In this task, you're given a statement and three sentences as choices. Your job is to determine which sentence can be inferred from the statement. Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or have details that are not mentioned in the statement. Indicate your answer as 1,2, or 3 corresponding to the choice number of the selected sentence.
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Question: Statement: As Istanbul it was the seat of the Ottoman sultans, rulers of a 500-year Islamic empire that stretched from the Black Sea and the Balkans to Arabia and Algeria. Choices:  1. The Ottoman empire collapsed for a number of reasons, but its collapse is largely seen to have been an inevitability by most historians. 2. The Ottoman empire established a 500-year rule over territory that stretched from the Black Sea and the Balkans to the Arabia and Algeria. 3. The Ottoman empire established a 200-year rule over a comparably small territory.

Answer: 2


Question: Statement: Still, all that shine simply hid a different kind of dirt. Choices:  1. Just because something appears to be clean and perfect doesn't mean it isn't smudged somehow. 2. The dirt showed prominently and hid any shine there was.  3. Even though they were shiny, they weren't free of dirt.

Answer: 3


Question: Statement: Katha Pollitt announces her resignation from the magazine's masthead, though she will continue to write her column. Choices:  1. Pollitt has written the column for five years. 2. Pollitt will no longer be associated with the magazine at all. 3. Pollitt resigned from the magazine in part.

Answer:
3