TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you will be shown an extract from a movie plot and a question. You need to provide the correct answer for it. Short answers containing words that are present in the passage are preferred.
PROBLEM: This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (February 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)The film opens at a meeting of the Board of Chosen Freeholders of Ocean County, New Jersey. Ocean County resident and New Jersey police officer Lieutenant Laurel Hester has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, and expected to live only another year, she wishes to pass on her pension to her domestic partner of five years, Stacie Andree. Although New Jersey counties have the option to extend pension benefits to domestic partners, Ocean County Freeholders will not do this. In protest, the state's LGBT civil rights organization, Garden State Equality, organizes hundreds of people to speak out at each of the Freeholders' meetings. The crowds Garden State Equality organizes get bigger and more vociferous at each meeting.Among those speaking out are Laurel's police colleagues and Ocean County residents, describing Laurel's 25 years of exemplary work for the police department, and petitioning the Freeholders to allow her to pass on her pension to Stacie. Laurel's first police partner, Dane Wells, speaks about her and compares the situation to separate drinking fountains and seats at the back of the bus. Freeholder Joseph Vicari says that although they are "anguished" by Laurel's case, they are unable to change things because of the state legislature and moves for an adjournment. The members of the public present are unhappy with this decision and some begin to chant "It's in your power".Outside the administration building, news reporter Ida Siegal explains the background to the case. In 2004 New Jersey passed the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act which allows all gay and lesbian state employees to pass on their benefits, including the pension, to their domestic partners. According to Siegal, all New Jersey counties can choose whether or not to allow their employees to pass on benefits to their partners. Ocean County Freeholders have decided against this.Don Bennett, a reporter for the Ocean County Observer says that every time he talked to the Freeholders, they had a different excuse for not moving forward. Margaret Bonafide of the Asbury Park Press says that while Freeholder John Bartlett had said that such a benefit would have had to have been negotiated in union contract, Freeholder John Kelly had said that giving pension benefits to domestic partners would violate the sanctity of marriage.Stacie says that the home she and Laurel have made together is more than just a house to them, and that she would like to keep it following Laurel's death. As an auto mechanic, Stacie does not earn much money and would be unlikely to be able to afford to keep the house without the pension. Laurel and Stacie are also struggling to pay doctors' bills for Laurel's treatment. Laurel says that if they were a heterosexual couple there would be no problem with Stacie receiving the pension. With not long to live, Laurel says that her only priority is spending time with Stacie and obtaining justice for her.Dane Wells and former police chief Dick Chinery recall Laurel's work as a police officer, remembering her as an excellent marksman and a courageous officer. Wells describes her as the best partner he ever had. Describing himself as conservative, who votes for the Republican Party, Wells says that he had never paid particular attention to social issues or gay rights. Now he was working as hard as he could to help Laurel obtain justice before her death. When she first joined the police, Laurel's police chief and prosecutor knew that she was gay, but made it clear that she should keep that fact to herself. She was happy with that, wanting simply to focus on being the best detective she could be.The day after the Freeholders' meeting, Laurel goes to hospital, and as a result of an MRI scan is told that the cancer has spread to her brain.