Channel 3's popular Millionaire Millenium show is one of many such shows televised in countries around the world. They all focus on general knowledge. One of the best sources of general knowledge is your daily newspaper. — PHOTO COURTESY OF BORN & ASSOCIATED CO. LTD.

I’m sure you have seen one of the many "millionaire" shows that have become so popular around the world. Did you know that one of the best resources for building the knowledge you need to win the top prize on such shows is your daily newspaper?

In the test below, pretend you are a contestant on a millionaire show. All of the questions were based on stories that recently appeared in the Bangkok Post. See how many you can answer. Then look at the newspaper stories to find the correct answers. Or you might want to read the stories before you take the test.

1. In many Spanish speaking countries there is a custom of taking one or more hours off from work for a sleep in the afternoon. What is this custom called?
   1. the nap
   2. the siesta
   3. the off tempo
   4. the resta
2. What is the national currency of Turkey?
   1. the dinar
   2. the euro
   3. the lira
   4. the kroner
3. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia split into two independent countries. One is named Slovakia. What is the name of the other?
   1. the Czech Union
   2. the Czech Republic
   3. Chechnya
   4. Czechland
4. High in the Andes mountains of Peru, there is a very religious site of the ancient Inca Indians. What is the name of this site?
   1. Cusco
   2. Tegucigalpa
   3. Machu Picchu
   4. Paramaribo
5. In which part of Africa is the country of Guinea located?
   1. north
   2. south
   3. east
   4. west
6. What famous sporting event is held each year at the Roland Garros stadium?
   1. the European Cup
   2. the World Track and Field Championships
   3. the FA Cup
   4. the French Open tennis tournament
7. Who was the first space tourist – the first paying passenger to go into orbit and visit the International Space Station?
   1. Dennis Tito
   2. Ulla Roder
   3. John Tobin
   4. Christopher Rocancourt
8. What is the name of the wild dog that lives in parts of Australia?
   1. collie
   2. jackal
   3. dingo
   4. coyote
9. What is the full name of the army that is fighting against the Siri Lankan government in the civil war there?
   1. The Lankan Independence Front
   2. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
   3. The People’s Movement for Tamil Freedom
   4. Remembering September 7
10. When did Singapore become independent?
    1. 1932
    2. 1947
    3. 1965
    4. 1976
11. What is the name of the political party that has ruled Singapore since independence?
    1. The National Front (NF)
    2. The Democratic Party of Singapore (DPS)
    3. The Independence Party (IP)
    4. People’s Action Party (PAP)
12. What is the capital of Kenya?
    1. Nairobi
    2. Port Moresby
    3. Abidjan
    4. Lagos
    
13. The building in this picture is very famous. Where is it and what caused the damage to it?
    1. Berlin, Germany: Russian bombs
    2. Ankara, Turkey: an earthquake
    3. Hiroshima, Japan: the first atomic bomb
    4. Sydney, Australia: a fire
14. What is the English name of the drug known in Thailand as yaa E?
    1. ethanol
    2. ecstasy
    3. excedrin
    4. elixir
15. Britain’s Queen Mother Elizabeth celebrated a birthday earlier this month. How old is she?
    1. 95
    2. 100
    3. 101
    4. 103

