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: The Willamette River ( (listen) wil-AM-it) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is 187 miles (301 km) long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward between the Oregon Coast Range and the Cascade Range, the river and its tributaries form the Willamette Valley, a basin that contains two-thirds of Oregon's population, including the state capital, Salem, and the state's largest city, Portland, which surrounds the Willamette's mouth at the Columbia.
Originally created by plate tectonics about 35 million years ago and subsequently altered by volcanism and erosion, the river's drainage basin was significantly modified by the Missoula Floods at the end of the most recent ice age. Humans began living in the watershed over 10,000 years ago. There were once many tribal villages along the lower river and in the area around its mouth on the Columbia. Indigenous peoples lived throughout the upper reaches of the basin as well.
Rich with sediments deposited by flooding and fed by prolific rainfall on the western side of the Cascades, the Willamette Valley is one of the most fertile agricultural regions in North America, and was thus the destination of many 19th-century pioneers traveling west along the Oregon Trail. The river was an important transportation route in the 19th century, although Willamette Falls, just upstream from Portland, was a major barrier to boat traffic. In the 21st century, major highways follow the river, and roads cross it on more than 50 bridges.
Since 1900, more than 15 large dams and many smaller ones have been built in the Willamette's drainage basin, 13 of which are operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The dams are used primarily to produce hydroelectricity, to maintain reservoirs for recreation, and to prevent flooding. The river and its tributaries support 60 fish species, including many species of salmon and trout; this is despite the dams, other alterations, and pollution (especially on the river's lower reaches). Part of the Willamette Floodplain was established as a National Natural Landmark in 1987 and the river was named as one of 14 American Heritage Rivers in 1998.

SOLUTION: What organization operates 13 of the dams built in the river that is a major tributary of the Columbia river?

PROBLEM: Passage: En route to California to prospect for gold, ex-sheriff Hooker, professional gambler Fiske, and bounty hunter Luke Daly are forced to stop over in a tiny Mexican village by engine trouble on the ship they are taking. A desperate Leah Fuller hires the three men and local Vicente Madariaga, to rescue her husband, John, who is pinned under debris from a gold mine cave-in in hostile Apache territory.
During the harrowing journey, Luke tries to force himself on Leah late one night, forcing Hooker to intervene. Leah tells Hooker that where her husband is trapped, once was a boom town, but a volcano eruption wiped it out, leaving only a church steeple and the mine uncovered by lava. The resident priest called it the "garden of evil". The Indians now consider the volcano sacred. The group then arrives at the mine. They find John unconscious, and they free him.
Before John wakes up, Hooker sets the man's broken leg.  When John regains consciousness, he accuses Leah of using him to get gold. Hooker talks to Leah later, about what her husband said; after he tells her that he has spotted signs of Apaches nearby, she offers him and the others all the gold they have dug up to take her husband away that night, while she remains behind to make it look like they are all still there. The cynical Fiske unexpectedly offers to stay with her, but when he asks her what he is to her, she tells him, "you're nothing at all, just nothing.".

SOLUTION: What are the full names of the two people that travel with the ex-sheriff?

PROBLEM: Passage: The gang is driving through a desert in Roswell, New Mexico when a sandstorm forces Shaggy to make a wrong turn onto government property. Soon after, a UFO causes Shaggy to crash the car, and the gang find themselves on the outskirts of a small town. While Scooby and Shaggy stay with the van, Fred, Daphne, and Velma go to a local diner to ask for directions. Shaggy and Scooby then see a mythical animal called a jackalope , which takes their last Scooby Snack. Scooby and Shaggy chase the jackalope into a cave, where they encounter aliens. They flee the cave and run into the diner in a panic.
Scooby and Shaggy tell the people inside the diner about their encounter, but the gang is skeptical. The waitress, Dottie, says that multiple people claimed to have seen aliens, but that she has never seen them, but she has noticed strange lights and sounds at night. The chef, Sergio, says that a month earlier local cattle vanished without a trace, after which many people left town. A man named Lester, who claims to have been abducted, believes Scooby and Shaggy. He also claims to have pictures from his abduction; however, they turn out to be nothing more than paintings. He then tells the gang that ever since the installation of SALF (Search for Alien Life Forms, similar to SETI) satellite dishes, there have been numerous reports of UFO sightings and disappearing livestock.

SOLUTION:
Who runs out of a cave and into a diner after seeing aliens?