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: Which city was larger the year Cowan was born, Braeholm or Los Angeles? Passage:Charles Edward Cowan (June 19, 1938 in Braeholm, West Virginia April 29, 1998 in Los Angeles, California) was an American football offensive tackle who played fifteen seasons in the National Football League with the Los Angeles Rams from 1961 to 1975. Cowan was a huge intimidating presence on the left of Tom Mack, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, from 1966 to 1975, forming a potent left side of the offensive line, with help from Ken Iman at center from 1965 to 1975. In that 1961 to 1975 span, the Rams made the playoffs 5 times (1967,1969,1973,1974,1975), reaching the NFC championship game of the 1974-75 NFL playoffs and the 1975-76 NFL playoffs, but losing to the Minnesota Vikings and to the Dallas Cowboys, respectively. In the 1974 divisional round, the Rams defeated the Washington Redskins, as Cowan was successful against the opposing the right defensive end Verlon Biggs. In the 1975 divisional round, Doug France started in his place as the Rams defeated the St. Louis Cardinals. Cowan came back to play against the Cowboys, his final game, as the Rams could not get past them. Cowan was replaced by Doug France in 1976.

SOLUTION: a

PROBLEM: Question: How long had A&M Records been in business at the time the Carpenters signed a contract with them? Passage:The siblings were born in New Haven, Connecticut, and moved to Downey, California, in 1963. Richard took piano lessons as a child, progressing to California State University, Long Beach, while Karen learned the drums. They first performed together as a duo in 1965 and formed the jazz-oriented Richard Carpenter Trio followed by the middle-of-the-road group Spectrum. Signing as Carpenters to A&M Records in 1969, they achieved major success the following year with the hit singles "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun". Subsequently, the duo's brand of melodic pop produced a record-breaking run of hit recordings on the American Top40 and Adult Contemporary charts, and they became leading sellers in the soft rock, easy listening and adult contemporary music genres. The Carpenters had three number-one singles and five number-two singles on the Billboard Hot100 and fifteen number-one hits on the Adult Contemporary chart, in addition to twelve top-10 singles. They have sold more than 90million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time. The duo toured continually during the 1970s, which put them under increased strain; Richard took a year off in 1979 after he had become addicted to Quaaludes, while Karen suffered from anorexia nervosa.

SOLUTION: a

PROBLEM: Question: How long had Hafez al-Assad been the President of Syria for by the year he sent troops into Lebanon to fight PLO forces? Passage:According to historians William Cleveland and Martin Bunton, Beirut became an international banking center because of its "laissez-faire economic system". Business owners from Cairo, Damascus, and Baghdad moved to Beirut for economic opportunities. Despite Lebanon's cultural liberalism and economic prosperity, sectarian tensions remained as citizens identified themselves through their sects. With Muslims calling for greater representation and with Cold War tensions, Lebanese leadership had to decide whether to ally with the West or with Egypt, Syria and its Arab history. Christians wanted to continue alliances with the West but Muslims were drawn to Nasser's pan-Arabism. Multiple factors including sectarian tensions and Palestinian refugee settlement in southern Lebanon contributed to the beginnings of the Lebanese Civil War. In 1976, Syrian President Hafez al-Assad sent troops into Lebanon to fight PLO forces on behalf of Christian militias. This led to escalated fighting until a cease-fire agreement later that year that allowed for the stationing of Syrian troops within Lebanon. The Syrian presence in Lebanon quickly changed sides; soon after they entered Lebanon they had flip-flopped and began to fight the Christian nationalists in Lebanon they allegedly entered the country to protect. The Kateab Party and the Lebanese Forces under Bachir Gemayel strongly resisted the Syrians in Lebanon. Following the Israeli invasion into Lebanon in 1982, new Lebanese President Amine Gemayel sought the support of Syrian troops to stabilize the region. Syria fought Israeli troops after the latter's invasion of Lebanon.

SOLUTION:
b