[5] Stacie spends time arranging payment plans for the medical bills, and praying for Laurel. As a result of chemotherapy, Laurel's hair begins to fall out. Stacie shaves Laurel's head for her and Laurel returns the favor, saying that Stacie now looks more like she did when the couple first met.Six New Jersey counties make the decision to extend pension benefits to domestic partners. Don Bennett says that the Ocean County Freeholders are now under increasing pressure from the press and cannot come up with a good reason for their refusal to do likewise. Although the Freeholders attribute their decision to financial reasons, Dane Wells believes that one or two of the board oppose change, and that the other board members are backing them up. He says that John Kelly has said that his personal belief is that the change would violate the sanctity of marriage, but that this is not the official position of the Freeholders.Laurel grows increasingly sick, losing all of her hair and finding it more difficult to breathe. She speaks of the difficulty of experiencing the physical changes of her illness and knowing that she will only ever get worse. When another Freeholder meeting is held, she is too sick too attend, so she videotapes a message instead. In the tape, she asks the Freeholders to sign the resolution and make a change "for good and righteousness". At the meeting the Freeholder's say that although Laurel has been a valuable employee, they will not allow her to pass on her pension. They say that although they have the money to do so, they will not pay pensions in the absence of a negotiated contract. John Kelly says that he has been misquoted in the press and that although it is a moral issue, he believes that Laurel is a moral person. When Dane Wells ask if they intend to change their minds before Laurel dies, the Freeholders decline to answer the question.Laurel is visited at home by a hospice worker. She says that her symptoms have gotten worse, that they scare her and that she is very concerned with when she will die. When the hospice worker asks her what is most important, Laurel answers "Stacie".Under mounting pressure, and following a telephone call from Governor Jon Corzine at the urging of Garden State Equality, the Freeholders call an emergency meeting. Stacie and Laurel, now in a wheelchair, attend the meeting. Freeholder Bartlett says that it is time to change the situation. The Freeholder of the county makes a motion to pass a resolution to expand pension benefits to county employees under the provisions of the law. The four Freeholders present agree. John Kelly does not attend the meeting. Laurel speaks briefly to news reporters and receives a standing ovation from the people present, including the Freeholders.Laurel goes home to die and the final scene of the film shows her memorial service, attended by Stacie, Dane and her police colleagues. Nine months after her death, the New Jersey Supreme Court rules that same sex couples must have the same rights as heterosexual couples, forcing the state legislature to legalise civil unions in New Jersey., Question: The Freeholders called an emergency meeting after a phone call from whom?

SOLUTION: Answer: Governor Jon Corzine

PROBLEM: Samuel Sayer (Robert Morley) and his sister Rose (Katharine Hepburn) are British Methodist missionaries in the village of Kungdu in German East Africa at the beginning of World War I in August/September 1914. Their mail and supplies are delivered by a small tramp steamer named the African Queen, helmed by the rough-and-ready Canadian boat captain Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart), whose coarse behavior they tolerate in a rather stiff manner.When Charlie warns them that World War I has broken out between Germany and Britain, the Sayers choose to stay on, only to witness the Germans burn down the mission village and herd the villagers away. When Samuel protests, he is beaten by a German soldier. After the Germans leave, Samuel becomes delirious with fever and soon dies. Charlie returns shortly afterward. He helps Rose bury her brother, and they set off in the African Queen.Charlie mentions to Rose that the Germans have a gunboat, the KÃ¶nigin Luise (German for "Queen Louisa"), which patrols a large lake downriver, effectively blocking any British attacks. Rose comes up with a plan to convert the African Queen into a torpedo boat and sink the KÃ¶nigin Luise. Charlie points out that navigating the Ulanga River to get to the lake would be suicidal: to reach the lake they would have to pass a German fort and negotiate several dangerous rapids. But Rose is insistent and eventually persuades him to go along with the plan.During their journey down the river, Charlie, Rose and the African Queen encounter many obstacles, including the German fort and three sets of rapids. The first set of rapids is rather easy; they get through with minimal flooding in the boat. But when they pass the fortress and the soldiers begin shooting at them, the bullets pierce the top of the boiler and cause one of the steam pressure hoses to disconnect from the boiler. This causes the boat's engine to stop. Luckily, Charlie manages to reattach the hose to the boiler just as they are about to enter the second set of rapids. The boat rolls and pitches crazily as it goes down the rapids, leading to more severe flooding in the boat. However, they make it through.While celebrating their success, the two find themselves in an embrace. Embarrassed, they break off, but