Before anyone reading this who knows about such things takes offense, this is neither a primer nor an exemplar of good item writing style. Word Press was not designed for constructing quizzes. Some foils may get partial credit and some may be affective assessments. I find surprisingly little in my stuff that lends itself to higher order cognitive thinking. I’m not about to ask, When did the Visigoths retake Iberia from the Byzantines? (ans. 621 A.D.) Or, explain Picasso. Answers at the end.

1. What was the official explanation of why the Cathedral has only one tower?

1. That was the preferred style in the 18th Century.
2. The money budgeted was used to repave the street.
3. The money budgeted was used to support the American Revolution.
4. The money budgeted was used to support the Spanish Revolution.

2. What is the principal competition during Carnival?

1. Anchovy eating
2. Choral groups
3. Collecting beads
4. Thrones (i.e., floats)

3. What is the “Zuloagan Question” discussed in the Carmen Thyssen Museum?

1. How best to represent the Spanish character?
2. What art is marketable in Paris?
3. Who was Zuloaga?
4. Why?

4. What is our address in Málaga?

1. Andalucía
2. Calle Puerta de Antequera
3. El Centro Historico
4. Minutes.rocks.divider

5. Which group(s) has (have) never controlled all or part of the Iberian Peninsula?

1. British
2. Byzantines
3. Carthaginians
4. Egyptians
5. Homo neanderthalensis
6. Moors
7. Phoenicians
8. Portuguese
9. Romans
10. Visigoths

6. The most appropriate title of the 1866 oil painting by Bernardo Ferrándiz y Bádenes is:

1. Drinks for All my Subjects
2. The Lord at the Inn
3. The Political Charlatan: Elect me and the Nation will be saved
4. To the Manor Born

7. An unintended consequence of urban renewal in a historic district is:

1. Congestion
2. Gentrification.
3. Increased tourism.
4. New construction.

8. What is unusual about this painting in the Museo Ruso by Nickolai Rutkovsky?

1. Discredited former leaders are never shown in official state paintings.
2. Funerals are never depicted in official state paintings.
3. Stalin did not attend funerals.
4. Stalin’s death preceded Kirov’s.

9. What is the common meaning of ‘Utopia?’

1. Eutopia
2. Good place
3. No place
4. Socialism
5. All of the above

10. Why did England feel it was important to have its own cemetery in Spain?

1. Dying British ex-pats were exceeding the Spanish capacity.
2. Spain only allowed Catholics to be buried in consecrated ground.
3. The English Consul objected to spending eternity next to foreigners, which included anyone not born in the British Isles excluding Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
4. There was no travel insurance for shipping bodies home.

One possible scoring key:

1. What was the official explanation of why the Cathedral has only one tower?

1. 0 pts; never pick the odd-man-out on a multiple choice question.
2. 1 pts; that may have been the reason but not the ‘official’ reason.
3. 2 pts; the longest choice is often the best right choice and it has the most overlap with foils.
4. 0 pts; two centuries off.

2. What is the principal competition during Carnival?

1. 0 points; eating anchovies is its own reward apparently.
2. 1 point; extra points for emoting and for costuming.
3. 0 points; you were hoping for Mardi Gras?
4. 0 points; you’re anticipating Semana Santa (Holy Week.)

3. What is the “Zuloagan Question” discussed in the Carmen Thyssen Museum?

1. 2 pts: there was a concern that successful artists, like Zuloaga, were misrepresenting Spain in order to sell paintings in Paris.
2. 0 pts: that started the argument but isn’t the question.
3. 0 pts: try Wikipedia.
4. 1 pts: isn’t ‘Why’ always the question?

4. What is our address in Málaga?

1. 0 pts: the largest Administrative District in Spain; like saying we live in Minnesota.
2. 1 pt: hard question, easy item; this was a gimme; pick the long one. There is only one door on the street but the full address includes No. 4, 1°D, meaning house number 4, first floor, apartment D.
3. 0 pts: right barrio but you still won’t find us, like saying we live in Tangletown.
4. 0 pts: nope, that’s Paul’s pond.

5. Which group(s) has never controlled all or part of the Iberian Peninsula? [Including the (s) doesn’t change the answer but it made you work a lot harder.]

1. 0 pts: British (1704- ) Unfair; we haven’t covered Gibraltar yet.
2. 0 pts: Byzantines (550-621)
3. 0 pts: Carthaginians (700-218)
4. 1 pts: Egyptians probably didn’t know the world went this far.
5. 0 pts: Neanderthals lived here 50,000 years ago but I’m not sure any human species controlled much beyond their own campfires.
6. 0 pts: Moors had it for most of eight centuries (711-1487).
7. 0 pts: Phoenicians (770-700)
8. 0 pts: Portuguese; do you know where Portugal is?
9. 0 pts: Romans (218 BC-476 AD)
10. 0 pts: Visigoths (476-550, 621-711) (I gave you this one in the opening.)

6. The most appropriate title of the 1866 oil painting by Bernardo Ferrándiz y Bádenes is:

1. 0 pts: No one is drinking and not everyone seems to be enjoying the oration.
2. 0 pts: No one is drinking so it must not be an inn.
3. 1 pts: I don’t make this stuff up.
4. 0 pts: “To the Manner Born” comes from Shakespeare; “To the Manor Born” probably wasn’t in common use until after the BBC sit-com.

7. An unintended consequence of urban renewal in a historic district is:

1. 0 pts: Eliminate cars and this goes away, except during major festivals.
2. 1 pts: As the area becomes desirable, original residents and businesses who survived the bad times will be displaced. (While there may be some who intended this, they won’t say it.)
3. 0 pts: This is an intended consequence.
4. 0 pts: This is a manageable zoning issue depending on what you want.

8. What is unusual about the painting in the Museo Ruso by Nickolai Rutkovsky entitled “Joseph Stalin before Sergei Kirov’s Coffin?”

1. 1 pts: Discredited former leaders are typically omitted from Soviet paintings.
2. 0 pts: Funerals are a rather common subject for Soviet paintings.
3. 0 pts: Stalin attending a funeral is almost as common in Soviet paintings.
4. 0 pts: Kirov’s funeral was 1937; Stalin’s 1953.

9. What is the meaning of ‘Utopia?’

1. 1 pts: In today’s English, ‘utopia’ has completely supplanted ‘eutopia’ and no one uses ‘eutopia.’ Spell Checker doesn’t even know about it.
2. 2 pts: ‘Good place’ is standard usage.
3. 1 pts: ‘No place’ is the original meaning and literal translation of the Greek pieces.
4. 0 pts: Did you vote for Bernie?
5. 0 pts: Always a sign of a poor item and lazy item writer. This one is more an exercise into the psychology of the item writer: Does he really think Socialism might be correct? And I did tell you about partial credit.

10. Why did England feel it was important to have its own cemetery in Spain?

1. 0 pts: British pats and ex-pats were not permitted in the existing facilities.
2. 1 pts: The side of a hill outside of town was better than upright, at night, in the sand, on the beach.
3. 0 pts: Once in a while the longest choice isn’t the right choice.
4. 0 pts: Now we’re getting silly; I should have gone with ‘All of the above.’