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: Newcastle-born gangster Jack Carter has lived in London for years in the employ of organised crime bosses Gerald and Sid Fletcher (Terence Rigby and John Bindon). Jack is sleeping with Gerald's girlfriend Anna and plans to escape with her to South America, but he must first return to Newcastle and Gateshead to attend the funeral of his brother, Frank, who died in a purported drunk-driving accident. Unsatisfied with the official explanation, Jack investigates for himself. At the funeral Jack meets his teenage niece Doreen and Frank's evasive mistress Margaret; it is later implied that Doreen is Jack's daughter.
Jack goes to Newcastle Racecourse seeking old acquaintance Albert Swift for information about his brother's death, however Swift spots Jack and evades him. Jack encounters another old associate, Eric Paice, who refuses to tell Jack who is employing him as a chauffeur. Tailing Eric leads him to the country house of crime boss Cyril Kinnear. Jack bursts in on Kinnear, who is playing poker, but learns little from him; he also meets a glamorous drunken woman, Glenda. As Jack leaves, Eric warns him against damaging relations between Kinnear and the Fletchers. Back in town, Jack is threatened by henchmen who want him to leave town, but he fights them off, capturing and interrogating one to find out who wants him gone. He is given the name "Brumby".

SOLUTION: What is the full name of the person whose brother died in a car accident?

PROBLEM: Passage: In 1987, Trent Reznor played keyboard in a Cleveland, Ohio band called the Exotic Birds, then managed by John Malm Jr. Reznor and Malm became friends, and when Reznor left the Exotic Birds to work on music of his own, Malm informally became his manager. At the time, Reznor was employed as an assistant engineer and janitor at Right Track Studios,  in Cleveland; he asked studio owner Bart Koster for permission to record some demos of his own material for free during unused studio time. Koster agreed and allowed Reznor to use it whenever it was empty, commenting that it cost him "just a little wear on [his] tape heads". While completing the early recordings, Reznor was unable to find a band that could articulate the material as he desired. Instead, inspired by Prince, Reznor played all the instruments, except drums, himself. This role remains Reznor's on most of the band's studio recordings, though he has occasionally involved other musicians and assistants. Nine Inch Nails' debut was at the Phantasy Theater in Lakewood, Ohio on October 21, 1988 as part of the Pretty Hate Machine Tour Series. In 1988, after playing its first shows supporting Skinny Puppy, Reznor's ambition for Nine Inch Nails was to release one 12-inch single on a small European label. Several labels responded favorably to the demo material and Reznor signed with TVT Records. Nine selections from the Right Track demos recorded live in November 1988, collectively known as Purest Feeling, were later released in revised form on the band's first full-length studio release, Pretty Hate Machine (1989). The overall sound on Purest Feeling is lighter than that of Pretty Hate Machine; several songs contain more live drumming and guitar work throughout, as well as a heavier use of samples from films.Reznor coined the name "Nine Inch Nails" because it "abbreviated easily", rather than for "any literal meaning". Other rumored explanations have circulated, alleging that Reznor chose to reference Jesus' crucifixion with nine-inch spikes, or Freddy Krueger's nine-inch fingernails. The English letters NIN are also noted for their resemblance to the modern Hebrew characters of the Tetragrammaton.  The Nine Inch Nails' logo, which consists of the letters [NIИ] set inside a border, was designed by Reznor and Gary Talpas, and first appeared on the music video for Nine Inch Nails' debut single, "Down in It", and was inspired by Tibor Kalman's typography on the Talking Heads album Remain in Light. Talpas, a native of Cleveland, would continue to design Nine Inch Nails packaging art until 1997.

SOLUTION: What is the first name of the person who was friends with John?

PROBLEM: Passage: Tara is a wife to Mark and a stay-at-home mother to two children, Teddy and Florrie. Tara goes to a nearby park and seems upset. There is a passage of time.
Tara and Mark are asleep in bed, when they are woken by a phone call. Tara resignedly has sex with Mark, during which she is in tears, unknowingly to Mark. She helps Mark get ready for work, and takes the children to school. When she leaves the school she stops and stands outside, in distress. The following Saturday morning Tara wakes up early, trying not to wake up Mark. He does wake up and she reluctantly engages in sex with him, again in distress unnoticed by Mark. Following a visit to the park, Mark tries to have sex with her in one of the children's rooms, which she refuses. Mark questions whether she's having an affair which she denies and they argue. Later they're having a BBQ with friends and Mark berates her for not providing drinks for the guests. That evening they are having sex again, and Tara again is crying and in distress. Afterwards she repeatedly whispers that she is not happy, and after some brief discussion with Mark she says she's going to sleep. There is a passage of time.

SOLUTION:
What is the name of the person who berates Teddy's mother?