1. Why was Bandura in the news this year?

   1. He was banned from cricket for six years for match fixing

   2. It was taken over by German banks to stabilise the Greek economy

   3. It was the winning word in the final of the national Scrabble championships

   4. He won the Kentucky Derby

2. What was “Water’s Reach” renamed this year?

   1. Nelson Mandela House

   2. Sir Alex Ferguson Way

   3. The Katherine Grainger Rowing Centre

   4. The Margaret Thatcher Memorial Hospital

3. Why was Bergoglio in the news this year?

   1. She was Aleksandr the Meerkat’s new love interest

   2. It became the world’s most expensive cocktail, available at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, for just $8,000 a glass

   3. He became pope

   4. It was the centre of a modern-day gold rush as vast uranium deposits were discovered on its outskirts

4. Why would you have met American Michael De Santa for the first time this year?

   1. It’s the name of one of the three playable characters in Grand Theft Auto 5

   2. He’s the new US ambassador to Hungary who had never visited Europe before

   3. It was the name used by US clothing firm American Apparel as it tried to rebrand Father Christmas

   4. It was the pseudonym used by Cliff Richard to try to get his new single played by Radio 1

5. Why was Chelyabinsk in the news this year?

   1. They were the band who won the first ever Iraqi X Factor

   2. He signed for Aston Villa despite being invented by student pranksters

   3. She won the Kentucky Derby

   4. It was hit by a meteor

6. What was Quintana?

   1. He was the winner of the King of the Mountains jersey at the Tour de France

   2. It was the first English sparkling wine to win a gold medal at the International Wine Challenge

   3. It was the brand new galaxy discovered by a 12-year-old Leicestershire schoolgirl

   4. Nigella’s middle name

7. How did Leon and June become famous this year?

   1. They were Brisbane Zoo’s first successful mating pandas

   2. They watched the week’s TV for us on Channel 4’s Gogglebox

   3. They were the codenames for two US drones shot down over Syria

   4. They were announced as the mascots for the 2014 Commonwealth Games

8. How did Rainbow Picnic Pie come to prominence?

   1. It was Peter Andre’s comeback album which failed to crack the charts, prompting him to “retire from music”

   2. It was Frances Quinn’s signature bake when she won The Great British Bake Off

   3. She was Jamie Oliver’s new daughter

   4. It was withdrawn from sale after being found to contain up to 75% horse meat

9. Who was Robert Galbraith?

   1. He was the first man to have sex in space

   2. She was a bassett hound who won best of breed at Crufts

   3. He was the author of The Cuckoo’s Calling, and was later revealed to be JK Rowling

   4. He lost the title of world’s oldest man when investigators discovered he wasn’t 115, he was 87

10. Why did Orb feature in the Guardian this year?

    1. It was part of a vast CIA surveillance programme exposed by Edward Snowden

    2. It was the newly formed Office with Responsibility for Badgers

    3. It was the original name of Katy Perry’s new perfume before it was discovered to be an extraordinarily rude word in Spanish

    4. He won the Kentucky Derby

11. 

    A painting of Lucian Freud was sold at auction for over $142m in November. What would you associate it with?

    1. Sausages

    2. Pork chops

    3. Bacon

    4. Lamb shanks

12. Which month of 2013 was the longest?

    1. January

    2. May

    3. October

    4. December

13. 

    In the huge 2013 viral hit song What Does the Fox Say?, what is the first thing the fox does actually say?

    1. Blapp Brapp Bipp Babbarap Bapp Bipp

    2. Ring Ding Ding Ding Dingeringeding

    3. Joff Tchoff Tchoffo Tchoffo Tchoff

    4. Wa Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa Pow

14. What did Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards win this year?

    1. £1.9m on the Euromillions lottery

    2. A celebrity high-diving TV show

    3. A Taunton council seat on behalf of Ukip

    4. A libel case against a Canadian winter sports magazine

15. Which of the following films was NOT one of the top 10 grossing movies of 2013?

    1. Hangover 3

    2. Despicable Me 2

    3. Gravity

    4. Iron Man 3

16. Only one of these is a country. Which one?

    1. New Caledonia

    2. Papua New Guinea

    3. Guam

    4. Cook Islands

17. Only one of these is a British city. Which one?

    1. Middlesbrough

    2. Brechin

    3. Coleraine

    4. Chelmsford

18. 

    Only one of these men has won a best actor Oscar. Which one?

    1. Leonardo DiCaprio

    2. Johnny Depp

    3. Liam Neeson

    4. Denzel Washington

19. And only one of these women has won a best actress Oscar. Which one?

    1. Sandra Bullock

    2. Glenn Close

    3. Julianne Moore

    4. Sigourney Weaver

20. I’m assuming you get the idea of this round by now. Which one of these songs was a Christmas No 1 single?

    1. Last Christmas by Wham

    2. Fairytale of New York by The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl

    3. Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin’ Stevens

    4. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday by Wizzard

21. 

    Which of these facts about the 1982 film version of Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman is true?

    1. David Bowie introduced the US version

    2. Aled Jones sang on its soundtrack

    3. Fungus the Bogeyman can be spotted in an upstairs window during the flying scene

    4. Nick Park was one of the junior animators on the project

22. What was special about Blackpool’s festive fixture against Blackburn Rovers in 1965

    1. The stadium’s new floodlights caused the Blackpool illuminations to go out

    2. The winning goal was scored by S Claus

    3. It was the last ever English league match to be played on Christmas Day

    4. It was the first occasion on which an orange ball was used

23. 

    According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the birthplace of St Nicholas was in which modern-day country?

    1. Russia

    2. Turkey

    3. Finland

    4. Belarus

24. Which scientist, born on Christmas Day, was once a member of parliament whose only recorded speech in Hansard involves asking a fellow MP if he could shut a window?

    1. Charles Darwin

    2. Edmund Halley

    3. Humphrey Davy

    4. Isaac Newton

25. 

    And finally, but most importantly, which of these chocolate bars is not represented in your massive Christmas tin of Celebrations?

    1. Twirl

    2. Twix

    3. Snickers

    4. Bounty

Solutions

1:C, 2:B, 3:C, 4:A, 5:D, 6:A, 7:B, 8:B, 9:C, 10:D, 11:C, 12:C, 13:B, 14:B, 15:A, 16:B, 17:D, 18:D, 19:A, 20:C, 21:A, 22:C, 23:B, 24:D, 25:A

Scores

1. 0 and above.

   No doubt you're a well-balanced, well-read individual – but your trivia knowledge is not up to scratch. Why not spend Christmas reading random Wikipedia entries?

2. 8 and above.

   Hmm, not bad – but a bit more aimless surfing in 2014 definitely wouldn't do you any harm.

3. 16 and above.

   Impressive … but true mastery of trivia is still eluding you. A little more cyberslacking is definitely required in the new year.

4. 21 and above.

   Congratulations on another wasted year. Your trivia knowledge is truly outstanding. Either you're a student or Alexander Armstrong