Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

A gate that watched a city change

The Brandenburg Gate was completed in Berlin in the late 18th century and was designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans, one of the earliest architects to work in a neoclassical style in Germany. Over the following two centuries it served as a backdrop for royal processions, military parades and mass demonstrations, becoming a symbol of a divided city during the Cold War and later of German reunification. Its twelve Doric columns are modelled on the gateway to the Acropolis in Athens.

The river that shapes a nation

The Yangtze is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world, flowing roughly 6,300 kilometres from the Tibetan Plateau to the East China Sea. Its basin is home to hundreds of millions of people and includes the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric power station by installed capacity. For much of Chinese history the river served as a major trade route, connecting the interior with the coast.

Frida Kahlo's short but intense career

Frida Kahlo was born in Mexico City in 1907 and began painting seriously while recovering from a serious bus accident in 1925. Most of her best-known works, including her many self-portraits, were produced between the late 1920s and her death in 1954, making the 20th century the period of her artistic activity. Her work blends personal experience, Mexican folk culture and symbolism, and she is now regarded as one of the most influential artists of her era.

A motto in three Latin words

The Olympic motto "Citius, Altius, Fortius" translates as "Faster, Higher, Stronger". It was proposed by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, and introduced at the 1924 Paris Games. In 2021 the International Olympic Committee added a fourth word, "Communiter", or "Together", so the motto now reads "Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together".

The first country to grant women the vote

In 1893 New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world to give women the right to vote in parliamentary elections. The campaign was led by Kate Sheppard and supported by a series of large petitions, one of which was signed by nearly a quarter of the adult female population. New Zealand women did not win the right to stand for parliament until 1919.