IBM opened a sprawling and sophisticated semiconductor factory here on Wednesday that cost more than $2.5 billion to build and equip, the largest single capital investment the company has ever made. The factory, which opens as the computer chip business is in a slump, is a costly and risky move for IBM. But it is also an expression of confidence by the company that it can remain a technology leader in the highly competitive global semiconductor industry, and a commitment that the best place to execute that strategy is in upstate New York. IBM is an exception among computer makers in that it still invests heavily in research to advance the design, manufacture and materials used in semiconductor chips. It is spending more than $500 million a year on semiconductor research and development. The factory will produce a wide range of specialized semiconductors used in everything from the largest mainframe computers to cell phones and video-game consoles. The new plant is part of IBM's push to gain a strong lead in chip-making beyond the personal computer business, where Intel and East Asian chip producers hold the advantage. "The core of our strategy is to lead in technology and attack the high-performance segments of the market," said John Kelly, senior vice president in charge of IBM's technology group. An advantage to having the semiconductor fabricating factory here, Kelly explained, was that it was very close to its research laboratories in nearby Westchester County, N.Y. To stay ahead in advanced chip technology, he said, moving innovations out of the labs and into the factory as fast as possible is crucial. "What we call the lab-to-fab time should be as close to zero as possible," Kelly said. "If our strategy were anything but to be on the leading edge, we'd have put the plant in Asia." The new factory, which will begin normal production early next year, will employ about 1,000 people.

Question: "On what type of research is IBM currently spending more than $500 million dollars a year?"

OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

Answer: "Computer"

Response: no

Though prehistoric remains from the Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Ages have been unearthed in the Manzanares Valley, prior to Madrid's sudden elevation to capital city in 1561 its history was rather undistinguished. Over a period of many centuries crucial in Spanish history, Madrid's significance was negligible. The Romans built their most advanced outpost on the Iberian peninsula, but left nothing of consequence in Madrid. Armies of North African nomads, intent on disseminating Islam, invaded the peninsula in a.d. Within 10 years, they had overrun most of Spain. If Madrid played any role in these pivotal events, no record of it remains. The first solid references to this obscure settlement on the Castilian plateau, guarded by the looming Guadarrama mountain range, appear in the 9th century. The Arabic name for "place of many springs," variously recorded as Magerit, Mayrit or Magrit, eventually evolved into Madrid. The hamlet entered historical chronicles for its military significance; it was located near the main line of resistance to the Christian reconquest. Over centuries of struggle, the defending Moorish army built a full-scale fort, or Alcazar, on the heights of Madrid commanding the Manzanares valley. After several unsuccessful skirmishes, the Christian forces of Alfonso VI captured Madrid in 1083. The Alcazar became a fort of the crown of Castile. During a counter-offensive in 1109, the town was overrun by the Moors, but the Christianized fortress held. The Moors were expelled from the town, but they remained in control of southern Spain for almost four centuries. Meanwhile, Madrid enjoyed brief prominence in 1308 when king Ferdinand IV and his Cortes, an early version of parliament, held a formal meeting in the fledgling town. From then on, the kings of Spain began to visit Madrid, where the air was invigorating and the hunting excellent. Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic monarchs that united all the provinces of Spain, first visited Madrid in 1477.

Question: "Why did kings of Spain visit Madrid?"

Response: "Women"
OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

A: no

Problem: Once upon a time I had a dog named Toodles. He was black and white and had long floppy ears. He also had very short legs, but really big paws. Every Saturday we would go to the park and play Toodles' favorite game. Toodles loved playing fetch. One Saturday, Toodles ran over to the pond because he saw ducks swimming there. He ran all around the pond, barking at the ducks. The ducks ignored him, and kept swimming. Toodles wasn't having it! He jumped into the pond and started swimming toward the ducks, chasing around his new playmates. One of the ducks, braver than the others, poked Toodles with his beak - and then bit him right on one of his floppy ears! Toodles barked and ran out of the pond because the duck hurt his ear. Soaking wet, he ran toward where I was eating a sandwich on the grass and curled right up in my lap so I could make him feel better. After that, whenever he would see a duck, Toodles would run the other way.

Question: "How is toodles appearance discribed?"

Answer: "He is red and brown with short ears"

OPTIONS:
- no
- yes
Answer: no

Hundreds of thousands of years before China was to become the world's longest-running civilization, the prologue was enacted by means of the flicker of a carefully tended fire. Peking Man, a forebear of Homo sapiens, achieved a mastery of fire. We might call it the first Chinese invention. Not that he devised flint and steel, matches, or any other way of creating fire. Peking Man simply learned how to capture flame, perhaps from a forest fire, and keep it alight. He thus enjoyed two revolutionary luxuries: light and heat. Technologically and sociologically, it was a phenomenal breakthrough: with fire, communities could live year 'round in one cave, in which cooking and even smelting could be pursued. And so, by 600,000 b.c., about 50 km (31 miles) southwest of present-day Beijing, the ancestors of mankind were ready to settle down. Several hundred thousand years later, when Marco Polo reached the capital of China, he was astonished by a further development in fire technology. The Chinese, he announced, used black stones dug out of mountains as fuel. Europeans did not yet have a word for "coal," nor had they discovered a use for it. The First Dynasty The confluence of mythology and history in China took place around 4,000 years ago during what is referred to as the Xia (Hsia) Dynasty. This was still the Stone Age, but the people are thought to have made silk from thread produced by the worms they cultivated on the leaves of their mulberry trees. And written language (which evolved as early as 4,500 to 5,000 years ago) was already in use, originally by oracles and then by official scribesChina's first scholars. During the second of the quasi-legendary dynasties, the Shang (from about the 16th to 11th centuries b.c.), the Chinese developed an interest in art. Careful geometric designs as well as dragon and bird motifs adorned bowls and implements. And with the arrival of the Bronze Age, the Chinese created bronze vessels of such beauty and originality that, until modern times, archaeologists refused to believe they were cast 3,000 years ago. The Shang Dynasty gave rise to the concept of one Chinese nation under one government.

Question: "What development in fire technology did Marco Polo discover when he reached the capital of China?"

OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

Answer: "Black stones dug out of mountains"

Response:
yes