admiral Sir Hyde Parker's...?

-Copenhagen.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

Three questions on chemical elements, Wolfson.

The surname of the antagonist in the first James Bond film is also

the symbol of the synthetic element with the atomic number 102.

Name the character and the element?

Dr No, so it's niobium?

-Nobelium?

-Nobelium, yeah.

-Dr No and nobelium?

-Correct, yes.

The symbol of a metal used to strengthen steel

at high temperatures

is also the abbreviated first name of a British athlete,

who won two gold medals at the 2012 Olympics.

Name the athlete and the element.

-Mo Farah and molybdenum.

-Oh, yeah.

Nominate Chaudhri.

Mo Farah and molybdenum.

Correct.

And finally, a radioactive element discovered in 1898

has a symbol that spells the name of a river

that flows from the Alps to the Adriatic.

Name the river and the element.

-Polonium?

-Yeah.

-Po and polonium.

-Yes.

APPLAUSE Right, ten points at stake for this.

An early version described by the 16th century English mathematician

Leonard Digges, what instrument, in its modern form,

consists of a telescope, mounted to swivel...?

-An astrolabe?

-No, you lose five points.

Mounted to swivel both horizontally and vertically?

It's used by surveyors to obtain precise angular measurements

for triangulation.

Is at a clinometer?

No, it's not. It's a theodolite.

Ten points for this.

With a mean density of 5.24g per cubic centimetre,

almost exactly the same as the solid form of the element europium,

which is the third-densest planet of the solar system?

It also has the most circular orbit, and the highest...?

Uranus?

No, you lose five points.

And the highest albedo?

Saturn?

No, it's Venus.

So, ten points at stake for this starter question.

Designed by Robert Stevenson and completed in 1850,

the Royal Border Bridge is a railway viaduct across which river?

When travelling south, it's crossed immediately after departure

from the first English railway station on the East Coast Main Line.

Berwick?

No, anyone like to buzz?

-The River Tweed?

-It is the River Tweed, yes.

APPLAUSE

Berwick is the station.

Right, your bonuses this time are on the Old Testament, Jesus.

What name is given to the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible,

made in the third century BC, in reference to the legend

that it was undertaken by 70 scholars in as many days?

-The Septuagint?

-Yes.

-The Septuagint.

-Correct.

Meaning "second law", what name is given to the fifth book

of the Old Testament, which contains a repetition of the laws of Exodus?

-Deuteronomy.

-Correct.

From the Greek for "ten words", what term denotes

the Ten Commandments found in the book of Exodus?

-The Decalogue.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

We're going to take a picture round now.

For your picture starter,

you'll see a map showing part of the UK rail network.

Ten points if you can identify the station highlighted.

-Is it Crewe?

-It is Crewe, yes.

APPLAUSE

That puts you in the lead. Crewe is an example, of course,

of a railway town - a small settlement that grew rapidly

with the development of the railways in the 19th century.

Your picture bonuses - three more such railway towns on the network.

Firstly, for five, the town at A.

So, that's...

Could that be Bradford, maybe?

Or is that too far east?

It could be. Shall we try it?

-Can you think of anything else?

-No, try it.

-Bradford?

I think Bradford's a bit further north than that. That's Doncaster.

Secondly, B.

-Is that Ashford?

-Yes.

-Ashford.

-Yes.

And finally, C, please.

OK, that's on the way into...

West Country...

I think I know.

-That's Wiltshire...

-Salisbury?

It's not Salisbury, that's a really old town.

I'm sorry, we don't know.

It's Swindon, it WAS Wiltshire.

Right, ten points for this.

At which manor in Hertfordshire did the owner, John Bennet Lawes,

along with the chemist Joseph Henry Gilbert,

set up a research station in 1843

to monitor wheat yields from the nearby fields?

-Rothamsted.

-Rothamsted is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

These bonuses, Wolfson, are on languages of Asia.

Firstly, the 17th century French Jesuit Alexandre de Rhodes

was prominent in the development of a modified Roman alphabet

to write which major Asian language?

This script has been in general use since the early 20th century.

I would say probably Vietnamese.

-Vietnamese.

-OK.

-Vietnamese.

-Correct.

Probably derived from Brahmic scripts of India,

Baybayin was formerly used

to write languages in which present-day island country?

After colonisation by Spain in the 16th century,

it came to be replaced by the Roman alphabet.

-The Philippines.

-Correct.

As part of a drive to become a modern, secular state,

which country, from 1928,

replaced a traditional Arabic script with a modified, Roman alphabet?

-Turkey.

-Turkey is correct.

APPLAUSE

Ten points for this.

A statue of Theseus and the Minotaur in the Victoria and Albert Museum

and a statue of Napoleon in the guise of the Roman god

Mars The Peacemaker at Apsley House

are among the larger works

of which Italian neoclassical sculptor, born 1757?

