TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you're given passages that contain mentions of names of people, places, or things. Some of these mentions refer to the same person, place, or thing. Your job is to write questions that evaluate one's understanding of such references. Good questions are expected to link pronouns (she, her, him, his, their, etc.) or other mentions to people, places, or things to which they may refer. Do not ask questions that can be answered correctly without understanding the paragraph or having multiple answers. Avoid questions that do not link phrases referring to the same entity. For each of your questions, the answer should be one or more phrases in the paragraph, and it should be unambiguous.
PROBLEM: Passage: At his psychiatric institute, Dr. Charles Conway is surreptitiously experimenting with artificial glands to try to create longevity; he works with his minion Lobo and his assistant Dr. Sharon Gilchrist. Conway receives his test subjects through an associate, Dr. Loren Wright, who delivers patients seeking treatment for lesser conditions. After this, they are then taken into the operating room for Conway's illicit surgery.
Wright delivers his newest find, Grace Thomas, who is seeking treatment for depression. When Conway balks at Wright for bringing him a patient with living relatives, he confides in Conway that he plans to throw Grace's purse and bags into the bay, to fool family and the authorities into believing she had committed suicide. He then asks Conway for a demonstration of his experimental progress; Conway takes him down into the basement, where he introduces him to Harry Jedrow, his latest victim. Jedrow is clearly alive, but severely disfigured and in a vegetative state; this concerns Wright, who reveals that Jedrow's sister is currently seeking him out. Conway is furious, since none of his patients were supposed to have ties of any kind.
That night, Lobo (who famously delivers the line "Time for go to bed!") discovers Frank Scott roaming around the grounds. Scott attempts to conceal his identity, but Conway quickly deduces that he is an escaped convict from his description in the newspapers, as well as a telltale tattoo on his wrist. Rather than turn Scott into the police, he offers him the chance to take part in his experiments. Knowing the odds are stacked against him, Scott accepts his offer.

SOLUTION: What is the alternative action Lobo will take that convinces the escaped convict to agree to participate in Conway's experiments?

PROBLEM: Passage: On the night of 6 November 1995, a fire broke out in the Rova compound, destroying or severely damaging all of its buildings. Once the flames had been extinguished, all that remained of the original structures were the stone shells of the royal chapel and Manjakamiadana. Fire-fighters arrived late at the scene. Their capacity to douse the fire was hampered by the discovery that their fire hoses did not properly fit onto the nearby hydrants. In addition, the water pressure at the hydrants was significantly reduced due to Analamanga hilltop's high elevation. As the fire-fighters battled the flames, numerous bystanders ran into Rova compound buildings to retrieve artefacts of historic and cultural significance. Approximately 1,675 objects were saved out of an estimated total of 6,700. Some pillaging is believed to have occurred. On the night of the fire, the body of one of the queens was found in the public square in the centre of the city. A funeral vigil was held the following day for these royal remains. The remains were later identified as belonging to Ranavalona III, and have since been re-interred in the royal tombs at Ambohimanga.The destruction of the Rova of Antananarivo occurred at a time when the complex was in the final stages of the process to become classified as Madagascar's first cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site. Six people were initially charged in connection with the Rova's destruction in an Antananarivo court of law, but the official investigation concluded that the fire was an accident. Public accusations of a cover-up placed the blame for the fire on government officials, various ethnic groups, foreign powers and other parties. Widespread belief persists within and outside Madagascar that a deliberate arson was the cause. Rumoured motivations for arson at the Rova were numerous and remain unproven. The revelation that important financial archives had been destroyed early on the morning of the fire sparked rumours that corrupt government officials had lit the blaze to create a public distraction from their illicit activities. Other explanations have included popular dissatisfaction with the election of divisive mayor Guy Willy Razanamasy or a flare-up of long-standing tensions among coastal peoples resentful of Merina socio-political domination. Accusations were also made against both then-president Albert Zafy and his predecessor, Didier Ratsiraka. The debate over why and how the Rova burned remains an unresolved and highly contentious subject decades later.

SOLUTION: How many cultural and historical objects were involved in the fire at the Rova compound?

PROBLEM: Passage: Beatrice "Booky" Thomson is a spunky 15-year-old who dreams of becoming a great writer despite the odds. Life in Toronto during the 1930s are hard ones for Booky's family. Parents Thomas and Francy are barely able to eke out a living for themselves and their children Willa, Arthur, and Booky. But irrepressible Booky, with her big imagination and even bigger plans, seems able to tackle anything.
When her new school teacher, Mr. Jackson, inspires her to become a writer, Booky pursues her career with gusto - until she lets some well-meaning advice from a great Canadian author shatter her dreams.
Following a short stay at Aunt Aggie's Muskoka farm to quell a bout of bronchitis, Booky returns home to resume the usual joys and trials of growing up. She starts the Deanna Durbin fan club with her best friends Ruthie and Gladys, rebuffs the advances of her brother's trouble-making friend Georgie, celebrates her 16th birthday with disastrous results, and falls for Gloria's ex-boyfriend Lorne. Then one day, she decides to enter the local newspaper's essay writing contest and what happens after that nearly turns Booky's life upside down.

SOLUTION:
What is the name of Georgie's friend?