In the popular mind, the history of Hong Kong, long the entryway to China for Westerners, begins in 1841 with the British occupation of the territory. However, it would be wrong to dismiss the long history of the region itself. Archaeologists today are working to uncover Hong Kong's past, which stretches back thousands of years. You can get a glimpse into that past at Lei Cheng Uk Museum's 1,600-year-old burial vault on the mainland just north of Kowloon. In 1992, when construction of the airport on Chek Lap Kok was begun, a 2,000-year-old village, Pak Mong, was discovered, complete with artifacts that indicated a sophisticated rural society. An even older Stone Age site was discovered on Lamma Island in 1996. While Hong Kong remained a relative backwater in early days, nearby Guangzhou (Canton) was developing into a great trading city with connections in India and the Middle East. By a.d. 900, the Hong Kong islands had become a lair for pirates preying on the shipping in the Pearl River Delta and causing a major headache for burgeoning Guangzhou; small bands of pirates were still operating into the early years of the 20th century. In the meantime, the mainland area was being settled by incomers, the "Five Great Clans": Tang, Hau, Pang, Liu, and Man. First to arrive was the Tang clan, which established a number of walled villages in the New Territories that still exist today. You can visit Kat Hing Wai and Lo Wai, villages with their walls still intact. Adjacent to Lo Wai is the Tang Chung Ling Ancestral Hall, built in the 16th century, which is still the center of clan activities. The first Europeans to arrive in the Pearl River Delta were the Portuguese, who settled in Macau in 1557 and for several centuries had a monopoly on trade between Asia, Europe, and South America. As Macau developed into the greatest port in the East, it also became a base for Jesuit missionaries; it was later a haven for persecuted Japanese Christians. While Christianity was not a great success in China, it made local headway, evidenced today by the numerous Catholic churches in Macau's historic center. Intermarriage with the local Chinese created a community of Macanese, whose culture can still be seen in Macau's architecture and cuisine.

Question: "In 900 ad, present-day Canton was beset by what sort of danger?"

Answer: "Volatile waters"

Response: no

In India to purchase some horses , British aristocrat , Lord Esketh and his wife , Edwina , come to the town of Ranchipur at the invitation of the elderly Maharani . Their marriage is an unhappy one and Lord Esketh announces his intention to return to England and begin divorce proceedings . The spoiled , insensitive Edwina scoffs at this . She renews in Ranchipur an acquaintance with a former lover , Tom Ransome , now a dissolute alcoholic . She also meets and attempts to seduce a distinguished Hindu physician , Dr. Rama Safti , a decent man who is the elderly Maharani's personal choice to succeed her someday . Safti at first resists , but ultimately succumbs to Edwina's charms and falls hopelessly in love with her . Lord Esketh becomes aware of this , but Safti saves him from a man-eating tiger during a safari . Safti admits his love for Edwina to Lord Esketh , who is now sympathetic toward this good man's plight . Ransome feels the same way , warning Edwina to stay away from Safti , a friend he admires . Edwina similarly falls into disfavor with the Maharani , who explains that Safti has been raised to lead a pure life and that Edwina is unworthy of him . Ranchipur suddenly is ravaged by a natural disaster , an earthquake and flood . Dr. Safti is so busy saving lives that he can not personally care for Edwina , who has fallen ill . Ransome looks after her as well as for young Fern Simon , who has declared her love for him . When a dam is exploded by dynamite and as a result the flood waters recede , it is Dr. Safti who reveals that Ransome is the one who risked his personal safety to save the people of Ranchipur .

Question: "Where did Safti save Lord Esketh from a man-eating tiger?"

Answer: "Maharani"

Response: no

Jake was walking to the park to play baseball with his friends. He loved being outside on sunny days, and now that school was over for the year, he was playing baseball every day. The more he played, the better he got. Only Frank was better than he was. He liked playing third base, but he often played in the field. He was carrying his favorite mitt that his Grandfather had bought him. His Grandfather had taught him to catch. He loved spending time with him when he was younger, but he had moved last year. Now he only saw his Grandfather in the summer. Jake was really excited to show him his skills when he came to their next game. He could throw really fast now. He was sure his Grandfather would want to sit in the front to watch him. He knew he would jump up and down. Jake happily ran the rest of the way to the park thinking about how much fun he was going to have playing baseball this year.

Question: "What did Jake get better at the more he played?"

Answer: "Baseball"

Response: yes

Allan sat down at his desk and pulled the chair in close. Opening a side drawer, he took out a piece of paper and his inkpot. After filling his pen, Allan looked at his paper in the orange glow from the lantern set back in the desk's right-hand corner. His pen cast a forbidding line of shadow slanting across the page, echoing the inky darkness crouching in the edges of the lantern's struggling glow. The only other illumination came from a lurid moonlight filtered through thin branches and clouds, casting its bone-pale glow onto the pine floorboards. Allan unfolded another page, this one crowded with ranks of letters in tight formation from left to right. The lines of letters stepped into their divisions, in the shape of a story's outline: the loose, dry skeleton of a tale lay exposed beneath their feet, awaiting tendons, muscle and blushing skin. Allan reviewed the troops, all prepared to disembark, their task to form the tale of a young man returning home from Life Abroad to find his childhood friend a bride to-be, thus upsetting the apple cart of his life's plan, clarified of course by his very time away from her he loved best. Although the concept was a simple one, Allan thought it had potential. Besides, the public liked a good, simple romance. Perhaps this will be more saleable, he thought and began to write. They gazed at each other, lost in the rapture of love based so deeply within their hearts that they had never seen it before. "What about Roger?" she asked, knowing that the answer no longer mattered.

Question: "Two pages are mentioned. Which is described with mixed metaphors, the first or second?"

Answer: "Second"

Response:
yes