eventually succumb and strike up a relationship. The third set of rapids comes up. This time, there is a loud metallic clattering noise as the boat goes over the falls. They dock on the river bank to check for damage. When Charlie dives under the boat, he finds the propeller shaft bent sideways and a blade missing from the propeller. Luckily, with some expert skills and using suggestions from Rose, Charlie manages to straighten the shaft and weld a new blade on to the propeller, and they are off again.All appears lost when Charlie and Rose "lose the channel" and the boat becomes mired in the mud amid dense reeds near the mouth of the river. First, they try to tow the boat through the muck, only to have Charlie come out of the water covered with leeches. All their efforts to free the African Queen fail. With no supplies left and short of potable water, Rose and a feverish Charlie turn in, convinced they have no hope of survival. Before going to sleep Rose prays that she and Charlie be admitted into Heaven. As they sleep, exhausted and beaten, heavy rains raise the river's level and float the African Queen off of the mud and into the lake which, it turns out, is just a short distance from their location. Once on the lake, they narrowly avoid being spotted by the KÃ¶nigin Luise. The KÃ¶nigin Luise departs, but Charlie believes that she will return as she makes her normal rounds of the lake.Over the next two days, Charlie and Rose convert some oxygen cylinders into torpedoes using gelatin explosives and improvised detonators that use nails as the firing pins for rifle cartridges. They then push the torpedoes through holes cut in the bow of the African Queen as improvised spar torpedoes. The KÃ¶nigin Luise returns as Charlie predicted, and Charlie and Rose steam the African Queen out onto the lake in darkness, intending to set her on a collision course with the KÃ¶nigin Luise before diving overboard and making their way to safety to the Belgian Congo on the west side of the lake. A strong storm strikes as they head toward the KÃ¶nigin Luise. Unfortunately, the torpedo holes they cut are not sealed, which allows water to pour into the African Queen, causing her to sink lower and lower. Eventually the African Queen capsizes, throwing them both into the water. Charlie loses sight of Rose in the storm.Charlie is captured and taken aboard the KÃ¶nigin Luise, where he is questioned by the captain. Believing Rose to have drowned, he makes no attempt to defend himself against accusations of spying, and the German captain sentences him to death by hanging. However, Rose is captured and brought to the KÃ¶nigin Luise just after Charlie's sentence is handed down. Charlie hollers her name, then tries to protect her by pretending not to know her. The captain questions her, and Rose confesses the whole plot proudly, deciding they have nothing to lose anyway. The captain sentences her to be executed as a spy, too. Charlie asks the German captain to marry them before executing them. After a brief marriage ceremony, the Germans prepare to hang them, but there is a sudden explosion and the KÃ¶nigin Luise quickly capsizes and sinks. The KÃ¶nigin Luise has struck the overturned hull of the African Queen and detonated the torpedoes. Rose's plan has worked after all, if a little belatedly, and the newly married couple happily swims to safety on the west shore of the lake., Question: Who sentences Charlie to death?

SOLUTION: Answer: German captain

PROBLEM: At the Presidio U.S. Army base in San Francisco, MP Patti Jean Lynch (Jenette Goldstein) is shot dead while investigating a break-in on the base and two San Francisco Police officers are killed in the getaway. Jay Austin (Mark Harmon), a San Francisco police inspector, is sent to investigate. He clashes with Lieutenant Colonel Alan Caldwell (Sean Connery), the base Provost Marshal.Years ago, Austin and Lynch were partners while serving as MPs and Caldwell was their commanding officer. When Austin arrested Colonel Paul Lawrence (Dana Gladstone), Caldwell didn't support him. In the aftermath, Austin was demoted and decided to leave the army. Austin and Caldwell share a mutual dislike for one another.The murder investigation casts suspicion on Lawrence, as Lynch was killed with a Tokarev, a Russian pistol. Lawrence is the registered owner of a Tokarev, but claims he lost it in a poker game. Austin also learns that the getaway car used by Lynch's killer was registered to a civilian named Arthur Peale (Mark Blum), who is wealthy and owns a holding company that, in turn, owns other companies.Austin tries to question Lawrence about the Tokarev, but Caldwell intervenes. This fuels Austin's suspicions that Caldwell will do anything to protect a fellow officer from civilian authorities, even if he is a killer. Recognizing that part of the case is under