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86,528
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Royal assent is not sufficient to give legal effect to an Act of Tynwald. By ancient custom, an act did not come into force until it had been promulgated at an open-air sitting of Tynwald, usually held on Tynwald Hill at St John's on St John's Day (24 June), but, since the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1753, on 5 July (or on the following Monday if 5 July is a Saturday or Sunday). Promulgation originally consisted of the reading of the Act in English and Manx; but, after 1865 the reading of the title of the act and a summary of each section were sufficient. This was reduced in 1895 to the titles and a memorandum of the object and purport of the act, and, since 1988, only the short title and a summary of the long title have been read.
|
How much of the proposed act must be currently read aloud on St John's Day?
|
{'text': 'only the short title and a summary of the long title', 'answer_start': 683}
|
72,885
| 72,543
|
57271144f1498d1400e8f302
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generic
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The main cause of TB is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a small, aerobic, nonmotile bacillus. The high lipid content of this pathogen accounts for many of its unique clinical characteristics. It divides every 16 to 20 hours, which is an extremely slow rate compared with other bacteria, which usually divide in less than an hour. Mycobacteria have an outer membrane lipid bilayer. If a Gram stain is performed, MTB either stains very weakly "Gram-positive" or does not retain dye as a result of the high lipid and mycolic acid content of its cell wall. MTB can withstand weak disinfectants and survive in a dry state for weeks. In nature, the bacterium can grow only within the cells of a host organism, but M. tuberculosis can be cultured in the laboratory.
|
In nature, what "helper" does the MTB bacterium require to grow?
|
{'text': 'a host organism', 'answer_start': 683}
|
81,277
| 80,935
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572802612ca10214002d9b5e
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generic
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Primarily starting in the mid-1960s, London became a centre for the worldwide youth culture, exemplified by the Swinging London subculture associated with the King's Road, Chelsea and Carnaby Street. The role of trendsetter was revived during the punk era. In 1965 London's political boundaries were expanded to take into account the growth of the urban area and a new Greater London Council was created. During The Troubles in Northern Ireland, London was subjected to bombing attacks by the Provisional IRA. Racial inequality was highlighted by the 1981 Brixton riot.
|
Why was the Greater London Council established?
|
{'text': 'the growth of the urban area', 'answer_start': 330}
|
82,091
| 81,749
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5727ccf43acd2414000decbd
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All government officers of the United States, including the President, the Justices of the Supreme Court, state judges and legislators, and all members of Congress, pledge first and foremost to uphold the Constitution. These oaths affirm that the rule of law is superior to the rule of any human leader. At the same time, the federal government has considerable discretion: the legislative branch is free to decide what statutes it will write, as long as it stays within its enumerated powers and respects the constitutionally protected rights of individuals. Likewise, the judicial branch has a degree of judicial discretion, and the executive branch also has various discretionary powers including prosecutorial discretion.
|
What does the President and Supreme Court Justices vow to stand by?
|
{'text': 'the Constitution', 'answer_start': 201}
|
41,159
| 40,817
|
570d1d42b3d812140066d426
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generic
|
Many Sanskrit loanwords are also found in Austronesian languages, such as Javanese, particularly the older form in which nearly half the vocabulary is borrowed. Other Austronesian languages, such as traditional Malay and modern Indonesian, also derive much of their vocabulary from Sanskrit, albeit to a lesser extent, with a larger proportion derived from Arabic. Similarly, Philippine languages such as Tagalog have some Sanskrit loanwords, although more are derived from Spanish. A Sanskrit loanword encountered in many Southeast Asian languages is the word bhāṣā, or spoken language, which is used to refer to the names of many languages.
|
From what language is a large proportion of Tagalog derived?
|
{'text': 'Spanish', 'answer_start': 474}
|
124,092
| 123,750
|
5a84e14b7cf838001a46ab0d
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|
Gephardt added that "inclusion and empowerment of the people on the line have to be done to get the best performance" from the minority party. Other techniques for fostering party harmony include the appointment of task forces composed of partisan colleagues with conflicting views to reach consensus on issues; the creation of new leadership positions as a way to reach out and involve a greater diversity of partisans in the leadership structure; and daily meetings in the Leader's office (or at breakfast, lunch, or dinner) to lay out floor strategy or political objectives for the minority party.
