NewsTracker Answers for week of Aug. 01, 2016

Q: Norway’s prime minister says the nation may give its neighbor Finland a pretty big gift for its 100th birthday – a mountain. Where are Norway and Finland?

Circle the area on this map

Q: A retired Norwegian mapping official urged Norway to move its border 65 feet to give Finland the peak of a mountain on the nations’ common border. Finland is on which side of that border?

A. North

B. South

C. East

D. West

B. The most northern and eastern section of Norway lies north of Finland above the Arctic Circle. While a spur on the mountain Halti is the tallest spot in Finland, the actual top of the mountain isn't in Finland. The tiny border change would give Finland the mountain top.

Q: The gift of the mountain peak would honor the 100th anniversary of Finland’s 1917 declaration of independence from its eastern neighbor . . .

A. Denmark

B. Estonia

C. Russia

D. Sweden

C. Finland declared independence on Dec. 6, 1917, after revolutions in Russia overthrew Tsar Nicholas II and the Bolshevik communists seized control of the country. Both Norway and Finland border Russia to the east.

Q: Both Norway and Finland were once ruled by Finland’s western neighbor . . .

A. Denmark

B. Estonia

C. Prussia

D. Sweden

D. Swedish kings conquered Finland during 12th and 13th centuries. After serving as a battleground between Sweden and Russia during the 1700s, Finland was taken over by Russia in 1809 and became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire. Norway was ruled by Sweden from 1814 until its independence in 1905.

Q: Which of these Nordic languages is most different from the others?

A. Danish

B. Finnish

C. Norwegian

D. Swedish

B. The North Germanic languages Danish, Norwegian and Swedish are considered mutually intelligible. Finnish is a Uralic language similar to Estonian. But Finland is officially bilingual, and Swedish is a mandatory subject in its schools. Finnish is an official minority language in Sweden.