20 September 2012 Last updated at 20:12 ET

Quiz of the week's news

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News quiz

It's the Magazine's 7 days, 7 questions quiz - an opportunity to prove to yourself and others that you are a news oracle. Failing that, you can always claim to have had better things to do during the past week than swot up on current affairs.

1.) Multiple Choice Question

The emoticon has turned 30 - but which author, in the 1960s, said: "There should exist a special typographical sign for a smile - some sort of concave mark, a supine round bracket, which I would now like to trace in reply to your question."

1. Jack Kerouac
   
2. Vladimir Nabokov
   
3. Ezra Pound
   

2.) Multiple Choice Question

South Korean rapper Psy's video Gangnam Style has had more than 220m YouTube views and dominated the US iTunes Top Songs chart on 15 September. What is Gangnam?

1. A Korean dish
   
2. A district of Seoul
   
3. A horse
   

3.) Multiple Choice Question

Brazil's mascot for the Fifa 2014 World Cup made its first public appearance in Rio de Janeiro this week. What is it?

1. A river dolphin
   
2. A jaguar
   
3. An armadillo
   

Info

The three-banded armadillo, which is in danger of extinction, rolls up into the shape of a ball when threatened and is commonly found in north-eastern Brazil.

4.) Multiple Choice Question

During an event to confer the Congressional Gold Medal on Aung Sung Suu Kyi, it was revealed that lawmakers in Burma had watched a particular TV series so they could learn about democracy. Which one?

1. Mash
   
2. Yes Minister
   
3. The West Wing
   

5.) Missing Word Question

Decorative * attract dinner

1. webs
   
2. feathers
   
3. burrows
   

6.) Multiple Choice Question

Which country has this week passed a new law criminalising cybersex?

1. Russia
   
2. Philippines
   
3. Iceland
   

7.) Multiple Choice Question

Doctor Sleep will be a long-awaited sequel to which of the following?

1. Breakfast at Tiffany's
   
2. The Shining
   
3. Catcher in the Rye
   

Answers

1. It was Vladimir Nabokov. He almost invented the emoticon in his reply to the question: "How do you rank yourself among writers (living) and of the immediate past?"
2. It's an upmarket district of Seoul. Psy's horse-riding dance accompanies the upbeat song, which has become popular in a number of countries.
3. It's an armadillo. Brazilians have until mid-November to choose the mascot's name from three choices - Amijubi, Fuleco and Zuzeco.
4. It was the West Wing. Hillary Clinton recalled a conversation she had had when she visited Burma last year with a lawmaker, which revealed that old segments of the West Wing had been viewed.
5. It's webs. Orb-weaver spiders attract insects to their webs with ultraviolet (UV) decorations, according to a new study. The function of the intricate patterns in the webs of orb-weaver spiders is subject to much debate in the scientific community.
6. It's the Philippines. One of the authors of the report said the act was needed to detect, investigate and suppress cybercrime such as hacking, cybersex, identity theft, spamming and child pornography online.
7. It's The Shining. This week Stephen King announced the sequel - based on the story of Danny, the young boy who survived the horrific events at the Overlook Hotel - would be published next year. A book billed as the sequel to The Catcher in the Rye was banned from release last year.

Your Score

0 - 3 : Misery

4 - 6 : The Running Man

7 - 7 : Shining

For past quizzes including our weekly news quiz, 7 days 7 questions, expand the grey drop-down below - also available on the Magazine page (and scroll down)