|
What did task forces for the public want to foster in the minority party?
|
{'text': 'party harmony', 'answer_start': 174}
|
42,777
| 42,435
|
5ad2b73fd7d075001a42a02e
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generic
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The main mineral resource known on the continent is coal. It was first recorded near the Beardmore Glacier by Frank Wild on the Nimrod Expedition, and now low-grade coal is known across many parts of the Transantarctic Mountains. The Prince Charles Mountains contain significant deposits of iron ore. The most valuable resources of Antarctica lie offshore, namely the oil and natural gas fields found in the Ross Sea in 1973. Exploitation of all mineral resources is banned until 2048 by the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.
|
What significant deposits are found in the Transantarctic Mountains?
|
{'text': 'iron ore', 'answer_start': 291}
|
56,845
| 56,503
|
5726a2b75951b619008f7879
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generic
|
Street parking in urban neighborhoods is mostly controlled by the franeleros a.k.a. "viene vienes" (lit. "come on, come on"), who ask drivers for a fee to park, in theory to guard the car, but with the implicit threat that the franelero will damage the car if the fee is not paid. Double parking is common (with franeleros moving the cars as required), impeding on the available lanes for traffic to pass. In order to mitigate that and other problems and to raise revenue, 721 parking meters (as of October 2013), have been installed in the west-central neighborhoods Lomas de Chapultepec, Condesa, Roma, Polanco and Anzures, in operation from 8 AM to 8 PM on weekdays and charging a rate of 2 pesos per 15 minutes, with offenders' cars booted, costing about 500 pesos to remove. 30 percent of the monthly 16 million-peso (as of October 2013) income from the parking-meter system (named "ecoParq") is earmarked for neighborhood improvements. The granting of the license for all zones exclusively to a new company without experience in operating parking meters, Operadora de Estacionamientos Bicentenario, has generated controversy.
|
How many parking meters were installed as of October 2013?
|
{'text': '721', 'answer_start': 473}
|
112,193
| 111,851
|
572fd44fb2c2fd14005684cf
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The Romans held off Hannibal in three battles, but then Hannibal smashed a succession of Roman consular armies. By this time Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal Barca sought to cross the Alps into Italy and join his brother with a second army. Hasdrubal managed to break through into Italy only to be defeated decisively on the Metaurus River. Unable to defeat Hannibal on Italian soil, the Romans boldly sent an army to Africa under Scipio Africanus to threaten the Carthaginian capital. Hannibal was recalled to Africa, and defeated at the Battle of Zama.
|
What was the name of Hannibal's family member that wanted to join his army in battle?
|
{'text': 'Hasdrubal Barca', 'answer_start': 144}
|
109,113
| 108,771
|
5ace1b9532bba1001ae49adb
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|
Washington University has been selected by the Commission on Presidential Debates to host more presidential and vice-presidential debates than any other institution in history. United States presidential election debates were held at the Washington University Athletic Complex in 1992, 2000, 2004, and 2016. A presidential debate was planned to occur in 1996, but owing to scheduling difficulties between the candidates, the debate was canceled. The university hosted the only 2008 vice presidential debate, between Republican Sarah Palin and Democrat Joe Biden, on October 2, 2008, also at the Washington University Athletic Complex.
|
In what year was the Washington University Athletic Complex built?
|
{'text': '1992', 'answer_start': 280}
|
52,578
| 52,236
|
5725d9feec44d21400f3d6a5
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Before Prince Albert's death, the palace was frequently the scene of musical entertainments, and the greatest contemporary musicians entertained at Buckingham Palace. The composer Felix Mendelssohn is known to have played there on three occasions. Johann Strauss II and his orchestra played there when in England. Strauss's "Alice Polka" was first performed at the palace in 1849 in honour of the queen's daughter, Princess Alice. Under Victoria, Buckingham Palace was frequently the scene of lavish costume balls, in addition to the usual royal ceremonies, investitures and presentations.
