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: Ottavio's marriage troubled Alessandro; he struggled with the burden of chastity and entertained fantasies of marrying a princess. He resented his younger brother's arrangement; during the wedding ceremony he "became more deathly pale than death itself, and, so they say, is unable to bear this thing, that he, the first-born, should see himself deprived of such splendid status and of the daughter of an Emperor." In 1546 Paul gave Pier Luigi the duchies of Parma and Piacenza as papal fiefs, a highly political move by the pope: in doing so he gave titles and wealth to Pier and appointed a lord who was subservient and owed a debt of gratitude, guaranteeing that the duchies would remain under papal control. At the same time, Ottavio was posted to the North of Italy to support Charles. By 1546 Ottavio was 22 years old, married to Margaret of Austria and an accomplished and distinguished individual. In 1547 his father was assassinated and Ottavio claimed the dukedom of Parma and Piacenza against the express wishes of both Charles, his father-in-law, and Paul. In doing so, Ottavio acted in opposition to the pope's desire to maintain the duchies as papal fiefs, and to Charles, whom he believed responsible for the plot to assassinate Pier Luigi.Titian was a personal friend of Charles; the commissioning of the portrait was most likely intended by Paul as a signal of allegiance to the emperor. Pressure from reforming monarchs in France and Spain, coupled with a general shift of influence in France's favour, ended the Farnese hold on the papacy soon after Paul's death. Ottavio excelled as a military commander and was awarded the Golden Fleece by the emperor. While the post had been given as a means to strengthen the family position, it did not come without cost. His success bred resentment amongst his family, as he began to see himself unaccountable to Rome.At the time of the portrait Paul had convinced Alessandro to retain the post, hinting that he would later succeed him as pope – an aspiration that was ultimately frustrated. As Alessandro realised the emptiness of the promise he lost confidence in both his grandfather's word and political credibility.

SOLUTION: What is the name of the person who wanted to marry a princess?

PROBLEM: Passage: With an average flow at the mouth of about 37,400 cubic feet per second (1,060 m3/s), the Willamette ranks 19th in volume among rivers in the United States and contributes 12 to 15 percent of the total flow of the Columbia River. The Willamette's flow varies considerably season to season, averaging about 8,200 cubic feet per second (230 m3/s) in August to more than 79,000 cubic feet per second (2,200 m3/s) in December.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates five stream gauges along the river, at Harrisburg, Corvallis, Albany, Salem, and Portland. The average discharge at the lowermost gauge, near the Morrison Bridge in Portland, was 33,220 cubic feet per second (941 m3/s) between 1972 and 2013. Located at river mile (RM) 12.8 or river kilometer (RK) 20.6, the gauge measures the flow from an area of 11,200 square miles (29,000 km2), roughly 97 percent of the Willamette basin. The highest flow recorded at this station was 420,000 cubic feet per second (11,893 m3/s) on February 9, 1996, during the Willamette Valley Flood of 1996, and the minimum was 4,200 cubic feet per second (120 m3/s) on July 10, 1978. The highest recorded flow of 635,000 cubic feet per second (18,000 m3/s) for the Willamette at a different gauge in Portland occurred during a flood in 1861. This and many other large flows preceded the Flood Control Act of 1936 and dam construction on the Willamette's major tributaries.The river below Willamette Falls, 26.5 miles (42.6 km) from the mouth, is affected by semidiurnal tides, and gauges have detected reverse flows (backwards river flows) upstream from Ross Island at RM 15 (RK 24). The National Weather Service issues tide forecasts for the river at the Morrison Bridge.

SOLUTION: In what month is the flow of the WIllamette the lowest?

PROBLEM: Passage: Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel are vagabonds being chased by the police. They hide in the cellar of the mansion of a Quatermain-esque adventurer, Colonel Wilburforce Buckshot, who departs for a safari in South Africa. The mansion is to be rented out until his return, but the staff sneak off for a holiday, leaving the house empty. The boys are surrounded by police and have to deceive a honeymooning couple wanting to rent the house. Ollie disguises himself as Buckshot and Stan disguises himself as both butler Hives and chambermaid Agnes.
During a girl-talk scene with Thelma Todd and Stan (disguised as Agnes), Stan's comments get sillier and sillier. The real Colonel returns to fetch his bow and arrows, to find the disorder that had ensued after his departure. Ollie continues his masquerade as Colonel Buckshot to the real colonel, until he sees the portrait on the wall of the real owner. Stan and Ollie escape the ensuing row dressed as a wildebeest on a stolen tandem bicycle. They ride into a railroad tunnel and encounter a train, but emerge riding unicycles.

SOLUTION:
What is Ollie's full name?