The Universe & Sports and Entertainment
One last space section, then the fun chapter — sport slang, star nicknames, national sports, and cricket's greatest firsts.
3.8 The Universe
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Constellation representing an archer | Sagittarius |
| Brightest star | Sirius |
| Days the Moon takes to circle the Earth | 27.3 days |
| Hottest planet | Venus |
| Biggest volcano in the solar system | Mars (Olympus Mons) |
| Fastest spinning planet | Jupiter |
| The Red Planet | Mars |
| What makes Neptune cobalt blue | Liquid methane |
| Who discovered Pluto | Clyde Tombaugh |
| Pluto's moon | Charon |
Mars is the Red Planet (iron oxide/rust on its surface) — AND separately, Mars has the biggest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons. Don't assume "biggest" always means Jupiter — read each question carefully!
Hottest: Venus (NOT Mercury — Venus's thick atmosphere traps heat like a greenhouse). Fastest spinning: Jupiter. Biggest volcano: Mars. Brightest star: Sirius. The Moon's 27.3 days orbit number is worth learning on its own — it gets asked in different forms.
On 20 July 1969, US astronauts Neil Armstrong, followed by Edwin Aldrin, became the first men to walk on the Moon.
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space on 12 April 1961.
In summer, the sun on Uranus does not set for 20 years.
4.1 Name the Game
New chapter — Sports and Entertainment! Each row lists slang terms used inside one sport — spot even one familiar word and you can guess the sport.
| Terms used in this sport | Sport |
|---|---|
| chester, floater, jump serve, trap set | Volleyball |
| mark, grubber, goosestep, place kick | Rugby |
| feather weight, light weight, fly weight | Weight lifting |
| free kick, goal post, red card, tackle | Football |
| shuttlecock, drop shot, flick, kill, let | Badminton |
| angle shot, bank shot, cue, dead ball shot | Billiards |
| yellow flag, fishtail, full bore, nerf | Motor racing |
| bank shot, clear-out, crossover dribble, dunk | Basketball |
| ace, advantage, backspin, deuce | Tennis |
| bye, hook, pull, cut, dead ball, declaration | Cricket |
| tee, birdie, bogey, eagle, bunker | Golf |
| anchor, bull's eye, robin hood, round | Archery |
Billiards also has cue and angle shot (table/cue words). Basketball also has dunk and crossover dribble (hoop/dribbling words) — use the other terms in the group to tell them apart.
shuttlecock = badminton (only one sport uses this word). ace/deuce = tennis. birdie/bogey = golf. bye/declaration = cricket's unique scoring terms.
4.2 Nicknames
Twelve sports legends and their nicknames — one of the most fun sections in the whole book!
| Sports hero | Nickname | Sport / why |
|---|---|---|
| Kapil Dev | Haryana Hurricane | Cricket — from Haryana, fast bowling all-rounder |
| Sunil Gavaskar | Little Master | Cricket — small in height, master batsman |
| Sachin Tendulkar | Master Blaster | Cricket — powerful, masterful batting |
| Rahul Dravid | Jammy | Cricket — a personal/team nickname |
| Shoaib Akhtar | Rawalpindi Express | Cricket — Pakistan's fastest bowler, from Rawalpindi |
| Harbhajan Singh | Bhajji | Cricket — shortened surname |
| Donald Bradman | Bowral Wonder | Cricket — from Bowral, Australia; greatest batting average ever |
| Clive Lloyd | Supercat | Cricket — West Indies captain, cat-like fielding |
| P. T. Usha | Payolli Express | Athletics — from Payolli, Kerala; India's fastest sprinter |
| Dhyan Chand | Hockey Wizard | Hockey — greatest hockey player ever |
| Milkha Singh | Flying Sikh | Athletics — India's greatest sprinter |
| Pele | Black Pearl | Football — Brazilian football legend |
Named after home place: Kapil Dev (Haryana), Shoaib Akhtar (Rawalpindi), Donald Bradman (Bowral), P. T. Usha (Payolli). Named after playing style: Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Clive Lloyd. Shortened name: Harbhajan Singh → Bhajji, Rahul Dravid → Jammy. Non-cricketers: Dhyan Chand (hockey), Milkha Singh (athletics), Pele (football), P.T. Usha (athletics).
Rawalpindi Express = Shoaib Akhtar (fast bowling). Payolli Express = P. T. Usha (fast running). Same word, two totally different sports.
4.3 National Sports
Many countries have their own national sport — some obvious, some surprising.
| Sport | Country |
|---|---|
| Alpine skiing | Austria |
| Archery | Bhutan |
| Basketball | Philippines |
| Cycling | Belgium |
| Baseball | U.S.A. |
| Buzkashi (a horse-riding game) | Afghanistan |
| Lacrosse | Canada |
| Dragon boat racing | Hong Kong |
| Hurling | Ireland |
| Table tennis | China |
| Ice hockey | Finland |
Cold-weather: Alpine skiing→Austria, Cycling→Belgium. Horse/bow: Archery→Bhutan, Buzkashi→Afghanistan. Bat/ball American-style: Baseball→U.S.A., Basketball→Philippines. Stick-and-ball field: Lacrosse→Canada, Hurling→Ireland. Water: Dragon boat racing→Hong Kong.
Baseball is the national sport of the U.S.A. Basketball, though invented in the USA, is listed as the national sport of the Philippines — a common trick question.
4.4 Firsts in Cricket
Seven cricket "firsts" — notice how many are Indian!
| Player | First to… |
|---|---|
| Courtney Walsh | First to take 500 wickets in Test Cricket. |
| Jim Laker | First to take all ten wickets in a single Test innings. |
| Sunil Gavaskar | First cricketer in the world to make 10,000 runs in Test Cricket. |
| Chetan Sharma | First player to take a hat-trick in World Cup Cricket history. |
| Clive Lloyd | First captain to lead his team to two successive World Cup wins. |
| F. M. Engineer | First Indian to receive a Man of the Match award in the World Cup. |
| Polly Umrigar | First Indian to score a Test double century. |
Sunil Gavaskar (first to 10,000 Test runs — you know him from 4.2 too!), Chetan Sharma (first World Cup hat-trick), F. M. Engineer, and Polly Umrigar are all Indian. The rest — Courtney Walsh, Jim Laker, Clive Lloyd — are international records. Gavaskar and Lloyd both also appear in 4.2 Nicknames — reused names save you learning!
Practice like the real exam
(b) Venus
Clyde Tombaugh
Badminton
Pele
False — baseball is the U.S.A.'s national sport; basketball is the Philippines'.
(a) Clive Lloyd
Polly Umrigar
You did it! 🎉
🏁 GK Chapter 3 · Sections 3.8–4.4 · Niyati, Class 6