|
Which piece of music by Johann Strauss was first performed at Buckingham in honor of Princess Alice?
|
{'text': 'Alice Polka', 'answer_start': 325}
|
37,074
| 36,732
|
5ad1787c645df0001a2d1d72
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generic
|
The War on Terrorism is a global effort by the governments of several countries (primarily the United States and its principal allies) to neutralize international terrorist groups (primarily Islamic Extremist terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda) and ensure that countries considered by the US and some of its allies to be Rogue Nations no longer support terrorist activities. It has been adopted primarily as a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Since 2001, terrorist motivated attacks upon service members have occurred in Arkansas and Texas.
|
What is one prominent, specific terrorist group targeted by the War on Terrorism?
|
{'text': 'al-Qaeda', 'answer_start': 237}
|
26,911
| 26,569
|
5ad3aa61604f3c001a3feb3e
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Since the formal adoption of digital video broadcasting's (DVB) widescreen HDTV transmission modes in the early 2000s; the 525-line NTSC (and PAL-M) systems, as well as the European 625-line PAL and SECAM systems, are now regarded as standard definition television systems.
|
In addition to the NTSC system, what 525-line system is considered a high definition television system?
|
{'text': 'PAL-M', 'answer_start': 142}
|
14,136
| 13,794
|
5ace051a32bba1001ae49978
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On October 11, 1944, the Tuvan People's Republic joined the Russian SFSR as the Tuvan Autonomous Oblast, in 1961 becoming an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
|
On what date did the Tuvan People's Republic leave the Russian SFSR?
|
{'text': 'October 11, 1944', 'answer_start': 3}
|
22,558
| 22,216
|
5ad49d0aba00c4001a268dc3
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The Slavs under name of the Antes and the Sclaveni make their first appearance in Byzantine records in the early 6th century. Byzantine historiographers under Justinian I (527–565), such as Procopius of Caesarea, Jordanes and Theophylact Simocatta describe tribes of these names emerging from the area of the Carpathian Mountains, the lower Danube and the Black Sea, invading the Danubian provinces of the Eastern Empire.
|
What was another name for Byzantine?
|
{'text': 'Antes and the Sclaveni', 'answer_start': 28}
|
69,466
| 69,124
|
5a7a4b5117ab25001a8a0486
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generic
|
In ancient Greece, the epics of Homer, who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey, and Hesiod, who wrote Works and Days and Theogony, are some of the earliest, and most influential, of Ancient Greek literature. Classical Greek genres included philosophy, poetry, historiography, comedies and dramas. Plato and Aristotle authored philosophical texts that are the foundation of Western philosophy, Sappho and Pindar were influential lyric poets, and Herodotus and Thucydides were early Greek historians. Although drama was popular in Ancient Greece, of the hundreds of tragedies written and performed during the classical age, only a limited number of plays by three authors still exist: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. The plays of Aristophanes provide the only real examples of a genre of comic drama known as Old Comedy, the earliest form of Greek Comedy, and are in fact used to define the genre.
|
In ancient Rome, Homer wrote what two epics?
|
{'text': 'the Iliad and the Odyssey', 'answer_start': 49}
|
33,081
| 32,739
|
5709aa1f200fba1400368237
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generic
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In 2013 and 2014, a Russian/Ukrainian hacking ring known as "Rescator" broke into Target Corporation computers in 2013, stealing roughly 40 million credit cards, and then Home Depot computers in 2014, stealing between 53 and 56 million credit card numbers. Warnings were delivered at both corporations, but ignored; physical security breaches using self checkout machines are believed to have played a large role. "The malware utilized is absolutely unsophisticated and uninteresting," says Jim Walter, director of threat intelligence operations at security technology company McAfee – meaning that the heists could have easily been stopped by existing antivirus software had administrators responded to the warnings. The size of the thefts has resulted in major attention from state and Federal United States authorities and the investigation is ongoing.
|
How many credit card numbers were stole from Home Depot in 2014?
