A Baseball Quiz

Answer: Sea

Most seas are extensions of one of the oceans. However some, such as the Dead Sea and the Caspian Sea, are both completely landlocked. Almost all seas touch land at some point, often taking their name from that land, such as the Irish Sea between Wales and Ireland, or the Caribbean Sea which surrounds the Caribbean Islands.

The Sargasso Sea, which forms part of the Atlantic Ocean is unique in touching no land at all; it is named for the seaweed found there.

Answer: Babe

Babe, called that because his mother called all her piglets by that name, was won by Farmer Hoggett. His wife intended to fatten him up for Christmas. However, Fly, the sheepdog, made friends with the little piglet, and she taught Babe to herd the sheep.

He managed especially well, because he also made friends with the sheep, and learnt to ask them politely to go where required. After several adventures the farmer and his wife realised that the little pig could be of more use than as Christmas dinner.

The book was first published in 1983, and the film made in 1995.

Answer: Ball

A ball may often have a prestigious meal followed by social dancing; the dress code is usually formal with men wearing dinner jackets, or even tails, and the ladies wearing full-length ballgowns. Some of the colleges of the universities at both Oxford and Cambridge organise such events in the summer.

The dancing will usually be a mixture of ballroom dances such as the waltz, the foxtrot and the tango; but many different dances have been used. Devotees of traditional Scottish country dancing will sometimes organise a Highland Ball, when men wear kilts, and ladies wear long white dresses with tartan sashes over their shoulders.

Answer: Lea

A lea is an open area of grass or arable land. The word comes from the Old English leah. It is very useful for crossword compilers, and is otherwise used more in a literary or poetic context than in agriculture. For example, in Thomas Gray's 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard' (1750): "The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, / The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea".

Answer: Seal

Seals are mainly found on the shores and in the seas of the Arctic and the Antarctic regions. However they live as far north as New Zealand, southern Australia, South Africa, Namibia, Chile, and Peru, and as far south as Japan, Korea, Norway, the United Kingdom, and north-western Mexico.

They are known for their sleek stream-lined appearance, and their ability to remain underwater for up to half an hour, and to reach depths of over five hundred metres.

Answer: Ale

Ale is a beer that is not lager, stout or porter. It is made from malt, hops, yeast and water, using a warm method of fermentation. In medieval times it was the drink of choice since the water was generally unsafe to drink, and tea, coffee, and chocolate were unknown at the time in northern Europe. Small beer, which was drunk by everyone, including children, contained just enough alcohol to act as a preservative, but not enough to be intoxicating.

It is recorded that the monks at Westminster Abbey consumed a gallon a day. Strong beer was brewed for celebrations.

Answer: Alas

Coming through Middle English and Old French from the Latin 'lassus' meaning weary, the word, alas, is defined by the Concise Oxford Dictionary (1999) 'a humorous or literary expression of grief, pity, or concern'. Vincent Van Gogh, the artist, said that, "Poetry surrounds us everywhere, but putting it on paper is, alas, not so easy as looking at it."

Answer: Ebb

Often heard in the expression 'the ebb and flow of the tide', ebb comes from an Old English word 'ebba' which is related to of. It is also used to mean receding or decreasing in other contexts. The writer Kate McGahan said, "Love is like the sea. The waves of life, they ebb and flow; they come and go. Time sweeps us away from each other. Love always brings us back."

Answer: Bell

A belfry is defined as 'the place in a bell tower or steeple in which bells are housed'. So the answer is a bell - a hollow cup-shaped metal object which sounds a musical note when struck. Some belfries house a carillon which is a large number of pitched bells on which tunes can be played.

Others, particularly those in older English churches have only a few bells, and they are rung full circle with a change ringing method. This involves mathematical permutations, and there are many different named patterns.

The bells are numbered, with number one being the smallest and highest pitched bell, and the largest number being the largest bell. A simple start for six bells would be to ring 123456, then adjacent bells swap and ring 214365, and could go on to 241635.

Some patterns, particularly for a larger ring of bells, can take several hours to complete.

Answer: Sell

The simplest form of trade is bartering, when goods or services are exchanged. With the introduction of some form of token, or money, trade can be more dynamic. "Everyone lives by selling something," was said by Robert Louis Stevenson. Frank Zappa said that, "Art is making something out of nothing and selling it."