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: Like Green, who made particular mention of Beiderbecke's "amount of teaching," the jazz historian Ted Gioia also has emphasized Beiderbecke's lack of formal instruction, suggesting that it caused him to adopt "an unusual, dry embouchure" and "unconventional fingerings," which he retained for the rest of his life. Gioia points to "a characteristic streak of obstinacy" in Beiderbecke that provokes "this chronic disregard of the tried-and-true." He argues that this stubbornness was behind Beiderbecke's decision not to switch from cornet to trumpet when many other musicians, including Armstrong, did so. In addition, Gioia highlights Beiderbecke's precise timing, relaxed delivery, and pure tone, which contrasted with "the dirty, rough-edged sound" of King Oliver and his protégé Armstrong, whose playing was often more energetic and whose style held more sway early in the 1920s than Beiderbecke's.
Beiderbecke's playing - both as a cornetist and a pianist - had a profound effect on a number of his contemporaries. Eddie Condon, for instance, described Beiderbecke's cornet playing as "like a girl saying yes" and also wrote of being amazed by Beiderbecke's piano playing: "All my life I had been listening to music […] But I had never heard anything remotely like what Beiderbecke played. For the first time I realized music isn't all the same, it had become an entirely new set of sounds" "I tried to explain Bix to the gang," Hoagy Carmichael wrote, but "[i]t was no good, like the telling of a vivid, personal dream […] the emotion couldn't be transmitted."Mezz Mezzrow described Beiderbecke's tone as being "pickled in alcohol […] I have never heard a tone like he got before or since. He played mostly open horn, every note full, big, rich and round, standing out like a pearl, loud but never irritating or jangling, with a powerful drive that few white musicians had in those days."Some critics have highlighted "Jazz Me Blues", recorded with the Wolverines on February 18, 1924, as being particularly important to understanding Beiderbecke's style. Although it was one of his earliest recordings, the hallmarks of his playing are evident. "The overall impression we get from this solo, as in all of Bix at his best," writes the trumpeter Randy Sandke, "is that every note is spontaneous yet inevitable." Richard Hadlock describes Beiderbecke's contribution to "Jazz Me Blues" as "an ordered solo that seems more inspired by clarinetists Larry Shields of the ODJB and Leon Roppolo of the NORK than by other trumpet players." He goes on to suggest that clarinetists, by virtue of their not being tied to the melody as much as cornetists and trumpet players, could explore harmonies.

SOLUTION: What is the first name of the person who highlights Beiderbecke's precise timing, relaxed delivery, and pure tone?

PROBLEM: Passage: After the studio sessions, Bloc Party embarked on a tour of North American and European summer festivals. One of the recorded tracks, "Mercury", was released as a single on 11 August 2008 and peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart. At the time, the band confirmed the existence of further material, but noted that a record release date was scheduled for the end of 2008 at the earliest. Bloc Party unexpectedly announced the completion of Intimacy on 18 August 2008 via a webcast and confirmed a release within 60 hours. The band members wanted to revive the importance of a new album's release in an era in which the excitement has dissipated because of extensive Internet coverage. They were inspired by Radiohead's marketing of In Rainbows in 2007, but did not consider a "free" sale option. Little press was undertaken in the UK to promote the record because of Okereke's reluctance to discuss personal aspects of his life.
Intimacy was made available for download on Bloc Party's website on 21 August 2008. Ten MP3 tracks were sold with a plain black JPEG cover for £5, and a £10 option for the online songs and the future expanded CD was also available. The album title was picked as a "double bluff" with regard to people's expectations; Okereke has explained, "You'd think of wet balladeering. You don't think it's gonna be ugly or harsh. But that's what relationships are really like. It's not just about good times." The release was called "rushed" by publications such as Billboard and The Independent. Tong disagreed with the label and stated that Bloc Party wanted to make a statement that was surprising to anyone interested in their work.The band showcased tracks from Intimacy at Reading Festival at the end of August 2008 and embarked on a North American tour during September. UK appearances on the MTV2 Gonzo Tour and the release of the second single, "Talons", preceded the physical release of the album in October, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number eight. In the U.S, the record sold 24,000 copies during the first week of release and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard 200. By August 2012 it had sold 85,000 copies in the United States. Comprehensive sales figures have not been published because the digital download data has not been publicly reported by Bloc Party. The chosen cover art is a stylised shot of a couple kissing, taken by freelance photographer Perry Curties. It was ranked at number 23 on Gigwise's list of The Best Album Covers of 2008, in which the publication called it "intimate and rather ambiguous".

SOLUTION: Which record sold 24,000 copies during the first week of release and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard 200??

PROBLEM: Passage: On Christmas Eve in 19th-century London, Fred is sliding on ice on a sidewalk. He meets Peter and Tim Cratchit, sons of his uncle Ebenezer's clerk, Bob Cratchit. When Fred reveals who he is, the boys take off in terror. Fred soon arrives at the counting-house of his miserly maternal uncle, Ebenezer Scrooge. After declining an invitation from his nephew to dine with him on Christmas, Scrooge rejects two gentlemen collecting money for charity. That night, Scrooge reluctantly allows his employee Bob Cratchit to have Christmas off with pay but orders him back all the earlier the day after. Later Bob accidentally knocks off Scrooge's hat with a snowball. Scrooge dismisses Bob and withholds a week's pay to compensate for his ruined hat, also demanding a shilling to make up the difference. Bob spends the last of his wages on food for his family's Christmas dinner. 
In his house, Scrooge is confronted by the ghost of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, who warns Scrooge to repent his wicked ways or he will be condemned in the afterlife as Marley was. He tells Scrooge he will be haunted by three spirits.
At one o'clock, Scrooge is visited by the youthful Ghost of Christmas Past, who takes him back in time to his early life. Scrooge is shown his unhappiness when he was left to spend the holidays alone at school, and his joy when his sister, Fran, came to take him home for Christmas. The spirit reminds Scrooge that Fran, dead for some years, is the mother of his nephew. Scrooge is shown his early career in business and money lending as an employee under Fezziwig.

SOLUTION:
Who runs away scared?