Bernini?

No, anyone like to buzz from Jesus?

No?

They're by Canova. Ten points for this.

Quote, "I think that he did change the course of history.

"He increased the number of things

"the average non-American knows about baseball from zero to one."

These words from a quiz website

refer to which prolific hitter of...?

Joe DiMaggio.

No, you lose five points.

Prolific hitter of home runs for the New York Yankees during the 1920s?

-Babe Ruth.

-Yes.

APPLAUSE

Right, you get three questions - this time, Wolfson, on Jadwiga,

the 14th-century Queen of Poland.

Firstly for five points,

Jadwiga was crowned sole ruler of Poland in 1384, and two years later,

married Jagiello, the grand duke of which country?

This union established a polity that lasted several centuries.

-Lithuania.

-Correct.

The union changed the balance of power in Central Europe.

Jadwiga's father, Louis,

having been king of Poland and which other country?

-Denmark, maybe? I don't know.

-I think it's...

-I think it's Bohemia, isn't it?

-I don't know.

-Bohemia.

-No, it was Hungary.

Jadwiga was a patron of scholarship,

restoring the university of which Polish city?

This was later named the Jagiellonian University

after the dynasty their union founded.

I think it's Krakow.

Sure.

-Krakow?

-It's Krakow, yes.

APPLAUSE Ten points for this,

what mechanical device consists of a wheel or a ring

with inclined teeth that engage with a pivoted finger known as a pawl?

Thus permitting continuous motion only in one direction.

-A ratchet.

-Yes.

APPLAUSE

These bonuses are on JRR Tolkien's the Fellowship Of The Ring.

Firstly, for five points,

whose house do the hobbits visit in chapter seven of book one?

He speaks or sings and stress-timed metre,

and is seemingly unaffected by Frodo's ring.

-Tom Bombadil.

-Correct.

At which hill overlooking the road east of Bree

do the Ringwraiths attack Frodo and his party?

Weathertop?

-Weathertop?

-Correct.

The Ringwraiths later ambush the Fellowship at the ford,

but are washed away by a flood commanded by the Lord of Rivendell.

Who is he?

Elrond.

-Elrond.

-Elrond is correct.

APPLAUSE Ten points for this.

Which public figure took the title of Baron of Richmond

in the county of North Yorkshire

when he was elevated to the peerage...?

-William Hague.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

These bonuses are on the solar system, Jesus College.

Born in 1905, which Dutch-American scientist gives his name

to a regional belt of the solar system, beyond the orbit of Neptune?

-Is it Kuiper or Van Allen?

-Think it's Van Allen.

-OK, go for that one.

-Ooh...

Van Allen?

-No, it's Kuiper.

-Sorry, mate.

The Van Allen belt is around the Earth.

Five points for this - the abbreviation SDO denotes objects

in a high-eccentricity orbit beyond Neptune.

For what region do the letters SD stand?

Deep, outer, space? Something like that?

Space in deep orbit?

Spatial deep orbit?

-Space and deep.

-No, it's scattered disc.

Finally, in 1932, the Estonian astronomer Ernst Opik proposed

a much more distant region or cloud as the origin of long-period comets.

This is usually named after which Dutch astronomer,

who revived the idea in 1950?

No, I don't think it is, I think it's Oort.

-Oort?

-Oort is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

Right, we're going to take a music round now.

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

Ten points if you can identify the composer.

PIANO SOLO PLAYS

-Chopin.

-Chopin is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

That piece by Chopin was published

under the title Berceuse, or cradle song.

For your music bonuses, three more classical lullabies,

again for five points,

in each case I simply want the name of the composer.

Firstly for five, this northern European composer.

PIANO SOLO

-Grieg?

-Correct.

Secondly, the Russian composer

of this slightly less soothing berceuse?

SINISTER ORCHESTRAL MUSIC

-Stravinsky.

-It is, from The Firebird.

And finally, this French composer?

UPBEAT PIANO AND VIOLIN DUET

-Faure?

-It is Faure, yes. Well done.

APPLAUSE

Right, ten points for this starter question. Fingers on buzzers.

Ponta Delgada on the island of Sao Miguel is the capital

of which archipelago of volcanic origin in the north Atlantic?

It is an autonomous region of Portugal, lying...?

-The Azores?

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

Your bonuses are on less well-known colours

that are among the many listed on Wikipedia.

In each case, name the colour from the description.

All three begin with the same letter.

Firstly, a deep shade of red,

whose name derives ultimately from the Latin for flesh.

Crimson.

No, it's carnelian.

Secondly, a shade of sky blue,

named after an island in the Bay of Naples,

associated with the Emperor Tiberius and later, Gracie Fields?

Capri is the island.

-Capri?

-Correct.

And finally, a shade of yellow, after a group-12 element

with similar properties to zinc and mercury?