|
{'text': 'between 53 and 56 million', 'answer_start': 210}
|
50,747
| 50,405
|
5725b4ef38643c19005acb95
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With successive Persian rule, the region, divided between Syria-Coele province and later the autonomous Yehud Medinata, was gradually developing back into urban society, largely dominated by Judeans. The Greek conquests largely skipped the region without any resistance or interest. Incorporated into Ptolemaic and finally Seleucid Empires, the southern Levant was heavily hellenized, building the tensions between Judeans and Greeks. The conflict erupted in 167 BCE with the Maccabean Revolt, which succeeded in establishing an independent Hasmonean Kingdom in Judah, which later expanded over much of modern Israel, as the Seleucids gradually lost control in the region.
|
Who dominated the society?
|
{'text': 'Judeans', 'answer_start': 191}
|
53,069
| 52,727
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57263203ec44d21400f3dc15
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generic
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In 1906, the tungsten filament was introduced. Tungsten metal was initially not available in a form that allowed it to be drawn into fine wires. Filaments made from sintered tungsten powder were quite fragile. By 1910, a process was developed by William D. Coolidge at General Electric for production of a ductile form of tungsten. The process required pressing tungsten powder into bars, then several steps of sintering, swaging, and then wire drawing. It was found that very pure tungsten formed filaments that sagged in use, and that a very small "doping" treatment with potassium, silicon, and aluminium oxides at the level of a few hundred parts per million greatly improved the life and durability of the tungsten filaments.
|
What other materials were combined with tungsten?
|
{'text': 'potassium, silicon, and aluminium oxides', 'answer_start': 574}
|
1,372
| 1,030
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56cf7b8a4df3c31400b0d81f
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In the spring of 1834, Chopin attended the Lower Rhenish Music Festival in Aix-la-Chapelle with Hiller, and it was there that Chopin met Felix Mendelssohn. After the festival, the three visited Düsseldorf, where Mendelssohn had been appointed musical director. They spent what Mendelssohn described as "a very agreeable day", playing and discussing music at his piano, and met Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow, director of the Academy of Art, and some of his eminent pupils such as Lessing, Bendemann, Hildebrandt and Sohn. In 1835 Chopin went to Carlsbad, where he spent time with his parents; it was the last time he would see them. On his way back to Paris, he met old friends from Warsaw, the Wodzińskis. He had made the acquaintance of their daughter Maria in Poland five years earlier, when she was eleven. This meeting prompted him to stay for two weeks in Dresden, when he had previously intended to return to Paris via Leipzig. The sixteen-year-old girl's portrait of the composer is considered, along with Delacroix's, as among Chopin's best likenesses. In October he finally reached Leipzig, where he met Schumann, Clara Wieck and Felix Mendelssohn, who organised for him a performance of his own oratorio St. Paul, and who considered him "a perfect musician". In July 1836 Chopin travelled to Marienbad and Dresden to be with the Wodziński family, and in September he proposed to Maria, whose mother Countess Wodzińska approved in principle. Chopin went on to Leipzig, where he presented Schumann with his G minor Ballade. At the end of 1836 he sent Maria an album in which his sister Ludwika had inscribed seven of his songs, and his 1835 Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 1. The anodyne thanks he received from Maria proved to be the last letter he was to have from her.
|
Where did Chopin meet Felix Mendelssohn?
