As many of you know, I took an online test to get on Jeopardy. That's the first barrier any contestant faces before they get on the show. I think they only offer it once a year. Well, it was brought to my attention that this year's tests just happened. (Editorial Note: If you want a far more complete account of the Jeopardy audition process, including what taking the test is like, exactly what happens during the follow-up in person audition, and then actually going on the show, my ebook is only a dollar and in my biased view, well worth the investment if you seriously want to consider taking the test)
So I poked around and got the questions from this year's test. I thought I would post them here, so anyone could get a sense of what the test is like. There are 50 questions, covering a huge variety of categories.
There were actually three different tests offered on different days, and I'll post the other two as well. (Obviously I took them myself...and I'm not sure if I should tell you how I did...)
Now for an accurate Jeopardy test experience, you need to limit yourself to 15 seconds for each question and type your answer or write it down or whatever. If you don't know it, just guess and move on. Oh and one tip, the category title can give you a hint, so it helps to pay attention.
Here are the questions...
Ready...
Set...
Go!
WORLD RELIGION:
Krishna & Rama are both considered avatars of this Hindu god
CABLE TV PERSONALITIES:
This Scottish-born chef is known for his TV rants at weaker restaurateurs
DYNASTY:
Nicholas II was the last ruling czar of this royal family
WHAT A CHARACTER!:
Topsy & Simon Legree are both characters in this bestselling novel
NEW TESTAMENT GEOGRAPHY:
John the Baptist's ministry took place in the region around this river
TOYS:
In 1903, with presidential permission, Morris Michtom began marketing these toys
WORD ORIGINS:
This term for a person who works for various employers comes from knights who sold their skills
TALE TELLERS:
She's the fabled tale teller in "The Thousand & One Nights"
PHYSICS:
Regarding this device, Archimedes said, "Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the Earth"
ACTRESSES:
In 2008 she played Daisy, the lifelong friend of Benjamin Button
MOUNTAIN HIGH:
This 14,700-foot peak in the Swiss Alps is famous for its shape & the danger of ascending it
U.S. PRESIDENTS:
He was president during the War of 1812
SYMPHONIES:
Mozart's last & perhaps most powerful symphony shares its name with this planet
SPEAKING IN TONGUES:
This language was invented in Warsaw in 1887 by Dr. L.L. Zamenhof
SPORTS STARS:
In the 2007-'08 season, this Cleveland Cavalier turned 23 & averaged 30 points a game
HOMOPHONES:
An arm bone, or an adjective meaning "funny"
SCIENTISTS:
Now named to the Cabinet, Steven Chu won a Nobel for capturing atoms with these light beams
MYTHOLOGY:
He occupied a chair over which the "sword of" him was suspended by a single thread
BOOKS BY REPORTERS:
"Bush at War", "Plan of Attack" & "State of Denial" are books by this famed journalist
VOCAL MUSIC:
Cecilia Bartoli has unearthed & sung several forgotten arias by this "Four Seasons" composer
BODIES OF WATER:
It's the smallest & easternmost of the Great Lakes
MEASURE IT:
9 teaspoons equals this many tablespoons
WORLD LITERATURE:
Logically, it's the middle book of Dante's "Divine Comedy"
TRANSPORTATION:
In 1620 it sailed west from Southampton with Christopher Jones as captain
CHEMICAL ELEMENTS:
Atomic number 98, this radioactive element is the only one named after a U.S. state
POSTAL ABBREVIATIONS:
This Midwest state is the only one whose 2-letter postal abbreviation is a preposition
CROSSWORD CLUES 'P':
Attorney-client benefit (9 letters)
SHAKESPEARE:
It completes the line "Shall I compare thee to…"
THEATER:
In a 2008 revival of this show, the Sharks sing in Spanish
ICE CREAM:
This flavor was invented in 1929 & named in part to reflect the difficult economic times ahead
SCULPTURE:
Sculptures that once adorned the Parthenon are known as these, after a British Lord
LITERARY CHARACTERS:
In "Great Expectations", this aged lady still wears her wedding dress
HISTORIC BRITS:
The "Young Pretender" to the British throne in the 1740s was also known as Bonnie Prince this
PHOTOGRAPHY:
This Frenchman lent his name to an early form of photography
AFRICA:
In Latin, the name of this country means "place of freedom"
RECENT BESTSELLERS:
A no. 1 bestseller in 2008 was this female mystery author's "Scarpetta"
THE MOON:
Latin term for the Moon's "seas"; the largest is about 750 miles wide
AFRICAN AMERICANS:
Born a slave, she helped free others & was the first black woman on a U.S. postage stamp
THEATRICAL TERMS:
As an adjective, it means "timely"; in the theater, it's to supply an actor with a line
RHYME TIME:
Just one radio advertising song
U.S. CITIES:
The Oregon Trail & Pony Express route both passed by Casper in this state
LITERARY FIRSTS:
His "Murders in the Rue Morgue" is considered by many to be the world's first detective story
ASIA:
During the Sui Dynasty it was repaired 7 times to defend against the Tujue
CONGRESS:
The House of Representatives has this many members
FILL IN THE ___:
Half ___ Alaska
BIOLOGY:
The intestinal tract of these insects, aka white ants, can break down cellulose
ISLANDS:
Smaller than only Greenland, it's the world's second-largest island
WRITERS:
Karen Blixen wrote "Out of Africa" under this name
RETAIL:
Hit the bull's-eye & name this discount retail store first opened by the Dayton Co. in 1962
SINGERS:
This singer renamed herself "Sasha Fierce" for a 2008 double album
And you're done! How'd it go???
There's really no official score you NEED to get to be on Jeopardy. Of course, in reality the producers have one, but they won't tell people like us what it is. So who knows if you did well enough??? Although if you got like a 3 out of 50, odds are your phone won't be ringing anytime soon.
The Answers...
WORLD RELIGION: Vishnu
CABLE TV PERSONALITIES: (Gordon) Ramsay
DYNASTY: Romanov
WHAT A CHARACTER!: Uncle Tom's Cabin
NEW TESTAMENT GEOGRAPHY: Jordan
TOYS: Teddy bears
WORD ORIGINS: freelance/freelancer
TALE TELLERS: Scheherazade
PHYSICS: lever
ACTRESSES: (Cate) Blanchett
MOUNTAIN HIGH: Matterhorn
U.S. PRESIDENTS: (James) Madison
SYMPHONIES: Jupiter
SPEAKING IN TONGUES: Esperanto
SPORTS STARS: (LeBron) James
HOMOPHONES: humerus/humorous
SCIENTISTS: lasers
MYTHOLOGY: Damocles
BOOKS BY REPORTERS: (Bob) Woodward
VOCAL MUSIC: (Antonio) Vivaldi
BODIES OF WATER: Lake Ontario
MEASURE IT: 3
WORLD LITERATURE: Purgatorio/Purgatory
TRANSPORTATION: Mayflower
CHEMICAL ELEMENTS: californium
POSTAL ABBREVIATIONS: Indiana (IN)
CROSSWORD CLUES 'P': privilege
SHAKESPEARE: a summer's day
THEATER: West Side Story
ICE CREAM: rocky road
SCULPTURE: Elgin Marbles
LITERARY CHARACTERS: Miss Havisham
HISTORIC BRITS: Charlie
PHOTOGRAPHY: (Louis) Daguerre
AFRICA: Liberia
RECENT BESTSELLERS: (Patricia) Cornwell
THE MOON: mare/maria
AFRICAN AMERICANS: (Harriet) Tubman
THEATRICAL TERMS: prompt
RHYME TIME: single jingle
U.S. CITIES: Wyoming
LITERARY FIRSTS: (Edgar Allan) Poe
ASIA: Great Wall of China
CONGRESS: 435 (assuming they're not counting the 6 non-voting delegates)
FILL IN THE ___: baked
BIOLOGY: termites
ISLANDS: New Guinea
WRITERS: Isak Dinesen
RETAIL: Target
SINGERS: Beyoncé Knowles
Hope you did well! If not, I'd recommend studying either through an awesome site like Sporcle.com or with a book like this one:
It was the one I used to study before I went on the show.
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