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: Why did the Nok culture die off about 200 AD on the Jos Plateau? Passage:The Nok culture thrived from approximately 1,500 BC to about 200 AD on the Jos Plateau in north and central Nigeria and produced life-sized terracotta figures that include human heads, human figures, and animals. Iron smelting furnaces at Taruga, a Nok site, date from around 600 BC. The Nok culture is thought to have begun smelting iron by 600-500 BC and possibly some centuries earlier. Kainji Dam excavations revealed iron-working by the 2nd century BC. Evidence of iron smelting has also been excavated at sites in the Nsukka region of southeast Nigeria in what is now Igboland: dating to 2,000 BC at the site of Lejja (Uzomaka 2009) and to 750 BC and at the site of Opi (Holl 2009). The transition from Neolithic times to the Iron Age apparently was achieved indigenously without intermediate bronze production. Others have suggested that the technology moved west from the Nile Valley, although the Iron Age in the Niger River valley and the forest region appears to predate the introduction of metallurgy in the upper savanna by more than 800 years. The earliest iron technology in West Africa has also been found to be contemporary with or predate that of the Nile valley and North Africa, and some archaeologists believe that iron metallurgy was likely developed independently in sub-Saharan West Africa.


SOLUTION: b

PROBLEM: Question: How many years had the Russian leader been in power when Russia recognized Baltic independence in September 1991? Passage:On 12 May 1990 the leaders of the Baltic republics signed a joint declaration known as the Baltic Entente. By mid-June the Soviets started negotiations with the Baltic republics on condition they agreed to freeze their declarations of independence. The Soviets had a bigger challenge elsewhere, in the form of the Russian Federal Republic proclaiming sovereignty in June. Simultaneously the Baltic republics also started to negotiate directly with the Russian Federal Republic. In Autumn 1990, they set up a customs border between the Baltic states, the Russian Federation and Belarus. After the failed negotiations the Soviets made a dramatic attempt to break the deadlock and sent troops to Lithuania and Latvia in January 1991. The attempts failed, dozens of civilians were killed, and the Soviet troops decided to retreat. In August 1991, the hard-line members of the Soviet government attempted to take control of the Soviet Union. One day after the coup on 21 August, the Estonians proclaimed independence. Shortly afterwards Soviet paratroops seized the Tallinn television tower. The Latvian parliament made similar a declaration at the same day. The coup failed but the Collapse of the Soviet Union became unavoidable. On 28 August, the European Community welcomed the restoration of the sovereignty and independence of the Baltic states. The Soviet Union recognised the Baltic independence on 6 September 1991. The Russian troops stayed for an additional three years, as Boris Yeltsin linked the issue of Russian minorities with troop withdrawals. Lithuania was the first to have the Russian troops withdrawn from its territory in August 1993. On 26 July 1994 Russian troops withdrew from Estonia and on 31 August 1994, Russian troops withdrew from Latvia. The Russian Federation ended its military presence in Estonia after it relinquished control of the nuclear facilities in Paldiski on 26 September 1995 and in Latvia after Skrunda-1 suspended operations on 31 August 1998 and subsequently dismantled. The last Russian soldier left Skrunda-1 in October 1999, thus marking a symbolic end to the Russian military presence on the soil of the Baltic countries.


SOLUTION: b

PROBLEM: Question: Which quarterback threw the final two touchdowns of David Saunders' career in the Insight.com Bowl? Passage:In 1994, as a freshman at West Virginia University, Saunders redshirted and played on the scout team. In 1995, as a redshirt freshman, Saunders earned the starting role at flanker. He ended the season as the team's leading receiver with 38 catches for 682 yards and five touchdowns, setting a school-record for freshman receiving yards and touchdowns. He began his career against Purdue, where he had 130 yards from six receptions. He scored his first career touchdown against East Carolina on a 50-yard reception, finishing the game with five receptions for 99 yards. He also recorded 149 yards against Rutgers, 94 yards against Miami, and 80 yards against Pitt to end the season in the Backyard Brawl. In 1996 season, his sophomore season, Saunders finished the year as a First-team All-Big East selection. He led the conference with an average of 83 yards receiving and 6.1 receptions-per-game. He started every game of the season as a flanker, leading the team with 76 receptions for 1,043 yards and five touchdowns, becoming the first player in school history to gain over 1,000 yards receiving in a season. Against East Carolina, he recorded eight receptions for 105 yards, followed by 191 yards and one touchdown against Boston College, which ranks third on the school's receiving yards in a single game list. He gained 113 yards against Syracuse, followed by 178 yards against Rutgers and 130 yards against North Carolina in the Gator Bowl, which earned him MVP honors. In 1997, his junior year, Saunders did not play, but returned for his senior season. In 1998, he earned Second-team All-Big East and First-team All-ECAC honors. He also led the team with 77 receptions for 883 yards and eight touchdowns while starting all the games at a new position, split end. His 77 receptions is tied for the school record, set the previous year by Shawn Foreman, while his eight touchdowns rank third most ever in a season in school history. Saunders recorded five receptions for 101 yards and two touchdowns against Tulsa, and then tied a school-record of 12 receptions against Miami. He then had 110 yards and a game-winning touchdown reception with three minutes left in the 35-28 win over Syracuse. In the Insight.com Bowl against Missouri, Saunders ended his career with eights receptions for 95 yards and two touchdowns.


SOLUTION:
a