|
{'text': 'the Lower Rhenish Music Festival', 'answer_start': 39}
|
106,301
| 105,959
|
5ad216f6d7d075001a4283cd
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Based on earlier transmitted reports, in the year 632, after the demise of Muhammad a number of his companions who knew the Quran by heart were killed in a battle by Musaylimah, the first caliph Abu Bakr (d. 634) decided to collect the book in one volume so that it could be preserved. Zayd ibn Thabit (d. 655) was the person to collect the Quran since "he used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah's Apostle". Thus, a group of scribes, most importantly Zayd, collected the verses and produced a hand-written manuscript of the complete book. The manuscript according to Zayd remained with Abu Bakr until he died. Zayd's reaction to the task and the difficulties in collecting the Quranic material from parchments, palm-leaf stalks, thin stones and from men who knew it by heart is recorded in earlier narratives. After Abu Bakr, Hafsa bint Umar, Muhammad's widow, was entrusted with the manuscript. In about 650, the third Caliph Uthman ibn Affan (d. 656) began noticing slight differences in pronunciation of the Quran as Islam expanded beyond the Arabian Peninsula into Persia, the Levant, and North Africa. In order to preserve the sanctity of the text, he ordered a committee headed by Zayd to use Abu Bakr's copy and prepare a standard copy of the Quran. Thus, within 20 years of Muhammad's death, the Quran was committed to written form. That text became the model from which copies were made and promulgated throughout the urban centers of the Muslim world, and other versions are believed to have been destroyed. The present form of the Quran text is accepted by Muslim scholars to be the original version compiled by Abu Bakr.
|
Which scribe led the production of the last written Quran?
|
{'text': 'Zayd ibn Thabit', 'answer_start': 286}
|
15,818
| 15,476
|
5acd1f4407355d001abf35c5
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Armenian and Cantonese have aspiration that lasts about as long as English aspirated stops, in addition to unaspirated stops. Korean has lightly aspirated stops that fall between the Armenian and Cantonese unaspirated and aspirated stops as well as strongly aspirated stops whose aspiration lasts longer than that of Armenian or Cantonese. (See voice-onset time.)
|
Whose aspiration lasts longer than that of Armenian or Korean?
|
{'text': 'English', 'answer_start': 67}
|
93,802
| 93,460
|
57292c3b6aef051400154b3d
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generic
|
Prior to Einstein's paper, electromagnetic radiation such as visible light was considered to behave as a wave: hence the use of the terms "frequency" and "wavelength" to characterise different types of radiation. The energy transferred by a wave in a given time is called its intensity. The light from a theatre spotlight is more intense than the light from a domestic lightbulb; that is to say that the spotlight gives out more energy per unit time and per unit space(and hence consumes more electricity) than the ordinary bulb, even though the colour of the light might be very similar. Other waves, such as sound or the waves crashing against a seafront, also have their own intensity. However, the energy account of the photoelectric effect didn't seem to agree with the wave description of light.
|
What other types of wave besides light has its own intensity?
|
{'text': 'sound', 'answer_start': 610}
|
107,404
| 107,062
|
572f1678cb0c0d14000f1769
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generic
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The decolonization of the Americas was the process by which the countries in the Americas gained their independence from European rule. Decolonization began with a series of revolutions in the late 18th and early-to-mid-19th centuries. The Spanish American wars of independence were the numerous wars against Spanish rule in Spanish America that took place during the early 19th century, from 1808 until 1829, directly related to the Napoleonic French invasion of Spain. The conflict started with short-lived governing juntas established in Chuquisaca and Quito opposing the composition of the Supreme Central Junta of Seville.
|
When did the decolonization of the Americas begin?
|
{'text': '18th and early-to-mid-19th centuries.', 'answer_start': 198}
|
95,172
| 94,830
|
5a2c4a4dbfd06b001a5aeae2
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generic
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The earliest examples of neoclassical architecture in Hungary may be found in Vác. In this town the triumphal arch and the neoclassical façade of the baroque Cathedral were designed by the French architect Isidor Marcellus Amandus Ganneval (Isidore Canevale) in the 1760s. Also the work of a French architect Charles Moreau is the garden façade of the Esterházy Palace (1797–1805) in Kismarton (today Eisenstadt in Austria). The two principal architect of Neoclassicism in Hungary was Mihály Pollack and József Hild. Pollack's major work is the Hungarian National Museum (1837–1844). Hild is famous for his designs for the Cathedral of Eger and Esztergom.