Is it chrome?

Chrome yellow?

Is it group 12?

No.

Cerium?

-I don't know.

-Cadmium?

Go for cadmium.

-Cadmium.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE Right, ten points for this.

Known as The Thunderbolt,

Bayezid I became the ruler of which empire in 1389?

He overcame a Crusader army...

The Turks.

No, you lose five points.

He overcame a Crusader army at Nicopolis in 1396,

but was later defeated by Tamerlane and died in captivity.

-The Ottoman Empire?

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

These bonuses are on authors usually known by their initials and surname.

In each case, identify the author from their works.

Firstly for five points - born in 1881, who wrote The Coming Of Bill,

Jill The Reckless,

and Uncle Fred In The Springtime?

Not a clue. I don't know.

An author with initials and surname?

-GK Chesterton?

-No, they were by PG Wodehouse.

Secondly, best-known for a novel of 1951,

which author's other fiction includes

A Perfect Day For Bananafish,

Raise High The Roof Beam, Carpenters,

and Franny And Zooey?

JD Salinger.

-JD Salinger.

-Correct.

Born in 1930, whose novels include The Drowned World,

The Kindness Of Women,

and Millennium People?

-JG Ballard.

-Yeah.

-JG Ballard.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE Ten points for this.

In cycling, which city is the starting point

of the one-day Spring Classic that runs almost 300km to San Remo

on the Ligurian coast?

Lille?

No, anyone like to buzz from Wolfson?

-Milan?

-It is Milan, yes.

APPLAUSE

Three questions on National Trust properties

for your bonuses, Wolfson.

In which English county are Belton House, Tattersall Castle

and Woolsthorpe Manor, the birthplace of Isaac Newton?

-Lincolnshire?

-Lincolnshire, yeah.

-Lincolnshire.

-Correct.

Bodnant Gardens, Penryn Castle and the Roman fort of Segontium

all lie within about 20 miles of which Welsh city?

-Swansea?

-Think it's... I don't know.

-Swansea?

-No, it's the other end of Wales, Bangor.

Owned by the National Trust for Scotland,

Goat Fell and Brodick Castle

are on which island near the mouth of the Firth of Clyde?

-It's the...Arran?

-Isle of Man?

Goat Fell's at Arran.

I think it's Arran.

Nominate Chaudhri.

-Arran?

-Correct.

APPLAUSE Ten points for this.

In biology, what term denotes a group of alleles

of different genes on a single chromosome?

Which are linked closely enough to be inherited, usually as a unit.

A gene.

No, anyone like to buzz from Jesus?

Phenotype.

No, they're a haplotype. Ten points for this.

According to Winston Churchill,

Stanley Baldwin thought Europe was a bore.

Of which Prime Minister did Churchill say that,

"He thought it was only a greater Birmingham?"

-Neville Chamberlain.

-Of course it was, yes.

APPLAUSE Great Birmingham family.

Your bonuses are on biology now, Wolfson.

In lophotrichous bacteria,

what lash-like structures are arranged in a tuft or crest?

-Flagella?

-Doesn't matter to me.

-Flagella.

Nominate Chaudhri.

-A flagella?

-Flagella or flagellum is correct.

The organ known as a lophophore is characteristic of many

aquatic invertebrates, and is used in what process?

I think it's feeding.

-I think it's feeding.

-Hmm?

-I think it's feeding.

Nominate Chaudhri.

-Feeding.

-It is feeding, yes.

And finally, the cusps of lophodont molars

are fused to form transverse ridges,

allowing them to masticate what general form of foodstuff?

It's, like, grass, I think.

They're like... Elephants have it.

-Kelp?

-No, just vegetation.

Not aquatic.

I think it's, like, grass.

-Nominate Chaudhri.

-LAUGHTER

-Vegetation, grasses...

-That's correct, yes. Plant material.

APPLAUSE

Right, we're going to take a second picture round.

For your picture starter, you're going to see a photograph.

Ten points if you can identify the singer you'll see.

-That's Kate Bush.

-It is Kate Bush, yes.

APPLAUSE

That photograph was taken by the Dutch photographer and director,

Anton Corbijn, notable for his portraits of musicians and bands.

Your bonuses are three more of his photographs, in each case,

I'd like the name of the performer depicted, please.

Firstly...

Missy Elliott?

-Missy Elliott.

-Yes.

Secondly...

Nick Cave.

-Nick Cave.

-Correct.

And finally, this front man?

-Oh, is that Ian Curtis?

-Yes.

Ian Curtis?

It is Ian Curtis of Joy Division, yes.

APPLAUSE

Another starter question for ten points.

Give the single word that completes this remark

attributed to the German mathematician, David Hilbert.

"Physics is much too hard for...?"

Politicians.

Nope.

-Physicists?

-Physicists is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

Right, these bonuses are on Test matches at Lord's, Wolfson.

