70. Which is described in the examination as the first programmable general-purpose computer in the world?
[SSC CHSL Tier-I, 4 July 2024, Shift 2]
- (A) ENIAC
- (B) Napier’s bones
- (C) Pascaline
- (D) Mark I
Answer: (A) ENIAC
Explanation: ENIAC was an early electronic, general-purpose, programmable digital computer developed in the United States during the 1940s. While earlier machines were programmable in different senses, ENIAC is conventionally recognised for its pioneering electronic general-purpose computing capabilities.
69. Which country hosted the first FIFA World Cup?
[SSC CHSL Tier-I, 3 July 2024, Shift 4]
- (A) Italy
- (B) Brazil
- (C) Uruguay
- (D) France
Answer: (C) Uruguay
Explanation: Uruguay hosted the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930 and became its first champion, defeating Argentina in the final. The tournament featured thirteen national teams and established a global competition separate from football’s Olympic tournament.
68. Who became the first Indian wrestler to win a medal at a world championship?
[SSC CHSL Tier-I, 9 July 2024, Shift 3]
- (A) K. D. Jadhav
- (B) Udey Chand
- (C) Dara Singh
- (D) Malwa Singh
Answer: (B) Udey Chand
Explanation: Udey Chand won bronze at the 1961 World Wrestling Championships in Yokohama in the men’s freestyle 67-kilogram category. His achievement was India’s first medal at the wrestling world championships, distinct from earlier Indian Olympic wrestling medals.
67. Who was the first Indian woman to win an Under-20 World Wrestling Championship?
[SSC CGL Tier-I, 24 September 2024, Shift 3]
- (A) Antim Panghal
- (B) Priyanka Nayak
- (C) Swati Sanjay
- (D) Hina Khalifa
Answer: (A) Antim Panghal
Explanation: Antim Panghal won the women’s 53-kilogram gold medal at the Under-20 World Wrestling Championships in Sofia in 2022. She became the first Indian woman to win gold at that event, a major junior-level milestone in wrestling.
66. When and where did India win its first World Athletics Championships medal?
[SSC CGL Tier-I, 12 September 2024, Shift 3]
- (A) 2003, Germany
- (B) 2005, Finland
- (C) 2007, Japan
- (D) 2003, France
Answer: (D) 2003, France
Explanation: Anju Bobby George secured bronze in the women’s long jump at the 2003 World Athletics Championships in Paris, France. It was India’s first medal at the senior outdoor event and preceded Neeraj Chopra’s later gold medal.
65. Who was the first woman Nobel laureate and the only person awarded Nobels in two different natural sciences?
[WBPSC Miscellaneous 2023 Examination, held 15 September 2024]
- (A) Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin
- (B) Barbara McClintock
- (C) Marie Curie
- (D) Rosalind Franklin
Answer: (C) Marie Curie
Explanation: Marie Curie shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics and later received the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. She was the first woman Nobel laureate and remains renowned for receiving prizes in two different natural-science disciplines.
64. Who was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest?
[WBPSC Miscellaneous 2023 Examination, held 15 September 2024]
- (A) Bachendri Pal
- (B) Sudipta Sengupta
- (C) Junko Tabei
- (D) Melissa Arnot
Answer: (C) Junko Tabei
Explanation: Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei reached Everest’s summit on 16 May 1975, becoming the first woman to do so. She later completed the Seven Summits, climbing the highest peaks of all seven continents.
63. Who was the first woman to travel into space?
[Indian Navy INCET, 3 February 2024, Set 3]
- (A) Valentina Tereshkova
- (B) Tamara Press
- (C) Sally Ride
- (D) Nadia Comăneci
Answer: (A) Valentina Tereshkova
Explanation: Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space on 16 June 1963. She flew solo aboard Vostok 6 and completed forty-eight Earth orbits, several decades before female astronauts became more common.
62. Which company developed Sophia, commonly described as the first robot granted citizenship?
[UP Police Assistant Operator, 2 February 2024, Shift 1]
- (A) UBTech Robotics
- (B) Yitu Technology
- (C) Hanson Robotics
- (D) SpaceX
Answer: (C) Hanson Robotics
Explanation: Sophia was created by Hanson Robotics and made headlines when Saudi Arabia announced citizenship for the humanoid robot in 2017. This was a symbolic publicity milestone rather than evidence that robots have citizenship rights equivalent to human beings.
61. Which country first proposed a dedicated tax on agricultural emissions as part of its 2050 climate goals?
[APPSC Group-I Prelims, 17 March 2024, Paper II]
- (A) New Zealand
- (B) Mexico
- (C) Brazil
- (D) Argentina
Answer: (A) New Zealand
Explanation: New Zealand proposed a system to price greenhouse-gas emissions from agricultural production, including methane from livestock. The proposal sought to align a major economic sector with national emissions targets, although policy details and subsequent political decisions changed.
