TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you're given a question, along with three passages, 1, 2, and 3. Your job is to determine which passage can be used to answer the question by searching for further information using terms from the passage. Indicate your choice as 1, 2, or 3.
PROBLEM: Question: How long had Ronald Reagan been President of the United States when the Falklands war began? Passage 1:The Union for Democratic Renewal (Union pour la Renouveau Démocratique) was a coalition of political parties in the Republic of the Congo. The coalition was led by Bernard Kolélas, who was also the leader of the coalition's largest party, the Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development (MCDDI). The URD parties supported the transitional government of Prime Minister André Milongo (1991–1992) and opposed the National Alliance for Democracy (AND), which included the Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (UPADS) and the Congolese Labour Party (PCT). In the parliamentary election held in June–July 1992, the AND parties won a slight majority of seats in the National Assembly and UPADS leader Pascal Lissouba was victorious over Kolélas in the August 1992 presidential election.
 Passage 2:He graduated from the University of Damascus in 1923 with a degree in law, and joined the city government in 1925. At this time he also actively ran his family's estates throughout the country. In the 1930s, he became close associates with leading members of the anti-French National Bloc coalition such as future presidents Hashim al-Atassi and Shukri al-Kuwatli. He remained a longtime supporter of the former, but often quarreled with the latter, whom he accused of being too authoritarian. In 1941 the French appointed him Prime Minister and Acting President, having had no success in finding a viable candidate since the resignation of the nationalist Atassi in 1939. However he was replaced 5 months later with a French loyalist, Taj al-Din al-Hasani. Azm served repeatedly in parliament and in the cabinet from 1943 to 1947. He became a focus of opposition when he resigned from the cabinet in 1945 and lead the forces opposed to Kuwatli's drive to amend the constitution to allow himself a second term in office. Kuwatli prevailed, and Azm ran against him in 1947 and lost. However he accepted the position of envoy to France and served in that capacity for a year. He concluded successful arms purchases from France and later from the Soviet Union. In May 1948, Azm agreed to form a multi-party cabinet under Kuwatli which served until March 1949. He allied himself with France and the United States and attempted to obtain loans from them for domestic development. He traveled frequently to attend United Nations assemblies on the Palestinian problem. Azm clashed with members of the military, especially Chief of Staff Husni al-Za'im. The latter launched a coup d'état on 29 March 1949 and imprisoned both Azm and president Kuwatli. When Za'im was overthrown five months later, Azm returned to parliament as deputy for Damascus and became minister of finance. He was also elected into the Constituent Assembly that drafted a new constitution for Syria. He became Prime Minister again under Hashim al-Atassi's second administration, in June 1950, heading three cabinets between then and 1951. Azm closed the border to Lebanese goods in an attempt to prevent the crash of domestic Syrian industry due to rampant Lebanese imports. He also clashed repeatedly with the military because he refused to appoint officers in any of his cabinets, and always reserved the defense portfolio for himself. He also clashed with pro-Hashemite elements in Syrian politics that advocated union with Iraq. Socialists distrusted him because of his aristocratic and wealthy Ottoman background. Azm left the public arena from 1951 to 1954 in protest over the coup of Adib al-Shishakli which toppled Atassi's democratic administration.
 Passage 3:On December 1, 1981, United States President Ronald Reagan signed a presidential finding which authorized covert operations in Nicaragua. This plan initially called for the U.S. government to cooperate with the Argentinian government, which was already engaged in a similar operation, to train and fund an existing terrorist group in Nicaragua known as the Contras. The Contras also contributed to drug dealing in the US and brought a lot of crack cocaine. A reporter for the San Jose Mercury News proved the connection between the crack epidemic and the Contras. Initially the Contras were a group of republican guard members from the old Somoza regime ousted by the Sandinistas after the revolutionary conflict. Later, through the recruitment efforts of the CIA, the group became supplemented by mercenary guerrillas and was extensively trained by the CIA. Eventually, due to the U.S. alliance with Great Britain during the Falklands war, Argentina withdrew support for these programs and the CIA had to relocate their training sites to Honduras.