Which England captain holds the record

for the highest Test innings at Lord's

with his 333 against India in 1990?

Geoffrey Boycott, I don't know.

-Boycott.

-No, it wasn't, it was Gooch.

James Anderson has taken the most Test wickets at Lord's

among overseas bowlers.

Which Australian has taken the most?

Bradford? Is it Bradford?

Bradford?

I don't recall a Bradford among the Australian bowling attack.

No, it was McGrath, Glenn McGrath.

And finally, the highest Test total at Lord's

was Australia's 729-6 declared against England in 1930.

Which batsman made 254 in that innings?

-Pass.

-That was Don Bradman,

was the person I think you were looking for.

Right, ten points for this. And there's about four minutes to go.

The Delmarva Peninsula in the northeastern United States

takes its name from which three states that, in part, lie on it?

Delaware, Maryland, and Vermont?

No, anyone like to buzz from Wolfson?

-Delaware, Maryland and Virginia?

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

Right, your bonuses are on apples, this time, Wolfson.

Which widely grown variety of eating apple

shares is four-letter name

with a leading rugby club in the Scottish Borders?

Its traditional rival is Hawick.

It's... I don't know.

-Gala?

-Yeah?

-Gala?

-It is Gala, yes.

A cross between a Gala and a Braeburn,

which apple shares its name with a genre of music

associated with the age of F Scott Fitzgerald?

-Jazz?

-There's a Jazz apple, yes.

-Jazz.

-Jazz is correct.

A cross between a Gala and Elstar, which bright red apple shares

its name with a Flemish baroque artist, born 1577?

Van Dijk, or...?

-Van Dijk?

-No, it's Rubens.

Ten points for this.

Answer as soon as your name is called.

One kilowatt hour is equal to how many joules?

Three point... 3,600...

No.

3,600.

No, it's 3,600,000.

3.6 megajoules.

Ten points for this.

According to the first book of Samuel, which group of people

occupied the cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gaza...

-The Philistines.

-Yes.

APPLAUSE

Your bonuses are on Homer's Odyssey now.

In Robert Fagles' translation of The Odyssey,

chapter one is entitled Athena Inspires The Prince.

To which prince does that refer?

-Telemachus?

-Is it Paris?

In the Iliad?

Or is it Odyssey?

It's Telemachus, isn't it?

-Telemachus.

-Telemachus is correct.

Who are the king and queen of Sparta

in the title that Fagles gives to chapter four?

It's Helen and Menelaus, isn't it?

-Helen and Menelaus.

-Correct.

Finally, in chapter ten of Fagles' translation,

who is the bewitching Queen of Aeaea?

-Circe.

-Circe is right.

APPLAUSE Ten points for this.

Shostakovich's Leningrad,

Haydn's Bear and Alleluia,

Mozart's Linz and Jupiter,

and Schubert's The Great are all symphonies...?

Written in... The last symphony they wrote?

No, you lose five points.

They're all symphonies written in which key?

-C major.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

Right, you get a set of bonuses, Jesus College,

on 19th-century history.

In each case, give the precise year in which the following occurred.

All three questions have a six-word clue

to a year that ends in the number six.

Firstly, Irish potato famine, Corn Laws repealed.

1846.

Secondly, Congress of Tucuman, Argentina declares independence.

I think that was quite early.

-1806.

-No, it's 1816.

Finally, first modern Olympics opened in Athens.

-1896.

-Correct, ten points for this. APPLAUSE

Which commercial intersection

lies at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan?

It was renamed in 1904, after a newspaper moved its office...?

-Times Square.

-Correct. You get a set of bonuses, now, on polymers.

In chemistry, what term denotes a polymer formed by the linking

of the amino group of one molecule with a carboxyl group of the next?

An example is nylon.

I don't know.

Come on, let's have it, please.

-Peptide.

-No, it is polyamide.

Zein, that's Z-E-I-N,

is a naturally occurring polyamide

from which elastics, fibres and adhesives can be made.

It's name comes from the genus name of which cereal crop?

-Maize.

-Maize is correct.

Which polyamide is a naturally occurring protein,

president in colloidal suspension in milk?

GONG

And at the gong, Jesus College Cambridge has 140,

Wolfson College Cambridge has 225.

APPLAUSE

Well, bad luck, Jesus.

You fought hard, we've seen a lot of you,

and we've enjoyed having you with us. Thank you very much.

You'll be able to watch the quarterfinals without any danger.

Wolfson, you, I'm afraid,

are going to experience the danger of the quarterfinals.

Many congratulations to you,

we shall look forward to seeing you again.

I hope you can join us next time for another second-round match.

-But until then, it's goodbye from Jesus College Cambridge.

-Goodbye.

-It's goodbye from Wolfson College Cambridge.

-Goodbye.

And it's goodbye from me, goodbye.