Tuesday, September 11, 2001, dawned temperate and nearly cloudless in the eastern United States. Millions of men and women readied themselves for work. Some made their way to the Twin Towers, the signature structures of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. Others went to Arlington, Virginia, to the Pentagon. Across the Potomac River, the United States Congress was back in session. At the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, people began to line up for a White House tour. In Sarasota, Florida, President George W. Bush went for an early morning run. For those heading to an airport, weather conditions could not have been better for a safe and pleasant journey. Among the travelers were Mohamed Atta and Abdul Aziz al Omari, who arrived at the airport in Portland, Maine. Boston: American 11 and United 175. Atta and Omari boarded a 6:00 A.M. flight from Portland to Boston's Logan International Airport. When he checked in for his flight to Boston, Atta was selected by a computerized prescreening system known as CAPPS (Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System), created to identify passengers who should be subject to special security measures. Under security rules in place at the time, the only consequence of Atta's selection by CAPPS was that his checked bags were held off the plane until it was confirmed that he had boarded the aircraft. This did not hinder Atta's plans. Atta and Omari arrived in Boston at 6:45. Seven minutes later, Atta apparently took a call from Marwan al Shehhi, a longtime colleague who was at another terminal at Logan Airport. They spoke for three minutes. It would be their final conversation.

Question: "At what time did Atta end his call with Marwan Al Shehhi?"

Response: "6:12"

A: no

French and British Ties and Occupation: The daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella married the son and heir of the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian of Hapsburg. The Spanish crown duly passed to the Hapsburgs, and Spain remained in their hands until the feeble-minded Carlos II died in 1700, leaving no heir. France seized the chance to install the young grandson of Louis XIV on the Spanish throne. A rival Hapsburg claimant was supported by Austria and Britain, who saw a powerful Spanish-French alliance as a major threat. In the subsequent War of the Spanish Succession (17021713) most of the old kingdom of Aragon, including the Balearics, backed the Hapsburgs. Britain seized Gibraltarin the name of the Hapsburg claimantand retained it when the war was over. In 1708 Britain captured Menorca, and the magnificent harbor of Mahon (Mao), for the Royal Navy. England clung to it even when Bourbon forces captured Mallorca at the end of the war. Menorca changed hands between Britain, France, and Spain five more times in less than a century. Britain finally ceded the island to Spain in the year 1802, under the terms of the Treaty of Amiens. By 1805, Spain was once more aligned with France, and Spanish ships fought alongside the French against Nelson at Trafalgar. Napoleon came to distrust his Spanish ally and forcibly replaced the king of Spain with his own brother, Joseph Bonaparte. A French army marched in to subdue the country. The Spanish resisted and, aided by British troops commanded by the Duke of Wellington, drove the French out. What British historians call the Peninsular War (18081814) is known in Spain as the War of Independence. In the 19th century, practically all of Spain's possessions in the Americas broke away in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars, and the few that remained were lost at the end of the 19th century. The Balearics, further neglected, were beset with poverty and outbreaks of disease. However, toward the 20th century, things began to improve on the islands, with Mallorca reaping the rewards of successful agricultural crops and Menorca launching an export shoe industry.

Question: "What is the name of the island that Britain ceded to Spain in 1802?"

Response: "Gibraltar"

A: no

Rivers flowing over gentle slopes move more slowly. They move much more slowly than a mountain stream. These slow moving streams create different types of features than mountain streams. Slow moving water erodes the sides of their channels more than the bottom. Also, large curves in the stream form. These curves are called meanders. Meanders are caused by erosion and deposition. Remember, faster moving water causes erosion more quickly. Slower moving water erodes material more slowly. If water is moving slowly enough, the sediment being carried may settle out. This settling out, or dropping off, of sediment is deposition. The curves are called meanders because they slowly wander over the land. As meanders erode from side to side, they create a floodplain. This is a broad, flat area on both sides of a river. Eventually, a meander may become cut off from the rest of the river. This forms an oxbow lake.

Question: "Do mountain streams flow more slowly than rivers flowing over gentle slopes?"

Response: "Yes"

A:
no