|
What two cathedrals did Pollack design and hungry
|
{'text': 'Cathedral of Eger and Esztergom', 'answer_start': 623}
|
8,690
| 8,348
|
56dd374a66d3e219004dac70
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The convention in the English language is to call nearly all national heads of government "prime minister" (sometimes modified to the equivalent term of premier), regardless of the correct title of the head of government as applied in his or her respective country. The few exceptions to the rule are Germany and Austria, whose heads of government titles are almost always translated as Chancellor; Monaco, whose head of government is referred to as the Minister of State; and Vatican City, for which the head of government is titled the Secretary of State. In the case of Ireland, the head of government is occasionally referred to as the Taoiseach by English speakers. A stand-out case is the President of Iran, who is not actually a head of state, but the head of the government of Iran. He is referred to as "president" in both the Persian and English languages.
|
What is the term for the highest position in government in Vatican City?
|
{'text': 'Secretary of State', 'answer_start': 538}
|
54,116
| 53,774
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57269adedd62a815002e8ad9
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Acting on State Secretary Acheson's recommendation, President Truman ordered General MacArthur to transfer matériel to the Army of the Republic of Korea while giving air cover to the evacuation of U.S. nationals. The President disagreed with advisers who recommended unilateral U.S. bombing of the North Korean forces, and ordered the US Seventh Fleet to protect the Republic of China (Taiwan), whose government asked to fight in Korea. The United States denied ROC's request for combat, lest it provoke a communist Chinese retaliation. Because the United States had sent the Seventh Fleet to "neutralize" the Taiwan Strait, Chinese premier Zhou Enlai criticized both the UN and U.S. initiatives as "armed aggression on Chinese territory."
|
Fearing the provocation of Communist China, what country's request for combat troops did the US deny?
|
{'text': 'Republic of China', 'answer_start': 367}
|
127,712
| 127,370
|
5733ebbbd058e614000b65db
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generic
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It was temporarily under the control of the Tibetan empire and Chinese from 650–680 and then under the control of the Umayyads in 710. The Samanid Empire, 819 to 999, restored Persian control of the region and enlarged the cities of Samarkand and Bukhara (both cities are today part of Uzbekistan) which became the cultural centers of Iran and the region was known as Khorasan. The Kara-Khanid Khanate conquered Transoxania (which corresponds approximately with modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kyrgyzstan and southwest Kazakhstan) and ruled between 999–1211. Their arrival in Transoxania signaled a definitive shift from Iranian to Turkic predominance in Central Asia, but gradually the Kara-khanids became assimilated into the Perso-Arab Muslim culture of the region.
|
Who conquered Tansaxania?
|
{'text': 'The Kara-Khanid Khanate', 'answer_start': 378}
|
94,861
| 94,519
|
5acfc5e077cf76001a685e5b
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generic
|
Alloys of primarily zinc with small amounts of copper, aluminium, and magnesium are useful in die casting as well as spin casting, especially in the automotive, electrical, and hardware industries. These alloys are marketed under the name Zamak. An example of this is zinc aluminium. The low melting point together with the low viscosity of the alloy makes the production of small and intricate shapes possible. The low working temperature leads to rapid cooling of the cast products and therefore fast assembly is possible. Another alloy, marketed under the brand name Prestal, contains 78% zinc and 22% aluminium and is reported to be nearly as strong as steel but as malleable as plastic. This superplasticity of the alloy allows it to be molded using die casts made of ceramics and cement.
|
What is possible to produce thanks to the high melting point and high viscosity of zinc aluminium alloy?
|
{'text': 'small and intricate shapes', 'answer_start': 375}
|
40,784
| 40,442
|
570d3f2ffed7b91900d45d95
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From the early 1930s eight countries developed radar, these developments were sufficiently advanced by the late 1930s for development work on sound locating acoustic devices to be generally halted, although equipment was retained. Furthermore, in Britain the volunteer Observer Corps formed in 1925 provided a network of observation posts to report hostile aircraft flying over Britain. Initially radar was used for airspace surveillance to detect approaching hostile aircraft. However, the German Würzburg radar was capable of providing data suitable for controlling AA guns and the British AA No 1 Mk 1 GL radar was designed to be used on AA gun positions.
|
How many different countries developed radar starting in the 1930s?
