TASK DEFINITION: Given a question and a context passage, generate the answer having the word or phrase from the context passage. Here, the answer should be a shortest continous span from the passage.
PROBLEM: Context: Blood is a liquid connective tissue. It circulates throughout the body via blood vessels due to the pumping action of the heart. You couldnt survive without the approximately 4.5 to 5 liters of blood that are constantly being pumped through your blood vessels. Blood consists of both liquid and cells. The liquid part of blood is called plasma. Plasma is a watery, golden-yellow fluid that contains many dissolved substances. Substances dissolved in plasma include glucose, proteins, and gases. Plasma also contains blood cells. There are three types of blood cells: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. You can see all three types in Figure 18.8. 1. Red blood cells are shaped like flattened disks. There are trillions of red blood cells in your blood. Each red blood cell has millions of molecules of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a protein that contains iron. The iron in hemoglobin gives red blood cells their red color. It also explains how hemoglobin carries oxygen. The iron in hemoglobin binds with oxygen molecules so they can be carried by red blood cells. 2. White blood cells are larger than red blood cells, but there are far fewer of them. Their role is to defend the body in various ways. For example, white blood cells called phagocytes engulf and destroy microorganisms and debris in the blood. 3. Platelets are small, sticky cell fragments that help blood clot. A blood clot is a solid mass of cell fragments and other substances that plugs a leak in a damaged blood vessel. Platelets stick to tears in blood vessels and to each other, helping to form a clot at the site of injury. Platelets also release chemicals that are needed for clotting to occur. The main function of blood is transport. Blood in arteries carries oxygen and nutrients to all the bodys cells. Blood in veins carries carbon dioxide and other wastes away from cells to be excreted. Blood also transports the chemical messengers called hormones to cells throughout the body where they are needed to regulate body functions. Blood has several other functions as well. For example, blood: defends the body against infections. repairs body tissues. controls the bodys pH. helps regulate body temperature. Red blood cells carry proteins called antigens on their surface. People may vary in the exact antigens their red blood cells carry. The specific proteins are controlled by the genes they inherit from their parents. The particular antigens you inherit determine your blood type. Why does your blood type matter? Blood type is important for medical reasons. A patient cant safely receive a transfusion of blood containing antigens not found in the patients own blood. With foreign antigens, the transfused blood will be rejected by the persons immune system. This causes a reaction in the patients bloodstream, called agglutination. The transfused red blood cells clump together, as shown in Figure 18.9. The clumped cells block blood vessels and cause other life-threatening problems. There are many sets of antigens that determine different blood types. Two of the best known are the ABO and Rhesus antigens. Both are described below. You can also learn more about them by watching this video: ABO blood type is determined by two common antigens, often called antigen A and antigen B. If your red blood cells carry only antigen A, you have blood type A. If your red blood cells carry only antigen B, you have blood type B. If your red blood cells carry both antigen A and antigen B, you have blood type AB. If your red blood cells carry neither antigen A nor antigen B, you have blood type O. Another red blood cell antigen determines a persons Rhesus blood type. This blood type depends on a single common antigen, typically referred to as the Rhesus (Rh) antigen. If your red blood cells carry the Rhesus antigen, you have Rhesus-positive blood, or blood type Rh+. If your red blood cells lack the Rhesus antigen, you have Rhesus-negative blood, or blood type Rh-. Some diseases affect mainly the blood or its components. They include anemia, leukemia, hemophilia, and sickle- cell disease. Anemia is a disease that occurs when there is not enough hemoglobin 
 Question: __genetic disorder in which abnormal hemoglobin causes red blood cells to change shape

SOLUTION: sickle- cell disease

PROBLEM: Context: The smallest front of the war was in Catalonia. In 1689 the Duke of Noailles had led French forces there aimed at bringing further pressure to bear on the Spanish by re-igniting a peasant rising against Charles II, which initially broke out in 1687. Exploiting the situation, Noailles captured Camprodon on 22 May, but a larger Spanish army under the Duke of Villahermosa forced him to withdraw back to Roussillon in August. The Catalan campaign settled down in 1690, but a new front in Piedmont-Savoy proved more eventful. A ferment of religious animosities and Savoyard hatred of the French produced a theatre characterised by massacres and atrocities: constant guerrilla attacks by the armed populace were met by draconian reprisals. In 1690 Saint-Ruth took most of the Victor Amadeus II's exposed Duchy of Savoy, routing the Savoyard army in the process until only the great fortress of Montmelian remained in ducal hands; while to the south in Piedmont, Nicolas Catinat led 12,000 men and soundly defeated Victor Amadeus at the Battle of Staffarda on 18 August. Catinat immediately took Saluzzo, followed by Savigliano, Fossano, and Susa, but lacking sufficient troops, and with sickness rife within his army, Catinat was obliged to withdraw back across the Alps for the winter. 
 Question: What happened first: Catalan campaign settled down or the Battle of Staffarda?

SOLUTION: catalan campaign settled down

PROBLEM: Context: The smallest planet, Mercury, is the planet closest to the Sun. Because Mercury is so close to the Sun, it is difficult to observe from Earth, even with a telescope. However, the Mariner 10 spacecraft, shown in Figure 1.1, visited Mercury from 1974 to 1975. The MESSENGER spacecraft has been studying Mercury in detail since 2005. The craft is currently in orbit around the planet, where it is creating detailed maps. MESSENGER stands for Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging. (a) Mariner 10 made three flybys of Mercury in 1974 and 1975. (b) A 2008 image of compiled from a flyby by MESSENGER. As Figure 1.2 shows, the surface of Mercury is covered with craters, like Earths Moon. Ancient impact craters means that for billions of years Mercury hasnt changed much geologically. Also, with very little atmosphere, the processes of weathering and erosion do not wear down structures on the planet. Mercury is named for the Roman messenger god, who could run extremely quickly, just as the planet moves very quickly in its orbit around the Sun. A year on Mercury the length of time it takes to orbit the Sun is just 88 Earth days. Despite its very short years, Mercury has very long days. A day is defined as the time it takes a planet to turn on its axis. Mercury rotates slowly on its axis, turning exactly three times for every two times it orbits the Sun. Therefore, each day on Mercury is 57 Earth days long. In other words, on Mercury, a year is only a Mercury day and a half long! Mercury is close to the Sun, so it can get very hot. However, Mercury has virtually no atmosphere, no water to insulate the surface, and it rotates very slowly. For these reasons, temperatures on the surface of Mercury vary widely. In direct sunlight, the surface can be as hot as 427 C (801 F). On the dark side, or in the shadows inside craters, the surface can be as cold as -183 C (-297 F)! Although most of Mercury is extremely dry, scientists think Mercury is covered with craters, like Earths Moon. MESSENGER has taken extremely detailed pictures of the planets surface. there may be a small amount of water in the form of ice at the poles of Mercury, in areas that never receive direct sunlight. Figure 1.3 shows a diagram of Mercurys interior. Mercury is one of the densest planets. Its relatively large, liquid core, made mostly of melted iron, takes up about 42% of the planets volume. 
 Question: the core of mercury is made mostly of melted

SOLUTION:
iron