NewsTracker Answers for week of Apr 11, 2011

Q: Customs officials in Thailand have seized 1,800 protected lizards said to be destined to be sold as food. Where is Thailand?

Circle the area on this map


Q: One Thai customs official suggested the Bengal monitor lizards were destined for Chinese kitchens. China is . . .

A. North of Thailand

B. East of Thailand

C. South of Thailand

D. West of Thailand


A. China is north of Thailand but it does not border the country. The Thai customs official said the three-foot-long lizards "are from Malaysia and transported through southern Thailand and north-eastern Laos to China for eating." Lizard meat is valuable and seen as a delicacy in parts of Asia.


Q: The Bengal monitors are related to other members of the monitor family, including the world's largest lizard, the Komodo dragon. Where are Komodo dragons found?

A. Thailand

B. Malaysia

C. Indonesia

D. Only in zoos


C. The lizards are found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili, Motang and Gili Dasami. They can grow to a maximum length of about 10 feet and weigh up to 150 pounds. Like Bengal monitors, Komodos are a protected species.


Q: Before it became Thailand, the country was known as . . .

A. Tonkin

B. Bengal

C. Ceylon

D. Siam


D. The name was changed to Thailand in 1939. It is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. All of its neighbors were once ruled by either France or the British Empire.


Q: A revolution in 1932 left Thailand with what form of government?

A. Absolute monarchy

B. Military dictatorship

C. Constitutional monarchy

D. Democratic republic


C. A bloodless revolution forced the king of Siam to grant the people a constitution, ending centuries of absolute monarchy. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the ninth king of the House of Chakri, has reigned since 1946, making him the world's longest-serving current head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history.