Caldwell's jurisdiction at the Presidio and part is under Austin's jurisdiction in San Francisco, they uneasily team up to investigate the case. Caldwell states that if the Tokarev bullet that killed Lynch were to match a bullet fired earlier from Lawrence's Tokarev at the Presidio firing range, then Caldwell will arrange for Lawrence to surrender to Austin for arrest.In the meantime, Caldwell and Austin visit Peale, who claims his car was simply stolen and has an alibi for the night Lynch was shot. But Caldwell noticed Vietnam-era paraphernalia in Peale's office. Using his own contacts, Caldwell learns that Peale was previously in the CIA, and a spy and military advisor in Vietnam at the same time Lawrence was there as an officer. It becomes clear that Lawrence and Peale knew each other.Austin gets the ballistics report back on the Tokarev, which confirms that Lawrence's gun killed Lynch. Ignoring his agreement with Caldwell, Austin corners Lawrence when he leaves the Presidio, resulting in a lengthy footchase through San Francisco's Chinatown. Ultimately, Lawrence is killed in a hit and run. Caldwell is furious that Austin disregarded their agreement.Compounding their past tension, Caldwell is also upset that Austin is dating his daughter Donna (Meg Ryan). Their relationship is rocky, with Donna alternately teasing and pushing Austin away. Caldwell confides in his friend, retired Sergeant Major Ross Maclure (Jack Warden), who runs the Presidio's war museum. It is revealed in backstory that Caldwell was Maclure's lieutenant during the Vietnam War. Caldwell was very green and relied heavily on Maclure. In one sequence, we learn that Maclure saved an injured Caldwell and attacked a Vietcong platoon waiting to ambush American soldiers, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. In various scenes, Caldwell's close friendship and affection for Maclure is demonstrated.Caldwell and Austin both figure out that the killer at the Presidio was trying to break into a storeroom to retrieve a bottle of spring water that was delivered earlier that day. Following that lead to the water company which delivered the water, Austin gets the name of the driver who delivered the water, George Spota (James Hooks Reynolds). Caldwell recognizes the name as someone who served under Lawrence in Vietnam. Austin confirms that it was Spota's car that hit and killed Lawrence during their footchase and Caldwell learns that the water company Spota works for is owned by Arthur Peale, thus confirming that Spota, Peale, and Lawrence were working together. Austin and Caldwell follow Spota during his daily water deliveries. Spota makes a delivery to Travis Air Force Base. Under surveillance from Austin and Caldwell, Spota picks up a bottle of water that was transported to the Air Force base from the Philippines.Austin and Caldwell follow Spota and the bottle of water back to the water company. Unsure what is in the water bottle that makes it so valuable, Austin and Caldwell see the edges of the conspiracy come together. Spota, Lawrence and Peale all knew each other in Vietnam. It appears that Spota picked up a delivery of water from the Philippines, but accidentally left that water bottle in the storeroom at the Presidio. When he realized his mistake, he went back to retrieve it. But Lynch surprised him during the break-in, and he shot her.Just as they figure this out, they see Maclure drive up to the water company. With a terrible realization, Caldwell figures out that Peale and Lawrence would have needed someone like Maclure to carry out the smuggling, because Maclure had excellent contacts within the US military in Asia. Inside the water company, Spota and Peale open the water bottle that came from the Philippines, revealing that diamonds were smuggled inside--the diamonds being invisible in the clear water. Maclure comes in and surprises them by holding a gun. Peale reveals that Lawrence was blackmailing Maclure about something Maclure did while in Vietnam. Peale tries to convince Maclure to let the smuggling operation continue. But Maclure is disgusted with himself and heartbroken over the death of Lynch, whom he knew. He says the smuggling must stop, but then is stripped of his gun by Peale's men. Just as Peale is about to kill Maclure, Caldwell and Austin enter the water company to save him. A gun fight ensues, during which Peale and his men are killed, and Maclure is fatally wounded.Caldwell asks Austin to delay his police report by 48 hours to give Caldwell time to bury Maclure with his honor intact. Austin agrees and the final scene is at a military cemetery where Caldwell tearfully eulogizes Maclure. At the end of the film, Caldwell reconciles with Donna and grudgingly admits Austin into the family., Question: Who does the murder investigation cast suspicion on?

SOLUTION:
Answer: Lawrence