Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

An island nation with a British accent

Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island country in the eastern Caribbean, and its capital, St. John's, sits on the larger island of Antigua. The country gained independence from Britain in 1981 but remains part of the Commonwealth, which helps explain the English place names scattered across the islands. Antigua is also famous for having 365 beaches, one for every day of the year, according to local tourism lore.

A country that changed its name

Rhodesia, as it was known for much of the 20th century, became Zimbabwe at independence in 1980. The name change was significant: "Rhodesia" honoured Cecil Rhodes, the British imperialist whose company had colonised the region, while "Zimbabwe" comes from Shona and refers to the stone ruins of Great Zimbabwe. The country's capital, Harare, was likewise renamed from Salisbury.

Two novels that still shape school reading lists

Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" and Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" are separated by more than two centuries, yet both remain staples of English-language reading. Lee's 1960 novel, set in Depression-era Alabama, won the Pulitzer Prize and has never gone out of print. Swift's 1726 satire began as a travel adventure and doubles as a sharp commentary on politics and human nature - which is why it is often mistaken for a children's book.

A river, a city and a famous soup

The Danube flows through four capital cities, including Vienna, where it has long been both a trade route and a cultural symbol. Further downstream, Hungary's love of paprika shows up in its national dish, halászlé, a hot fish soup coloured deep red with the spice. Paprika arrived in Hungary only after the Ottomans brought peppers from the Americas, yet it became so central to the cuisine that Hungary now grows several protected varieties.