QUIZ – 2017: Insights Current Affairs Quiz,16 June 2018

Solution: c.

In the news (BBC): Frogs trapped in amber from Myanmar for 99 million years are giving a glimpse of a lost world. The tiny creatures have been preserved in sticky tree resin since the end of the Age of the Dinosaurs. The fossils give a window into a world when frogs and toads were evolving in the rainforests. The fossil record of the earliest amphibians is sparse, which makes this discovery particularly valuable for science.

Resins are plant products that,

• are not soluble in water,
• harden when exposed to air,
• do not play a role in the fundamental processes of the plant, and
• are generally produced by woody plants.

Plants produce many compounds that can be confused with resins. These compounds include Gums, Mucilage, Oils and Fats, Waxes and Latex.

Amber is fossilized plant resin. Amber has been known to preserve insects and other small organisms that were imbedded in the resin before it hardened. Amber is used for scientific research but it is used more widely for jewelry and art. It is often considered a gemstone although it is not a mineral. Amber can be many colors, including green, gold, brown, red, black, and even bluish. Not all resins can form amber – most types are chemically unstable and will decay over time.

USDA: Resins; BBC: Amber;

Solution: b.

Also known as “dead-rat” trees, after the shape of their fruit, baobab trees have stout, branchless trunks. They store large quantities of water inside their trunks to endure the harsh conditions of the arid areas in which they live. The trees also support wildlife; they are important nesting sites for birds.

BBC;

HowStuffWorks;

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Solution: a.

Solution: b.

In the news (TH): “The two-day SCO summit, which began on June 9, echoed an important subtext. The eight heads were meeting at a time when the leaders of the G-7 were engaged in bitter Twitter feuds across the Atlantic. Keen to contrast the rise of Eurasia as the vehicle of a post-U.S. order, participating nations — China and Russia, especially — were intent on showcasing the “eastern” values of mutual respect and plurality. Mr. Xi went out of his way to quote Confucius as the template of the “Shanghai spirit”, while Mr. Modi evoked Buddha and Rumi as precursors of an inclusive SCO ideology.”

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation, the creation of which was announced in June 2001 in Shanghai by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism.

Proceeding from the Shanghai Spirit, the SCO pursues its internal policy based on the principles of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, mutual consultations, respect for cultural diversity, and a desire for common development, while its external policy is conducted in accordance with the principles of non-alignment, non-targeting any third country, and openness.

About SCO;

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Solution: d.

Maliku Kandu and Māmalē Kandu Divehi are the traditional names of the broad Minicoy Channel between Minicoy and the northernmost atoll of the Maldives. The latter name is given after the Malabar merchant Maamaley Marakkaaru who controlled most of the sea trade along this route before the arrival of the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean. The maritime boundary between the Maldives and India runs through the channel.

In the British Admiralty charts it is called Eight Degree Channel. It is so named as it lies on the 8-degree line of Latitude, north of the equator. Another local name for this channel is Addigiri Kandu.

Wikipedia;

Improvisation: TH;

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