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Quiz about Famous Adults as Gifted Children
Quiz about Famous Adults as Gifted Children

Famous Adults as Gifted Children Quiz


As children, most of us weren't sure what we were good at. Some of us will never know. A very few, on the other hand, have always known ...

A multiple-choice quiz by dobrov. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
dobrov
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
62,881
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
3352
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. She was 4 years old when she saw her first ballet, The Sleeping Beauty. Noticing that the little girl was entranced, her mother whispered 'Would you like to be dancing up there with the corps de ballet?' 'No', she replied. 'I'd rather dance alone.' Who was she? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. His father was a coach and had him out on the backyard rink every winter night by the age of 4. At 6 he joined a novice team, and in 1978 he was not only the youngest player in the World Junior Hockey championships, but the highest scorer. Who is he? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. At the age of three he was imitating his sister's playing on the harpsichord. At the age of 4 he composed his first piece. His father, an ambitious musician, exhibited him all over Europe to overwhelming acclaim, but his adult career was rocky and disappointing. Possibly the greatest European musical prodigy of all time...who was he? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. His parents were poor immigrants and hadn't a lot of time for their children, yet he taught himself to read at the age of 4 from the shop signs on the streets of Brooklyn. At 7 he taught himself to read Yiddish. He went on to a distinguished career in biochemistry, and an immortal career in literature. 'Nightfall', published at age 20, has been long considered one of the best short science fiction stories ever written. Who was he? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. She was a chubby, working-class kid from Sydney with an astonishingly mature voice that her mother, a trained singer, helped to develop. At the age of 8 her technique was that of an artist twice her age and her pitch was uncannily perfect. Even so, when she tried out for the school choir she was turned down because her voice was 'too loud'. Who is she? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Her father was a second-rate portrait painter but he trained her well and by the age of 12 she was considered something of a phenomenon in Parisian artistic circles. At age 15 she was painting portraits professionally and at 18 she became the official portrait painter to the queen. Who was she? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. He was born with a talent for danger and an uncontrollable urge to climb almost anything. As a boy he climbed every tree in the neighbourhood, his grandmother's roof, and even the bell tower of his father's church. It is no wonder that Mount Everest drew him simply because, as he put it, it was there. Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. She made her film debut at the age of 3 and by the age of 5 she had become the number one box office attraction in America. Who was she? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Her father's career as a teacher was stunted by his Polish nationalism, but at night he would discuss science with his children, especially his brilliant daughter Manya. She was a highly academically gifted child who was always at the top of her class and like her father, she was fascinated by scientific research. Who was she? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Lots of gifted kids seem to have had gifted, ambitious parents who spent a lot of time with them. This kid didn't. He was a poor boy in Prague with a very neglectful mother and an abusive stepfather. Desperate for a chance to get a musical education, he clung to the back of a stagecoach for over 100 kilometers in order to cast himself on the mercies of an uncle. The uncle took him in, educated him, and at the age of 19 he was playing violin in the court orchestra in Hanover next to the equally young Ludwig van Beethoven. Who was he? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. She was 4 years old when she saw her first ballet, The Sleeping Beauty. Noticing that the little girl was entranced, her mother whispered 'Would you like to be dancing up there with the corps de ballet?' 'No', she replied. 'I'd rather dance alone.' Who was she?

Answer: Anna Pavlova

Anna Pavlova (1881-1931) went on to become the greatest prima ballerina of her day and a dance legend.
2. His father was a coach and had him out on the backyard rink every winter night by the age of 4. At 6 he joined a novice team, and in 1978 he was not only the youngest player in the World Junior Hockey championships, but the highest scorer. Who is he?

Answer: Wayne Gretzky

Wayne Gretzky was born in Brantford, Ontario in 1961 and has become the greatest hockey player of all time. Apparently his reflexes are way above average and his peripheral vision extends well beyond the usual limits.
3. At the age of three he was imitating his sister's playing on the harpsichord. At the age of 4 he composed his first piece. His father, an ambitious musician, exhibited him all over Europe to overwhelming acclaim, but his adult career was rocky and disappointing. Possibly the greatest European musical prodigy of all time...who was he?

