NewsTracker Answers for week of July 09, 2018

Q: In a daring underwater escape, rescue divers lead 12 boys and their soccer coach through the flood waters that had trapped them inside a large cave complex in northern Thailand. Where is the Southeast Asian nation of Thailand?

Circle the area on this map


Q: A planned outing after a soccer practice led the boys aged 11 to 16 to become trapped by rising water in the cave near Thailand’s border with its northwestern neighbor . . .

A. Cambodia

B. China

C. Malaysia

D. Myanmar


D. Myanmar, also known as Burma, borders Thailand on the north and west. Thailand is bordered to the north and east by Laos; to the southeast by Cambodia; and to south by Malaysia.


Q: Rescuers raced against time and the seasonal rains that could have kept the boys trapped for months. What are these rains called?

A. Derecho

B. Haboob

C. Monsoon

D. Typhoon


C. Asia’s monsoon rains are caused by the seasonal reversal of prevailing winds which bring moisture-laden air from the ocean onto the land. A derecho is a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm. A haboob is an intense dust storm, and a typhoon is a severe tropical storm in the northwestern Pacific.


Q: The 25-year-old assistant soccer coach helped to keep the boys calm during their long ordeal. He was trained in which religion that is followed by most Thais?

A. Buddhism

B. Christianity

C. Hinduism

D. Islam


A. According to the 2010 census, 93.5 percent of the nation’s people identify themselves as Buddhists, 4.9 percent as Muslim, 1.2 percent as Christian and 0.06 percent as Hindu. The assistant coach used his training as a former novice Buddhist monk to help the team stay calm through meditation.


Q: Like most frequently occurring caves, the Tham Luang cave complex was carved out of limestone by the flow of slightly acidic water over thousands of years. Limestone was created by . . .

A. Volcanic eruptions

B. Dead sea creatures

C. Dead land plants and animals

D. Deposits of mud and sand


B. Limestone is a sedimentary rock, composed mainly of skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, forams and molluscs.