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Thunder in the Air Trivia Quiz

This is a quiz about thunder. You might find thunder in books, on stage, or simply in the air. I hope you have fun with this!

A multiple-choice quiz by Sallyo. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
Sallyo

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
135,411

Updated
Apr 02 23

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
565

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Jan Mark wrote a book called "Thunder and Lightnings". What were the "lightnings" in the book? Hint

Storms

The main character's nickname.

A sports team

Aeroplanes

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Question 2 of 10

2. "Thunder turtles!" Whose favourite expression was this, and which book did this person inhabit? Hint

Nancy, from Arthur Ransome's "Swallows and Amazons".

Jim, from Monica Edwards' "Romney Marsh" series.

Rissa, from Monica Edwards' "Romney Marsh" series.

Tommy, from Louisa Alcott's "Little Men".

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Question 3 of 10

3. There once lived on Earth a creature whose name translates to mean "thunder lizard". What was the name of this creature? Hint

Brontosaurus

Mammoth

Dinosaur

Deinodon

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Question 4 of 10

4. Which of the following words is German for "thunder"? Hint

donder

torden

tonnerre

donner

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Question 5 of 10

5. Which of the following is a title for a book written by novelist Mary Stewart? Hint

Thunder on the Right

Thunder in Sight

Thunder in the Night

Thunder on the Height

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Question 6 of 10

6. Mary O'Hara wrote a book called "Thunderhead". Who or what was Thunderhead? Hint

Thunderhead was the fighting name of a pro wrestler.

A storm in the hills.

A horse - the foal of Flicka, named for the cloud.

Thunderhead was a sailing ship.

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Question 7 of 10

7. What does the saying "to steal one's thunder" mean? Hint

To silence one by unfair tactics.

To undeservedly replace someone in the limelight.

To strengthen one - the spelling is actually "steel".

To out-shout one.

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Question 8 of 10

8. Who was the Norse god of thunder? Hint

Odin

Thor

Loki

Baldur

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Question 9 of 10

9. "He Shall Thunder in the Sky" is one of Elizabeth Peters' "series" books. Which of her heroines does it involve? Hint

Ruth MacDougal

Jacqueline Kirby

Amelia (Peabody) Emerson

Vicky Bliss

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Question 10 of 10

10. During a thunder storm, does one hear thunder first or see lightning first? Hint

The thunder is first. Sound travels faster than light.

It depends on the time of year.

You see and hear them simultaneously.

The lightning is first. Light travels faster than sound.

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Jan Mark wrote a book called "Thunder and Lightnings". What were the "lightnings" in the book?

Answer: Aeroplanes

The protagonist, Andrew, has a friend whose major interest is the aeroplanes that fly over from the nearby airfield. Among these are the "Lightnings". "Thunder and Lightnings" is a lovely book, very funny, full of character... but it's almost impossible to describe it in plot terms.

2. "Thunder turtles!" Whose favourite expression was this, and which book did this person inhabit?

Answer: Tommy, from Louisa Alcott's "Little Men".

Tommy, one of the children at the Plumfield school run by Jo March and her husband, often made this exclamation. Nancy tended to say "Barbecued billigoats!", while Rissa favoured "Quaking queens" and Jim "Jumping gin bottles".

3. There once lived on Earth a creature whose name translates to mean "thunder lizard". What was the name of this creature?

Answer: Brontosaurus

Brontosaurus means "thunder lizard". Dinosaur means "terrible lizard", a mammoth was the ancestor of the elephants and Deinodon means "terror tooth".

4. Which of the following words is German for "thunder"?

Answer: donner

Donner is German, donder is Dutch, tonnerre is French and torden is Norwegian. They all mean "thunder".

5. Which of the following is a title for a book written by novelist Mary Stewart?

Answer: Thunder on the Right

"Thunder on the Right" is one of Mary Stewart's early novels. The heroine goes to visit the convent where her cousin reputedly died, and finds a mystery.

6. Mary O'Hara wrote a book called "Thunderhead". Who or what was Thunderhead?

Answer: A horse - the foal of Flicka, named for the cloud.

Flicka, the mare from O'Hara's famous book "My Friend Flicka" produced the foal Thunderhead when Ken, Flicka's owner, "stole" the service of a stallion called Appalachian. Thunderhead was a bad-tempered, impossible horse, nicknamed "The Goblin". He also appears in the third book in the trilogy; "Green Grass of Wyoming".

7. What does the saying "to steal one's thunder" mean?

Answer: To undeservedly replace someone in the limelight.

If you steal someone's thunder, you step into the limelight that person deserves. The saying is said to have originated when a playwright named John Dennis (1657-1734) invented a new kind of stage thunder SFX. His play was pulled after a very short run, but the next production (Shakespeare's "Macbeth") used his SFX. "You won't let my play run, but you steal my thunder!" he is reputed to have yelled. Or something like that.

8. Who was the Norse god of thunder?

Answer: Thor

Thor was the god of thunder; he created the sound with his hammer, Mj�llnir. Odin was the father of the gods, Loki the god of mischief and Baldur, "the beloved" was killed through a trick of Loki's involving a missile made of mistletoe.

9. "He Shall Thunder in the Sky" is one of Elizabeth Peters' "series" books. Which of her heroines does it involve?

Answer: Amelia (Peabody) Emerson

This is one of Elizabeth Peters' popular Amelia books. The latest Vicky Bliss (so far) is "Night Train to Memphis", the latest Jacqueline (to date) is "Naked Once More", and Ruth appears in books written by EP's alter ego, Barbara Michaels.

10. During a thunder storm, does one hear thunder first or see lightning first?

Answer: The lightning is first. Light travels faster than sound.

Lightning travels approximately 880,000 miles in the time it takes thunder to travel 1 mile. Hmmm. That's why we see lightning before we hear the thunder.

Source: Author Sallyo

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ozzz2002 before going online.
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