Article: It has been used for thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers (which are strong in tension) embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression. Wood is sometimes defined as only the secondary xylem in the stems of trees, or it is defined more broadly to include the same type of tissue elsewhere such as in the roots of trees or shrubs.[citation needed] In a living tree it performs a support function, enabling woody plants to grow large or to stand up by themselves. It also conveys water and nutrients between the leaves, other growing tissues, and the roots. Wood may also refer to other plant materials with comparable properties, and to material engineered from wood, or wood chips or fiber.

Question: What one word describes the function wood provides to a tree or plant?
Ans: support

Article: Apparently the sailor did not connect with the soldier, as Mahan believed he was innovating the term Middle East. It was, however, already there to be seen.

Question: What did Mahan believe he was innovating?
Ans: the term Middle East

Article: Jews originated as a national and religious group in the Middle East during the second millennium BCE, in the part of the Levant known as the Land of Israel. The Merneptah Stele appears to confirm the existence of a people of Israel, associated with the god El, somewhere in Canaan as far back as the 13th century BCE. The Israelites, as an outgrowth of the Canaanite population, consolidated their hold with the emergence of the Kingdom of Israel, and the Kingdom of Judah. Some consider that these Canaanite sedentary Israelites melded with incoming nomadic groups known as 'Hebrews'. Though few sources in the Bible mention the exilic periods in detail, the experience of diaspora life, from the Ancient Egyptian rule over the Levant, to Assyrian Captivity and Exile, to Babylonian Captivity and Exile, to Seleucid Imperial rule, to the Roman occupation, and the historical relations between Israelites and the homeland, became a major feature of Jewish history, identity and memory.

Question: Who consolidated their hold with the emergence of the Kingdom of Israel, and the kingdom of Judah?
Ans: Israelites

Article: Since the Three Kingdoms period, Nanjing has been an industrial centre for textiles and minting owing to its strategic geographical location and convenient transportation. During the Ming dynasty, Nanjing's industry was further expanded, and the city became one of the most prosperous cities in China and the world. It led in textiles, minting, printing, shipbuilding and many other industries, and was the busiest business center in East Asia. Textiles boomed particularly in Qing dynasty, the industry created around 200 thousand jobs and there were about 50 thousand satin machines in the city in 18th and 19th century.

Question: During the textile boom, how many jobs were created?
Ans:
around 200 thousand jobs