WSC 2025 Questions And Answers With Verified
Solutions
Is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-
American villager in colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Dutchmen, imbibes
their strong liquor and falls deeply asleep in the Catskill Mountains. He awakes 20 years later to a very
changed world, having missed the American Revolution ANS Rip Van Winkle
Slice of life is a depiction of mundane experiences. In theater, slice of life refers to naturalism, while in
literary parlance it is a narrative technique in which a seemingly arbitrary sequence of events in a
character's life is presented, often lacking plot development, conflict, and exposition, as well as often
having an open ending. ANS Slice of life
Moore's law is the observation that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) doubles
approximately every two years. It is not a law of physics but an empirical relationship based on historical
trends. It is a type of experience-curve law, which quantifies efficiency improvements in production over
time. ANS Moore's law
A megaproject is an extremely large-scale construction and investment project. They are characterised by:
large investment commitment, vast complexity, and long-lasting impact on the economy, the environment,
and society.
They are projects that can reach multi-billion budgets (over $35 million), and have a high level of
innovation and complexity, and are affected by a number of techno-socio-economic and organizational
challenges. ANS A megaproject
The Big Dig was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the then elevated Central Artery of Interstate 93
that cut across Boston into the O'Neill Tunnel and built the Ted Williams Tunnel to extend Interstate 90 to
Logan International Airport.
Planning for the project began in 1982; the construction work was carried out between 1991 and 2006;
and concluded on December 31, 2007.
The Big Dig was the most expensive highway project in the United States, and was plagued by cost
overruns, delays, leaks, design flaws, accusations of poor execution and use of substandard materials,
criminal charges and arrests. The project was originally scheduled to be completed in 1998 at an
estimated cost of $2.8 billion ($7.4 billion in 2020).However, the project was completed in December
2007 at a cost of over $8.08 billion in 1982 ($21.5 billion in 2020). ANS Big Dig
,The Channel Tunnel is a 50.46 km undersea railway tunnel, opened in 1994, that connects Folkestone
(England) with Coquelles (France). It is the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and the
European mainland.
At 37.9 km, it has the longest underwater section of any tunnel in the world. The tunnel carries high-
speed Eurostar passenger trains, LeShuttle services for road vehicles and freight trains. It connects end-to-
end with high-speed railway lines.
Plans for a cross-Channel tunnel date back to 1802 but were repeatedly delayed due to security concerns.
A failed attempt was made in the late 19th century. Construction finally began in 1988, led by Eurotunnel,
and the tunnel opened in 1994. Initially estimated at £5.5 billion in 1985, the final cost reached £9 billion
(£22.6 billion in 2023), making it the most expensive construction project of its time. ANS Channel
Tunnel
California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) is a publicly funded high-speed rail system being developed in
California by the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
Phase 1, about 795 km long, is planned to run from San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim via the
Central Valley, and is partially funded and under construction. It targets a nonstop travel time of 2 hours
and 40 minutes from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
A proposed Phase 2 would extend the system north to Sacramento and south to San Diego, for a total of
1,249 km.
The project was authorized by a 2008 statewide ballot to connect the state's major urban areas and reduce
intercity travel times.
California legislative overseers do not expect the 2 hr 40 min target will be achieved. (like the Canada
fiasko)The project has experienced significant delays and cost overruns caused by management issues,
legal challenges, and lack of a complete funding commitment. Construct ANS California High-Speed
Rail (CAHSR)
Sejong City is a special self-governing city and the de facto (describes practices that exist in reality,
regardless of the norm) administrative capital of South Korea.
Sejong was founded in 2007 as the new planned capital of South Korea from many parts of the South
Chungcheong Province to ease congestion in South Korea's current capital and largest city, Seoul, and
encourage investment in the country's central region. Sejong has a population of 351,007 as of 2020
making it the least-populous and smallest first-level administrative division in South Korea. The
construction of the city is expected to be completed in 2030, at which time 500,000 people are expected to
live there. ANS Sejong City
Hambantota is the main city in Hambantota District, Sri Lanka (an island). It's undergoing a number of
major development projects including the construction of a new sea port and international airport that
finished in 2013. These projects and others such as Hambantota Cricket Stadium are said to form part of
, the government's plan to transform Hambantota into the second major urban hub of Sri Lanka, away from
Colombo (the biggest city in Sri Lanka). ANS Hambantota
NEOM is an arcology and planned city being built by Saudi Arabia. Launched in 2017 by the crown
prince, the site is at the northern tip of the Red Sea, due east of Egypt across the Gulf of Aqaba and south
of Jordan. The total planned area of Neom is 26,500 km2. Multiple regions are planned, including a
floating industrial complex, global trade hub, tourist resorts, and a linear city powered by renewable
energy sources. Saudi Arabia claimed that NEOM would create around 460,000 jobs and add an estimated
$48 billion to the country's GDP.
Much of the city is hoped to be completed by 2039, though some experts have expressed skepticism about
the ambitions of the megaproject. The project's estimated costs exceed $1.5 trillion.
Neom's construction has also been criticised for environmental and human rights violations, with
expatriate employees describing abusive working conditions and members of the local Howeitat tribe pro
ANS NEOM
The Khazar Islands is a stalled development of artificial islands 25 km south of Baku, Azerbaijan
consisting of 41 islands extending 30 km2 into the Caspian Sea ANS Khazar Islands
The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River near Sandouping in
central China, downstream of the Three Gorges. The world's largest power station by installed capacity
(22,500 MW).
The dam's body was completed in 2006; the power plant became fully operational in 2012.
The dam increases the Yangtze River's shipping capacity and reduces the likelihood of flooding
downstream. As a result, the Chinese government regards the project as a monumental social and
economic success. However, it is controversial domestically and abroad. The dam's construction displaced
more than 31 million people and inundated ancient and culturally significant sites. In operation, the dam
has caused some ecological changes, including an increased risk of landslides. ANS Three Gorges
Dam
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) is a 55-kilometre bridge-tunnel system consisting of a
series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands. It is the longest sea
crossing in the world. The HZMB spans the Lingding and Jiuzhou channels, connecting Hong Kong and
Macau with Zhuhai—a major city on the Pearl River Delta in China.
The bridge was designed to last for 120 years and cost $18.8 billion to build. Originally set to be opened
to traffic in late 2016, it was opened on 24 October 2018. ANS Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge
(HZMB)
Solutions
Is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-
American villager in colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Dutchmen, imbibes
their strong liquor and falls deeply asleep in the Catskill Mountains. He awakes 20 years later to a very
changed world, having missed the American Revolution ANS Rip Van Winkle
Slice of life is a depiction of mundane experiences. In theater, slice of life refers to naturalism, while in
literary parlance it is a narrative technique in which a seemingly arbitrary sequence of events in a
character's life is presented, often lacking plot development, conflict, and exposition, as well as often
having an open ending. ANS Slice of life
Moore's law is the observation that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) doubles
approximately every two years. It is not a law of physics but an empirical relationship based on historical
trends. It is a type of experience-curve law, which quantifies efficiency improvements in production over
time. ANS Moore's law
A megaproject is an extremely large-scale construction and investment project. They are characterised by:
large investment commitment, vast complexity, and long-lasting impact on the economy, the environment,
and society.
They are projects that can reach multi-billion budgets (over $35 million), and have a high level of
innovation and complexity, and are affected by a number of techno-socio-economic and organizational
challenges. ANS A megaproject
The Big Dig was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the then elevated Central Artery of Interstate 93
that cut across Boston into the O'Neill Tunnel and built the Ted Williams Tunnel to extend Interstate 90 to
Logan International Airport.
Planning for the project began in 1982; the construction work was carried out between 1991 and 2006;
and concluded on December 31, 2007.
The Big Dig was the most expensive highway project in the United States, and was plagued by cost
overruns, delays, leaks, design flaws, accusations of poor execution and use of substandard materials,
criminal charges and arrests. The project was originally scheduled to be completed in 1998 at an
estimated cost of $2.8 billion ($7.4 billion in 2020).However, the project was completed in December
2007 at a cost of over $8.08 billion in 1982 ($21.5 billion in 2020). ANS Big Dig
,The Channel Tunnel is a 50.46 km undersea railway tunnel, opened in 1994, that connects Folkestone
(England) with Coquelles (France). It is the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and the
European mainland.
