Quick, Recite the 50 Capitals

Which river flows through New England--the Connecticut or Delaware? What large lake borders Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania? Urdu and English are the principal languages of what Asian country? If you know the answers, you at least may be able to hold your own with the 55 fourth-to-eighth-grade finalists of the national geographic bee in Washington next Tuesday and Wednesday.

This is the 13th annual contest since an opinion survey revealed that young American adults had a deplorable grasp of geography. Nearly 5 million students have participated in local and state contests to select the finalists. The competition, patterned after the traditional spelling bee, is sponsored by the National Geographic Society.

The society says the annual contest has helped spark interest in geography. One sign is that the College Board now offers an advanced placement geography course in high schools. A better sign would be a requirement of basic geography for every student.

The answers to the questions above, taken from past years’ contests, are the Connecticut River, Lake Victoria and Pakistan. Those who wish, or dare, to match knowledge with the finalists can watch the championship Wednesday on the National Geographic television channel. The finals will also be broadcast later on public television stations.

Now, can you name the most populous city in Mauritania? No? Look it up.