SOLUTION: 3

PROBLEM: Question: Who was the producer of Junoon's third album? Passage 1:Also in 1764, while Uthman was leading the annual Hajj pilgrimage, he had a violent confrontation with Ali Bey al-Kabir, an influential mamluk from Egypt. When Ali Bey was exiled by the governor of Egypt to Gaza (part of Damascus Eyalet) in 1766, Uthman attempted to drive him out. Uthman managed to have his son, Darwish Pasha, appointed as the governor of Sidon in November 1770 and sometime prior to that, had his other son, Muhammad Pasha, appointed as governor of Tripoli. In 1771, Ali Bey, by now the rebellious governor of Egypt, had dispatched an army under commanders Abu al-Dahab and Ismail Bey to subdue Damascus. Together with Zahir, the combined armies of Egypt and Palestine defeated Uthman's army outside of Damascus and Uthman fled north to the city of Homs. The city fell shortly thereafter, although they did not capture the Citadel of Damascus, which was subsequently besieged. However, Abu al-Dahab suddenly withdrew from the area, citing his fears of violating Islamic principles since seizing an Ottoman province was in effect a direct challenge to the authority of the Ottoman sultan, who held the highest religious honor as the caliph of Islam.
 Passage 2:John Michael Drew (17 October 1865 – 17 July 1947) was an Australian politician who served as a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for 41 years in two separate terms between 1900 and his death in 1947. Born at Wanerenooka, Northampton, Western Australia, Drew established and edited several newspapers circulating in the Geraldton region before entering politics. A strong opponent of federation, he was elected to the Legislative Council in 1900. Nominally independent, Drew aligned himself with the Labor Party, and served in several Labor ministries during the early 1900s, in positions such as Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Lands, and Colonial Secretary. He officially joined the party in 1911, having been admitted to caucus sittings the previous year. During World War I, Drew supported conscription, but this issue, coupled with the ineffectual Scaddan Ministry, led to him losing his seat at the 1918 election. He regained his seat at the 1924 election, and subsequently served as chief secretary of the party, as well as Minister for Education, Health, and the North-West. Drew died of cancer in 1947, and was buried at Karrakatta Cemetery.
 Passage 3:Pioneers of Sufi rock with an original sound, they achieved success during the early 1990s. Its members were signed to major record label EMI Records and afterwards released their self-titled debut album Junoon in 1991. After two years, the band recorded their second album Talaash (1993) with their new bassist Brian O'Connell after Nusrat Hussain left the band. The release of their second album began to create a cult following for the band. In 1996, Junoon released their third album Inquilaab, and it was only then that Junoon developed a nationwide fan following, with blending rock guitars and bluesy vocals with Eastern elements like the use of tablas, raga-inspired melodies, traditional Pakistani folk music, and Eastern-inspired poetry. The following year, the band recorded the critically acclaimed Azadi (1997), being the band's first international record deal, and making it Junoon's debut album in neighbouring India. The band went on to record and release Parvaaz in 1999. The band found renewed success and popularity starting with 2001's Andaz and through 2003's Dewaar and their supporting tours. Junoon celebrated their 25th anniversary by releasing their eighth studio album titled Door in 2016.


SOLUTION: 3

PROBLEM: Question: Did the unit Poindexter was assigned to at Miramer following his training fight in the Vietnam War? Passage 1:Poindexter was commissioned in the United States Navy following graduation from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1986. After a short period of service at the Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel Facility, Naval Surface Weapons Center, White Oak, Maryland, Poindexter reported for flight training in Pensacola, Florida. He was designated a Naval Aviator in 1988 and reported to Fighter Squadron 124 (VF-124), Naval Air Station Miramar, California, for transition to the F-14 Tomcat. Following his initial training, Poindexter was assigned to Fighter Squadron 211 (VF-211), also at Miramar, and made two deployments to the Persian Gulf during Operations Desert Storm and Southern Watch. During his second deployment in 1993, he was selected to attend the Naval Postgraduate School/U.S. Naval Test Pilot School Cooperative Program. Following graduation in December 1995, Poindexter was assigned as a test pilot and Project Officer at VX-23, the Naval Strike Aircraft Test Squadron (NSATS) at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. While at NSATS, Poindexter was assigned as the lead test pilot for the F-14 Digital Flight Control System where he logged the first carrier landing and catapult launch of an F-14 with the upgraded flight controls. He also flew numerous high angle of attack/departure tests, weapons separation tests and carrier suitability trials. Following his tour at Patuxent River, Poindexter reported to Fighter Squadron 32 (VF-32) at NAS Oceana, Virginia, where he was serving as a department head when he was selected for astronaut training.
 Passage 2:In December 1942 the Corps gained a Guards title and became the 3rd Guards Mechanised Corps. It fought at the Battle of Kursk as part of Steppe Front. In June 1944, for Operation Bagration, it was assigned to Chernyakhovsky's 3rd Belorussian Front as part of a Cavalry Mechanized Group which also included 3rd Cavalry Corps and was tasked to hit Bogushevsk in conjunction with 5th Army and 39th Army. Its units included 64th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment, which operated IS-2 heavy tanks while fighting as part of the 1st Baltic Front in the Šiauliai ('Shaulay') area during July 1944. It was then moved to the Far East and took part in the invasion of Manchuria as part of the Transbaikal Front. The Corps, which gained the honorific Stalingrad-Krivorozhskaya, became 3rd Guards Mechanised Division in November 1945, and later 47th Guards Motor Rifle Division in 1957. It was finally disbanded on 27 November 1959 while serving with 5th Army in the Far East Military District at Dalnerechensk.
 Passage 3:While studying at Juilliard, Atkinson made his professional opera debut using his birth name 'David Burke' with the Opera Guild of Montreal (OGM) in January 1948 as Monterone in Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto. The following May he performed the role of the High Priest of Dagon in Camille Saint-Saëns's Samson and Delilah with the OGM. In September 1948 he made his Broadway debut under the name "John Atkinson" (Atkinson being his mother's maiden name) succeeding John Tyers as Franz Liszt in the musical revue Inside U.S.A. He remained with the production for the musical's first national tour after it closed in New York in February 1949. In 1951 he performed in several productions at the Paper Mill Playhouse, including the roles of Prince Franz in Victor Herbert's Sweethearts, Edvard Grieg in Robert Wright and George Forrest's Song of Norway, and Pierre Birabeau in Sigmund Romberg's The Desert Song. In June 1952 he portrayed Sam in the world premiere of Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti at Berstein's Festival of the Creative Arts on the campus of Brandeis University to an audience of nearly 3,000 people. The following November he reprised the role of Sam in a nationally televised broadcast of Trouble in Tahiti presented by the NBC Opera Theatre (NBCOT). He would later sing the role of Sam again at the New York City Opera (NYCO) in 1958. In 1953 he performed the role of Don Jose in Georges Bizet's Carmen with Vera Bryner in the title role for NBCOT.


SOLUTION:
1