NewsTracker Answers for week of July 18, 2011

Q: The Deathly Hallows Part 2, the last film in the Harry Potter series, was released last week. Like all the Harry Potter tales, the action takes place in the United Kingdom (UK). Where is the UK?

Circle the area on this map

Q: In the Deathly Hallows, Voldemort takes control of the Ministry of Magic in an area of London recognized the center of government of the UK. What is the name of the area?

A. West End

B. Whitechapel

C. Whitehall

D. Diagon Alley

C. The Ministry connects the British government to the wizarding world. Its headquarters are deep underground Whitehall, a road running north from Parliament Square that is lined with Britain's top government offices.

Q: In the story, Voldemort and his followers besiege Harry and his friends at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hogwarts is located in which country on the northern part of the island of Great Britain?

A. Northern Ireland

B. Wales

C. Cornwall

D. Scotland

D. Wales and Cornwall are in the southwest, while Scotland covers the northern half of Great Britain. According to author J.K. Rowling, Hogwarts has numerous charms and spells on and around it that make it impossible for a Muggle to locate it.

Q: Part of the Deathly Hallows takes place in Gringotts, the only known bank of the wizarding world. What is known as the real financial center in the UK?

A. City of London

B. Londonderry

C. Fleet Street

D. Wall Street

A. The City of London is a historic square mile area around which Greater London has grown up. The business center known as The City ranks above New York's Wall Street district as the leading center of global finance.

Q: Rowling completed the final Harry Potter book while staying at a hotel in Edinburgh, the capital of . . .

A. England

B. Scotland

C. Northern Ireland

D. Germany

B. The flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is known as the Union Jack. It consists of the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England), edged in white, superimposed on the Cross of St Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), which are superimposed on the Saltire of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland).