TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you're given passages that contain mentions of names of people, places, or things. Some of these mentions refer to the same person, place, or thing. Your job is to write questions that evaluate one's understanding of such references. Good questions are expected to link pronouns (she, her, him, his, their, etc.) or other mentions to people, places, or things to which they may refer. Do not ask questions that can be answered correctly without understanding the paragraph or having multiple answers. Avoid questions that do not link phrases referring to the same entity. For each of your questions, the answer should be one or more phrases in the paragraph, and it should be unambiguous.
PROBLEM: Passage: Dr Stedman is murdered by an intruder in his study and two toy soldiers are stolen from his desk. The next day, Hugh Drummond reads about the murder in the newspaper. He is approached by a friend, Phillip Coleman, who tells him that he owns two similar figures and that he has received first offers, then threats to sell them. According to Coleman, the soldiers are 900 years old, dating back to the time of William the Conqueror. Coleman leaves the two painted lead figures with Drummond for safety and asks him to look into the affair. To flush out whoever is trying to get the figurines they plant a press story that Drummond has bought them from Coleman.
When a woman, who introduces herself as journalist Estelle Gorday, visits Drummond's apartment, she recognizes the right figures out of a collection that Drummond has assembled on his mantle piece. Drummond and his friend Longworth then visit Stedman Manor and meet the daughter of the victim, Cynthia. She tells them that her father's figures were very similar to those brought by Drummond but different in detail and that they were part of a set of 13 soldiers that Dr Stedman bought at auction together with an Anglo-Saxon palimpsest. He was translating that when he was killed and the scroll was also taken. Dr Stedman was convinced that the statues were exceedingly valuable and he received an offer to buy them from a man called Vane. Vane offered a multiple of what Stedman has paid and left very angry when rejected.
Drummond and Longworth follow an invitation by Ms Gorday. While they are there, Vane breaks into Drummond's apartment and steals the two soldiers. Coleman and Seymour, another friend of Drummond's, shadow him to a Soho flat. Seymour fetches Drummond and they return to Soho. Drummond and Longworth go up. A knife is thrown at them and they find Vane dead and the soldiers missing.

SOLUTION: Who was translating a scroll?

PROBLEM: Passage: Beginning on December 11, 1945, Stafford hosted the Tuesday and Thursday broadcasts of NBC musical variety radio program The Chesterfield Supper Club. On April 5, 1946, the entire cast, including Stafford and Perry Como, participated in the first commercial radio broadcast from an airplane. The initial plan was to use the stand-held microphones used in studios but when these proved to be problematic, the cast switched to hand-held microphones, which because of the plane's cabin pressure became difficult to hold. Three flights were made that day; a rehearsal in the afternoon, then two in the eveningone for the initial 6:00 pm broadcast and another at 10:00 pm for the West Coast broadcast.Stafford moved from New York to California in November 1946, continuing to host Chesterfield Supper Club from Hollywood. In 1948, she restricted her appearances on the show to Tuesdays, and Peggy Lee hosted the Thursday broadcasts. Stafford left the show when it was expanded to 30 minutes, making her final appearance on September 2, 1949. She returned to the program in 1954; it ended its run on NBC Radio the following year. During her time with Chesterfield Supper Club, Stafford revisited some of the folk music she had enjoyed as a child. Weston, her conductor on the programme, suggested using some of the folk music for the show. With her renewed interest in folk tunes came an interest in folklore; Stafford established a contest to award a prize to the best collection of American folklore submitted by a college student. The annual Jo Stafford Prize for American Folklore was handled by the American Folklore Society, with the first prize of $250 awarded in 1949.

SOLUTION: What was the name of the person that conducted the Chesterfield Supper Club?

PROBLEM: Passage: Following a brief post-war downturn, boom times returned to Jerome in the 1920s. Copper prices rose to 24 cents a pound in 1929, and United Verde and UVX operated at near capacity. Wages rose, consumers spent, and the town's businessesincluding five automobile dealershipsprospered. United Verde, seeking stable labor relations, added disability and life insurance benefits for its workers and built a baseball field, tennis courts, swimming pools, and a public park in Jerome. Both companies donated to the Jerome Public Library and helped finance projects for the town's schools, churches, and hospitals.In 1930, after the start of the Great Depression, the price of copper fell to 14 cents a pound. In response, United Verde began reducing its work force; UVX operated at a loss, and the third big mine, Verde Central, closed completely. The price of copper fell further in 1932 to 5 cents a pound, leading to layoffs, temporary shut-downs, and wage reductions in the Verde District. In 1935, the Clark family sold United Verde to Phelps Dodge, and in 1938 UVX went out of business.
Meanwhile, a subsidence problem that had irreparably damaged at least 10 downtown buildings by 1928 worsened through the 1930s. Dozens of buildings, including the post office and jail, were lost as the earth beneath them sank away. Contributing causes were geologic faulting in the area, blast vibrations from the mines, and erosion that may have been exacerbated by vegetation-killing smelter smoke.Mining continued at a reduced level in the Verde District until 1953, when Phelps Dodge shut down the United Verde Mine and related operations. Jerome's population subsequently fell below 100. To prevent the town from disappearing completely, its remaining residents turned to tourism and retail sales. They organized the Jerome Historical Society in 1953 and opened a museum and gift shop.To encourage tourism, the town's leaders sought National Historic Landmark status for Jerome; it was granted by the federal government in 1967. In 1962, the heirs of James Douglas donated the Douglas mansion, above the UVX mine site, to the State of Arizona, which used it to create Jerome State Historic Park. By sponsoring music festivals, historic-homes tours, celebrations, and races, the community succeeded in attracting visitors and new businesses, which in the 21st century include art galleries, craft stores, wineries, coffee houses, and restaurants.

SOLUTION:
What year was the town that had its population dip under 100 granted National Historic Landmark status?