Answer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mozart's extraordinary genius managed to survive his chaotic childhood, but it is likely that the strain of his early travels effectually shortened his life.
4. His parents were poor immigrants and hadn't a lot of time for their children, yet he taught himself to read at the age of 4 from the shop signs on the streets of Brooklyn. At 7 he taught himself to read Yiddish. He went on to a distinguished career in biochemistry, and an immortal career in literature. 'Nightfall', published at age 20, has been long considered one of the best short science fiction stories ever written. Who was he?

Answer: Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992) published over 300 works, including the masterpiece 'I Robot'.
5. She was a chubby, working-class kid from Sydney with an astonishingly mature voice that her mother, a trained singer, helped to develop. At the age of 8 her technique was that of an artist twice her age and her pitch was uncannily perfect. Even so, when she tried out for the school choir she was turned down because her voice was 'too loud'. Who is she?

Answer: Dame Joan Sutherland

Joan Sutherland (1926), 'La Stupenda' is possibly the greatest of all coloratura sopranos of the 20th century. In 1952 she travelled to England to audition for Covent Garden, and in 1954 she married her partner, conductor Richard Bonynge. However it was only at the age of 32 that her performance in Lucia di Lammermoor gained her international recognition.
6. Her father was a second-rate portrait painter but he trained her well and by the age of 12 she was considered something of a phenomenon in Parisian artistic circles. At age 15 she was painting portraits professionally and at 18 she became the official portrait painter to the queen. Who was she?

Answer: Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun

Marie Louise Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun (1755-1842) escaped the Terror that claimed her royal patroness Marie Antoinette and returned to France in 1804. She eventually became a member of the French Academie, but her best-known works are her portraits of the queen and the royal children.
7. He was born with a talent for danger and an uncontrollable urge to climb almost anything. As a boy he climbed every tree in the neighbourhood, his grandmother's roof, and even the bell tower of his father's church. It is no wonder that Mount Everest drew him simply because, as he put it, it was there.

Answer: George Mallory

Mallory and his partner, Andrew Irvine, made their third assault on Everest in 1924. They never returned. In 1999 Mallory's body was located not far from the peak, but it is still to be determined whether he was on his way up or back down when he succumbed to the wind and cold. If his missing camera is located, it could provide evidence that could settle the matter once and for all.
8. She made her film debut at the age of 3 and by the age of 5 she had become the number one box office attraction in America. Who was she?

Answer: Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple (1928) was no cute dancing doll. Before she could read she had the ability to memorize countless lines merely by having them recited to her by her mother. She also had an endless capacity for work, for perfection, and a sense of professionalism that many of her adult co-stars didn't share.
9. Her father's career as a teacher was stunted by his Polish nationalism, but at night he would discuss science with his children, especially his brilliant daughter Manya. She was a highly academically gifted child who was always at the top of her class and like her father, she was fascinated by scientific research. Who was she?

Answer: Marie Curie

Young Marie Sklodowska Curie (1867-1923) was not allowed to enter university despite her impressive academic record merely because she was a girl. Therefore, for a couple of years she attended the 'Floating University' in Warsaw, an illegal night school for women, nationalists, and all kinds of other undesirables. With her move to Paris and the Sorbonne her real studies began and she went on, of course, to found the science of radioactivity.
10. Lots of gifted kids seem to have had gifted, ambitious parents who spent a lot of time with them. This kid didn't. He was a poor boy in Prague with a very neglectful mother and an abusive stepfather. Desperate for a chance to get a musical education, he clung to the back of a stagecoach for over 100 kilometers in order to cast himself on the mercies of an uncle. The uncle took him in, educated him, and at the age of 19 he was playing violin in the court orchestra in Hanover next to the equally young Ludwig van Beethoven. Who was he?

Answer: Antonin Rejcha

Ok, ok, so he's not so famous, but he should be. Antonin Rejcha (1770 - 1837) made his name in Paris more as a teacher than as a composer. He has been enjoying a mini-revival lately and he wrote some really lovely stuff. Try him - you'll like him!
Source: Author dobrov

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