Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

Why Venus plays two roles in the sky

Venus is often called the "Evening Star" because it can shine brightly in the western sky shortly after sunset. It is not a star at all, of course, but a planet whose thick clouds reflect sunlight strongly. Because its orbit lies closer to the Sun than Earth's, Venus never wanders far from the Sun in our sky, which is why we see it either after sunset or before sunrise, never in the middle of the night.

A short book that became a permanent classic

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby was published in 1925 and initially received mixed attention. Today it is one of the most widely read American novels, largely because of its portrait of ambition, wealth and disappointment in the Jazz Age. Its famous green light on the dock has become one of literature's most recognised symbols.

The Danube, a river of many capitals

The Danube flows through ten countries, more than any other river in the world, including Hungary, where it divides Buda and Pest. It passes through capitals such as Vienna, Bratislava and Belgrade before emptying into the Black Sea. For centuries it has served as a trade route and a cultural border between regions of Europe.

One sentence that echoed across a divided city

In 1987, Ronald Reagan spoke at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin and addressed Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev directly, calling for the wall to be torn down. The Berlin Wall had divided the city since 1961. Two years later, in 1989, the wall was opened, and the broader collapse of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe followed.