At 37.9 km, it has the longest underwater section of any tunnel in the world. The tunnel carries high-
speed Eurostar passenger trains, LeShuttle services for road vehicles and freight trains. It connects end-to-
end with high-speed railway lines.
Plans for a cross-Channel tunnel date back to 1802 but were repeatedly delayed due to security concerns.
A failed attempt was made in the late 19th century. Construction finally began in 1988, led by Eurotunnel,
and the tunnel opened in 1994. Initially estimated at £5.5 billion in 1985, the final cost reached £9 billion
(£22.6 billion in 2023), making it the most expensive construction project of its time. ANS Channel
Tunnel
California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) is a publicly funded high-speed rail system being developed in
California by the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
Phase 1, about 795 km long, is planned to run from San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim via the
Central Valley, and is partially funded and under construction. It targets a nonstop travel time of 2 hours
and 40 minutes from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
A proposed Phase 2 would extend the system north to Sacramento and south to San Diego, for a total of
1,249 km.
The project was authorized by a 2008 statewide ballot to connect the state's major urban areas and reduce
intercity travel times.
California legislative overseers do not expect the 2 hr 40 min target will be achieved. (like the Canada
fiasko)The project has experienced significant delays and cost overruns caused by management issues,
legal challenges, and lack of a complete funding commitment. Construct ANS California High-Speed
Rail (CAHSR)
Sejong City is a special self-governing city and the de facto (describes practices that exist in reality,
regardless of the norm) administrative capital of South Korea.
Sejong was founded in 2007 as the new planned capital of South Korea from many parts of the South
Chungcheong Province to ease congestion in South Korea's current capital and largest city, Seoul, and
encourage investment in the country's central region. Sejong has a population of 351,007 as of 2020
making it the least-populous and smallest first-level administrative division in South Korea. The
construction of the city is expected to be completed in 2030, at which time 500,000 people are expected to
live there. ANS Sejong City
Hambantota is the main city in Hambantota District, Sri Lanka (an island). It's undergoing a number of
major development projects including the construction of a new sea port and international airport that
finished in 2013. These projects and others such as Hambantota Cricket Stadium are said to form part of
, the government's plan to transform Hambantota into the second major urban hub of Sri Lanka, away from
Colombo (the biggest city in Sri Lanka). ANS Hambantota
NEOM is an arcology and planned city being built by Saudi Arabia. Launched in 2017 by the crown
prince, the site is at the northern tip of the Red Sea, due east of Egypt across the Gulf of Aqaba and south
of Jordan. The total planned area of Neom is 26,500 km2. Multiple regions are planned, including a
floating industrial complex, global trade hub, tourist resorts, and a linear city powered by renewable
energy sources. Saudi Arabia claimed that NEOM would create around 460,000 jobs and add an estimated
$48 billion to the country's GDP.
Much of the city is hoped to be completed by 2039, though some experts have expressed skepticism about
the ambitions of the megaproject. The project's estimated costs exceed $1.5 trillion.
Neom's construction has also been criticised for environmental and human rights violations, with
expatriate employees describing abusive working conditions and members of the local Howeitat tribe pro
ANS NEOM
The Khazar Islands is a stalled development of artificial islands 25 km south of Baku, Azerbaijan
consisting of 41 islands extending 30 km2 into the Caspian Sea ANS Khazar Islands
The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River near Sandouping in
central China, downstream of the Three Gorges. The world's largest power station by installed capacity
(22,500 MW).
The dam's body was completed in 2006; the power plant became fully operational in 2012.
The dam increases the Yangtze River's shipping capacity and reduces the likelihood of flooding
downstream. As a result, the Chinese government regards the project as a monumental social and
economic success. However, it is controversial domestically and abroad. The dam's construction displaced
more than 31 million people and inundated ancient and culturally significant sites. In operation, the dam
has caused some ecological changes, including an increased risk of landslides. ANS Three Gorges
Dam
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) is a 55-kilometre bridge-tunnel system consisting of a
series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands. It is the longest sea
crossing in the world. The HZMB spans the Lingding and Jiuzhou channels, connecting Hong Kong and
Macau with Zhuhai—a major city on the Pearl River Delta in China.
The bridge was designed to last for 120 years and cost $18.8 billion to build. Originally set to be opened
to traffic in late 2016, it was opened on 24 October 2018. ANS Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge
(HZMB)
