TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you're given a question, along with a context passage. The passage will not have a direct answer to the question, but can include some information and a clue for the answer. Assuming you can only obtain information about one entity in the passage, your job is to determine whether information from the passage can be used to answer the question. Indicate your choice as `a` for Yes or `b` for No.
PROBLEM: Question: Is Vitebsk the capital of a country? Passage:A.P. Rosengolts was born in Vitebsk on November 4, 1889. He was the son of a Jewish merchant. He joined the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party (RSDRP) in 1905, the year of the first, abortive Russian Revolution. He worked as an insurance agent and carried out work for the Bolshevik party in Vitebsk, Kiev, Ekaterinoslav and Moscow. Rosengolts played an active role in the Revolution of 1917. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the Moscow City Council, the Moscow Military-Revolutionary Committee and the All-Russian Military-Revolutionary Committee. He was a leading officer in the Red Army and, during the Russian Civil War, worked closely with L.D. Trotsky. After the Civil War, Rosengolts worked successively for the Commissariats of Transportation and Finance and the Directorate of the Red Army Air Force. He served as ambassador to Britain from 1925 to 1927 and oversaw Soviet espionage in Britain. He became a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1927 and held various high positions in the Communist Party and the Soviet government. In 1930 he was appointed People's Commissar of Foreign Trade. On June 14, 1937, Rosengolts was dismissed from this office and on October 7, 1937, he was arrested. He was one of the defendants of the third Moscow Trial, along with Nikolai Bukharin, Alexey Rykov and other prominent Soviet officials. The accused faced a long list of capital charges, including plotting to assassinate Lenin and Stalin, espionage and sabotage. Like most of his co-defendants, Rosengolts confessed. He was convicted, sentenced to death and shot on March 15, 1938 in Moscow. He was rehabilitated in 1988.


SOLUTION: b

PROBLEM: Question: How old was Hokutoumi when he defeated Jingaku Takashi by making him stumble out of the dohyo? Passage:He came from the same area of Japan as future stable-mates Sakahoko and Terao. He was fond of kendo at school. He joined Izutsu stable in 1977, and first reached a sekitori rank in July 1982 when he was promoted to the juryo division. He first made the top makuuchi division in January 1983 but posted a losing record of 4–11 and so was immediately demoted. He won promotion back to the top division in January 1984, and remained there for virtually all of the rest of his career. In September 1984 he defeated a yokozuna for the first time when he upset Kitanoumi in one of the latter's final tournaments. He made the sanyaku ranks for the first time in November 1987 when he reached komusubi, but he proved to be out of his depth and scored only two wins against thirteen losses. He made komusubi once more in September 1990 at the age of 30, but again struggled, winning only three bouts. He suffered from stage fright, losing weight during tournaments because of stomach upsets. This affected his performance against top ranked wrestlers – he stumbled out of the dohyo in a match against Hokutoumi in September 1990 with his opponent barely having to touch him. He was restricted by a foot problem as well as digestive illness towards the end of his career. After 46 consecutive tournaments in the top division he was demoted to juryo after scoring only 4-11 at maegashira 15 in the July 1991 tourney, and he pulled out of the following tournament with a knee injury after fighting only one match. This brought to an end his streak of 1036 consecutive matches from sumo entry. He announced his retirement shortly afterwards.


SOLUTION: b

PROBLEM: Question: In what year did the site which chose Divine for "The most interesting comics of the week" first launch? Passage:The Divine was published in the U.S. by First Second Books, featuring a blurb by author Yann Martel, best known for the international bestseller Life of Pi. It was released in July 2015 and has hit the New York Times Best Sellers list. It has since received highly positive reviews. Publishers Weekly had chosen The Divine for "top ten graphic novel for spring 2015", describing it later on as: "Heady, hellacious, and phantasmagoric". Jesse Karp on his Booklist review wrote: "Stunning artwork and creeping dread weave together in this satisfying and moving page-turner". Douglas Wolk from The New York Times described it as "a too rare example of artists getting top billing", referring to the artwork by Asaf and Tomer Hanuka. Joshua Rivera from GQ wrote: "The Divine's story is unflinching and raw, and its art is quite possibly the most beautiful of any comic this year". Michael Mechanic from Mother Jones called it "beautifully rendered", while io9 defined it as "Your next comics obsession". Rich Barrett from Mental Floss chose it for "The most interesting comics of the week" and praised it for being "stunning, cohesive combination [of elements]". Terry Hong, from The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center blog, wrote: "can’t-turn-away riveting [...] Unrelenting and uninterruptible", and the Eisner nominated comics blog Comics & Cola dubbed it "superb" and chose it for its pick of the month.


SOLUTION:
b