Chinese Influences: The Japanese were forced out of the Korean peninsula in the sixth century, but not before the Koreans had bequeathed to the Yamato court copies of the sacred images and scriptures of Chinese Buddhism. Just as Christianity introduced Mediterranean culture into northern Europe, so Buddhism brought Chinese culture into Japanese society. Throughout the seventh and eighth centuries numerous Japanese monks, scholars, and artists made the perilous trip west across the Sea of Japan to study Chinese religion, history, music, literature, and paintinglater to be brought back for further development in Japan. An outstanding figure of this time was Prince Shotoku, who in 604 developed the "Seventeen-Article Constitution," outlining a code of human conduct and the ideals of state as a basic law for the nation. He also established relations with the Sui dynasty in China. Through him, the Japanese imperial court developed Chinese patterns of centralized government, with its formal bureaucracy of eight court ranks. The Chinese calendar was used to calculate the year of Japan's foundation by counting back the 1,260 years of the Chinese cosmological cycle. Thus, 660 b.c. is still the official date celebrated nationwide. At this early stage in its history Japan was already (for the most part) only nominally ruled by the emperor. De facto power was exercised by the militarily and economically strongest family. The Sogas had promoted Buddhism as an imperially sanctioned counterweight to the native Shinto religion, along with the new Chinese customs, to weaken the influence of their more conservative rivals. But they in turn were ousted in a.d. 645 by Nakatomi Kamatari, founder of the great Fujiwara clan, which was to rule Japanese affairs for hundreds of years and provide prominent advisers to the emperor even up to the 19th century.

Question: "Who were ousted in 645 AD by Nakatomi Kamatari?"

Response: "The Sui clan"
OPTIONS:
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A: no

Chemical changes produce new substances. For this reason, they often cannot be undone. Some chemical changes can be reversed, sort of. To do so requires another chemical change to take place. For example, you can undo the tarnish on copper pennies by placing them in vinegar. The acid in the vinegar reacts with the tarnish. This is a chemical change that makes the pennies bright and shiny again. You can try this yourself at home to see how well it works. Other chemical changes cannot be reversed at all or may be difficult to do. Rusting is a chemical change. If metal rusts, the best you can do is to sand off the rust to get down to the shiny metal. Although the metal may now be shiny, the rust was removed. The rust was not changed back into the original metal. Some chemical reactions occur in only one direction. These reactions are called irreversible reactions. For example, you cannot change a fried egg back into a raw egg. Can you think of some other irreversible reactions related to cooking? Would you like a piece of cake?

Question: "What can you do to make pennies bright and shiny again?"

Response: "You can use vinegar to remove the tarnishes by causing another chemical change when they react."
OPTIONS:
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A: yes

The idea that Earth is a magnet is far from new. It was first proposed in 1600 by a British physician named William Gilbert. Knowing it acts like a magnet is one thing. Knowing why it acts like a magnet is more difficult. In fact, finding out why is a fairly recent discovery. To find out why required new technology. It was the seismograph that made it possible to learn why the Earth acted like a magnet. Seismograph are used to study earthquakes. By studying earthquake waves they were able to learn about Earths interior. They discovered that Earth has an inner and outer core. The outer core consists of liquid metals, mainly iron and nickel. Scientists think that Earths magnetic field is generated here. It is caused by the motion of this liquid metal. The liquid metal moves as Earth spins on its axis.

Question: "When the Earth spins, what are the main liquid metals it is causing to move?"

Response: "Steel and bronze"
OPTIONS:
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- yes

A:
no