Queen Mum greets fans on birthday London – The Queen Mother Elizabeth stood in the sunshine outside her home yesterday to celebrate her 101st birthday with the thousand of well-wishers who gathered there with bouquets, balloons and cards. First-ever rally held Singapore, AP Civil rights activists in Singapore attracted about two thousand people yesterday to a pro-democracy rally—the first event of its kind to take place in the tightly controlled city-state. The rally is to show support and raise funds for the country’s most prominent opposition politician, Joshua "J.BlJ" Jeyaretnam, who faces ouster from parliament. Police initially denied the activists a permit to hold the rally, but relented after organisers agreed to hire their own security guards to maintain order. Addressing the crowd in Chinese, English and Malay, speaker after speaker denounced the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) to enthusiastic applause. A single political movement, the People’s Action Party has ruled Singapore since independence in 1965. It has won widespread praise for turning a poverty-stricken tropical island into one of Asia’s most stable and prosperous nations. Public anger over lira crisis Ankara, Reuters Turkey’s lira currency crashed further yesterday as Ankara sought IMF help to calm a financial crisis stirring a storm of public condemnation towards Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. Kuerten notches French hat-trick Gustavo Kuerten was crowned French Open Champion for the third time yesterday as he recovered from a shaky start to beat Spain’s Alex Corretja 6-7, 7-5, 6-2, 6-0. The Brazilian top seed, champion here in 1997 and 2000 becomes only the sixth player to complete a hat-trick of Roland Garros singles titles. Huge power outage Nairobi – Kenya on Saturday was plunged into an unprecedented power blackout following interruptions of the power supply from Uganda. The whole Kenyan capital was plunged into darkness for five hours on Saturday evening. A Kenya Power and Lighting Co. official said a power line that brings electricity from Uganda’s Owen Falls had collapsed inside Uganda. – AFP BIRDS OF PEACE It has been 56 years since the first atomic bomb attack reduced the city of Hiroshima to ashes. The city will never forget. Doves flew over the Peace Memorial Park during yesterday’s remembrance, attended by at least 30,000 people. — AFP Shelling deepens Liberia-Guinea crisis Monrovia — Liberia has accused Guinea of shelling its territory to help rebel fighters in a deepening crisis between the two West African neighbours. Tito’ Soyuz allowed docking Cape Canaveral, Reuters NASA said it was once again in firm control of the ailing International Space Station yesterday, so millionaire space tourist Dennis Tito won’t be stuck in a holding pattern when he arrives today. Mr Tito, who paid $20 million for the trip, and two cosmonauts blasted off in a Russian Soyuz space capsule from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Saturday en route for the orbiting station. Prominent sons caught in pub raid Ecstasy, speed and marijuana found About 30 revellers from prominent families, including a son of a former deputy interior minister, were arrested at a drug party early yesterday. In a 4am raid on the Diamond Pub, on Amphoe road, Muang district, police arrested 30 men and women and found ecstasy, ketamine pills and marijuana wrappers scattered around. Afternoon nap Sinikka Tarvainen Madrid, dpa It may seem like an economic planner’s nightmare, and another instance of "typical southern indolence"; people sleeping in beds and on sofas, on buses and on park benches in the middle of the working day. Yet the Spanish custom of the siesta is not what it seems, and scientists are increasingly discovering that napping not only helps people work and live better, but can even lengthen their lives. Spaniards, who claim to have invented the afternoon nap, have been taking siestas for hundreds of years. City shops close in the afternoons between 2 and 5:30 pm, and village streets become deserted, especially on sweltering summer afternoons. Some mayors have even decreed that it is prohibited to make noise during siesta hours. Mail bomb alert Prague – A mail-bomber on the loose has put the Czech Republic on edge. Police determined yesterday that a suspicious package containing wires and delivered to a South Bohemia home was a television, not a bomb. And a strange box sent to a Prague department store earlier this week was said to contain nothing more explosive than leather coats. Czechs are jumpy because seven mail bombs arrived by post on Wednesday to Prague homes. One of the bombs exploded in a man’s hands, blowing off several fingers.— dpa Two dozen dingoes shot by authorities Brisbane, Reuters Twenty-eight dingoes were shot dead by late yesterday in a cull on an Australian island resort after two wild dogs killed a nine-year-old boy. The cull was expected to be wound down and authorities said they were now looking at a long-term management of the risk posed to humans by dingoes on Fraser Island. Machu Picchu won’t collapse, tourists told Lima, Reuters Peru sought on Thursday to calm fears that its world famous Inca jewel Machu Picchu, could collapse at any moment, saying the Andean citadel had survived 500 years of natural phenomena and tourists should not panic. London’s New Scientist magazine quoted Japanese geologists on Wednesday as saying the earth below the site perched on a mountain saddle 2,500 metres high in the Peruvian Andes was shifting and at risk of a major landslide. "Machu Picchu won’t collapse," Peru’s National Institute of Culture said, noting that the Japanese survey of one of Latin America’s top tourist attractions was incomplete and "these reports should be taken with calm". The institute noted that Machu Picchu and the nearby city of Cusco, both lay on the Tambomachay fault, which caused earthquakes in 1950 and 1986. Tamil Tigers force Colombo to retreat Colombo – Intense Tamil Tiger resistance has beaten Sri Lankan troops back to their original lines with the death toll from the latest fighting rising to 377 on both sides, the Defence Ministry said yesterday. Troops were forced to reverse a major advance launched in northeast Sri Lanka on Wednesday because of heavy artillery and mortar bomb attacks by the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). — AFP

TEACHER'S NOTE Millionaire games on television are popular around the world. They normally require a great deal of general knowledge to win. One of the best sources anywhere is the daily English-language newspaper. This week's game consists of 15 questions that might be included in a millionaire game somewhere in the world. All of them were based on information found in stories published in the Bangkok Post. The stories are included so your students can find the answers. Begin, however, by having your students try to answer the question without looking at the stories. You might try to add a little drama by arrange your class so that it is similar to the game as seen on TV. Have one or more students come up front and try to answer the questions. Answers 1. a. the siesta 2. b. the lira 3. b. the Czech Republic 4. c. Machu Picchu 5. d. west 6. c. the FA cup 7. a. Dennis Tito 8. c. dingo 9. b. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 10. c. 1965 11. d. People's Action Party (PAP) 12. a. Nairobi 13. c. Hiroshima, Japan: the first atomic bomb 14. b. ecstasy 15. c. 101 Click here to look at the whole eight-week series of lessons. Next week: Narrow reading — a powerful way to improve your English! Go back to the top