TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you're given a question, along with a context passage. The passage will not have a direct answer to the question, but can include some information and a clue for the answer. Assuming you can only obtain information about one entity in the passage, your job is to determine whether information from the passage can be used to answer the question. Indicate your choice as `a` for Yes or `b` for No.
PROBLEM: Question: Was the U.S. Congressman from Suffolk County older than the candidate he opposed in the 2000 Senate race? Passage:Suffolk County had long been a Republican bastion in New York State. U.S. Congressman Rick Lazio, who opposed Hillary Clinton in the 2000 Senate race, was from Suffolk County. However, recent elections have turned the county more toward the Democrats. In 2003, Democrat Steve Levy was elected county executive, ending longtime Republican control. In 2001, Democrat Thomas Spota was elected District Attorney, and ran unopposed in 2005. Although Suffolk voters gave George H. W. Bush a victory here in 1992, the county voted for Bill Clinton in 1996 and continued the trend by giving Al Gore an 11-percent victory in the county in 2000. 2004 Democratic candidate John Kerry won by a much smaller margin of one percent, in 2008 Democratic candidate Barack Obama won by a slightly larger 4.4 percent margin, 52%-47%. In 2016, Republican candidate Donald Trump won Suffolk County by a 6.9 percent margin after absentees, marking the largest margin of victory for the Republicans since 1988. It was the only large county (over 200,000 voters) in New York State that Donald Trump won.


SOLUTION: b

PROBLEM: Question: In what year was Columbia University founded? Passage:Columbia (; ) is the female personification of the United States. It was also a historical name used to describe the Americas and the New World. It has given rise to the names of many persons, places, objects, institutions and companies; for example: Columbia University, the District of Columbia (the national capital of the United States), and the ship Columbia Rediviva, which would give its name to the Columbia River. Images of the Statue of Liberty largely displaced personified Columbia as the female symbol of the United States by around 1920, although Lady Liberty was seen as an aspect of Columbia. The District of Columbia is named after the personification, as is the traditional patriotic hymn "Hail Columbia", which is the official vice presidential anthem of the United States Vice President.


SOLUTION: b

PROBLEM: Question: What is the difference between the two melanocortin receptors? Passage:AGRP has been demonstrated to be an inverse agonist of melanocortin receptors, to be specific MC3-R and MC4-R. The melanocortin receptors, MC3-R and MC4-R, are directly linked to metabolism and body weight control. These receptors are activated by the peptide hormone α-MSH (melanocyte-stimulating hormone) and antagonized by the agouti-related protein. Whereas α-MSH acts broadly on most members of the MCR family (with the exception of MC2-R), AGRP is highly specific for only MC3-R and MC4-R. This inverse agonism not only antagonizes the action of melanocortin agonists such as α-MSH but also further decreases the cAMP produced by the affected cells. The exact mechanism by which AgRP inhibits melanocortin-receptor signalling is not completely clear. It has been suggested that Agouti-related protein binds MSH receptors and acts as a competitive antagonist of ligand binding. Studies of Agouti protein in B16 melanoma cells supported this logic. The expression of AgRP in the adrenal gland is regulated by glucocorticoids. The protein blocks α-MSH-induced secretion of corticosterone.


SOLUTION:
b