It’s time to see how much attention you’ve been paying to the news in the past week or so. From The Oklahoman’s news copy editors and designers, here’s a quiz:
1. Meteorologists don’t know why, but 2008 is already the deadliest tornado year in the U.S. since 1998 and is on track to have a record number of twisters. The number of tornadoes is approaching:
a) 12.
b) 120.
c) 1,200.
2. Pakistan’s deposed chief justice said officials who were involved in President Pervez Musharraf’s ouster of judges would be:
a) “Punished,” but praised lawyers’ “sacrifices.”
b) “Re-educated,” so they’ll know better next time.
c) “Fired,” and they’ll have to find real jobs.
3. Sand Springs fourth-graders wrote to President Bush to ask him to:
a) Make a larger effort to lower gas prices.
b) Give the Medal of Honor to Sand Springs native Billie Hall, a soldier who died in Vietnam.
c) Increase the availability of scholarships.
4. Oklahoma leads the nation in structurally deficient bridges. Nearly one-quarter need to be:
a) Replaced or overhauled.
b) Raised, so new, taller trucks can go underneath.
c) Rerouted, so traffic goes around obstructions.
5. The biggest expense for car owners is:
a) Fuel. It’s 30 percent.
b) Parking fees.
c) Oil changes and other maintenance
6. This percentage of American homes have wireless phones — but no land line:
a) 5.8 percent.
b) 15.8 percent.
c) 25.8 percent.
7. Recent research on deep brain stimulation, or the use of brain pacemakers, shows promise in:
a) Treating depression.
b) Saving stroke patients.
c) Raising test scores; a little jolt in the morning makes you smarter.
8. Scientists have found seven promising ways to repel these:
a) Mosquitoes, as they can spread West Nile virus and other diseases.
b) Fat cells, as too many can lead to heart disease.
c) High fuel bills, as too many of these may result in stroke.
9. As the summer smog season approaches, the state Department of Environmental Quality is trying to convince Oklahomans air pollution:
a) Isn’t just an urban problem.
b) Is just an urban problem.
c) Doesn’t exist.
10. The Oklahoma Health Care Authority is using this to cut down on emergency room visits:
a) Tracking Medicaid patients’ emergency room use.
b) Asking local hospitals to send people home when they aren’t really sick.
c) Billing people for a larger portion of hospital care.
11. Which of these is a “green-collar” job?
a) A soldier wearing woodlands camouflage.
b) Anyone working an environmentally friendly job.
c) Anyone wearing a green shirt.
12. The percentage of children who are this appears to have leveled off after 25 years of increases:
a) Overweight.
b) Smokers.
c) B-students.
13. Oklahoma has the third-highest rate of this in the nation:
a) Per capita gasoline use, with an average commute of 17.8 minutes in Oklahoma City.
b) Consumption of double cheeseburgers.
c) Incarceration, with more than 60,000 people in Oklahoma’s correctional system.
14. One-quarter of Americans have never known life without:
a) MySpace.
b) Pie for breakfast.
c) A Clinton in the White House or trying to get there.
15. In 2007, the number of post-traumatic stress syndrome cases has:
a) Grown 50 percent, to nearly 40,000 since 2003.
b) Doubled
c) Declined.
16. An Oklahoma City ophthalmologist has been implanting tiny shunts in patients’ eyes to treat:
a) Cataracts.
b) Pinkeye.
c) Glaucoma.
17. How much pension is former state Sen. Gene Stipe eligible to receive after a state Supreme Court ruling?
a) $1 a month.
b) $742 a month.
c) $7,042 a month.
18. Because of high gas prices, two brothers have decided to close this Oklahoma City business:
a) A drivers’ education school.
b) A full-service gas station on NW 50.
c) A 22-year-old trucking company.
19. What did NASA rush to get on board the space shuttle Discovery?
a) Peanut butter sandwiches.
b) Spare parts for the oxygen generator.
c) A toilet pump.
20. Former U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts Jr. is planning to start a cable news network for:
a) Black Americans.
b) Conservative Republicans.
c) Fans of University of Oklahoma football.
How did you do on the quiz? Here are the correct answers:
1-C; 2-A; 3-B; 4-A; 5-A; 6-B; 7-A; 8-A; 9-A; 10-A; 11-B; 12-A; 13-C; 14-C; 15-A; 16-C; 17-C; 18-B; 19-C; 20-A.