|
{'text': 'eight', 'answer_start': 21}
|
126,746
| 126,404
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5732a702328d981900601fe3
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During the Eocene (56 million years ago - 33.9 million years ago), the continents continued to drift toward their present positions. At the beginning of the period, Australia and Antarctica remained connected, and warm equatorial currents mixed with colder Antarctic waters, distributing the heat around the world and keeping global temperatures high. But when Australia split from the southern continent around 45 Ma, the warm equatorial currents were deflected away from Antarctica, and an isolated cold water channel developed between the two continents. The Antarctic region cooled down, and the ocean surrounding Antarctica began to freeze, sending cold water and ice floes north, reinforcing the cooling. The present pattern of ice ages began about 40 million years ago.[citation needed]
|
The mixing of equatorial currents with Antarctic waters in the Eocene resulted in what?
|
{'text': 'keeping global temperatures high', 'answer_start': 318}
|
35,323
| 34,981
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5a67a5aff038b7001ab0c3d7
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Some of the most important surviving works of Old English literature are Beowulf, an epic poem; the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a record of early English history; the Franks Casket, an inscribed early whalebone artefact; and Cædmon's Hymn, a Christian religious poem. There are also a number of extant prose works, such as sermons and saints' lives, biblical translations, and translated Latin works of the early Church Fathers, legal documents, such as laws and wills, and practical works on grammar, medicine, and geography. Still, poetry is considered the heart of Old English literature. Nearly all Anglo-Saxon authors are anonymous, with a few exceptions, such as Bede and Cædmon. Cædmon, the earliest English poet we know by name, served as a lay brother in the monastery at Whitby.
|
Who are usually well known among the Anglo-Saxons?
|
{'text': 'authors', 'answer_start': 610}
|
39,650
| 39,308
|
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Mary is referred to by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Anglican Church, and all Eastern Catholic Churches as Theotokos, a title recognized at the Third Ecumenical Council (held at Ephesus to address the teachings of Nestorius, in 431). Theotokos (and its Latin equivalents, "Deipara" and "Dei genetrix") literally means "Godbearer". The equivalent phrase "Mater Dei" (Mother of God) is more common in Latin and so also in the other languages used in the Western Catholic Church, but this same phrase in Greek (Μήτηρ Θεοῦ), in the abbreviated form of the first and last letter of the two words (ΜΡ ΘΥ), is the indication attached to her image in Byzantine icons. The Council stated that the Church Fathers "did not hesitate to speak of the holy Virgin as the Mother of God".
|
What language was spoken by Nestorius?
|
{'text': 'Latin', 'answer_start': 422}
|
86,604
| 86,262
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572aa35334ae481900deabeb
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generic
|
In the United Kingdom, a bill is presented for royal assent after it has passed all the required stages in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, the House of Commons may, under certain circumstances, direct that a bill be presented for assent despite lack of passage by the House of Lords. Officially, assent is granted by the sovereign or by Lords Commissioners authorised to act by letters patent. It may be granted in parliament or outside parliament; in the latter case, each house must be separately notified before the bill takes effect.
|
Which Houses in the UK must approve a bill before it is assented?
|
{'text': 'House of Commons and the House of Lords', 'answer_start': 116}
|
17,713
| 17,371
|
56e13c5ee3433e1400422cf3
|
generic
|
In 2010, Boston was estimated to have 617,594 residents (a density of 12,200 persons/sq mile, or 4,700/km2) living in 272,481 housing units— a 5% population increase over 2000. The city is the third most densely populated large U.S. city of over half a million residents. Some 1.2 million persons may be within Boston's boundaries during work hours, and as many as 2 million during special events. This fluctuation of people is caused by hundreds of thousands of suburban residents who travel to the city for work, education, health care, and special events.
|
What can the population of Boston rech during special events?
|
{'text': '2 million', 'answer_start': 279}
|
81,817
| 81,475
|
5a4c3f987a6c4c001a2bbbc0
|
generic
|
The rainfall inhibition and the dissipation of cloud cover are most accentuated over the eastern section of the Sahara rather than the western. The prevailing air mass lying above the Sahara is the continental tropical (cT) air mass which is hot and dry. Hot, dry air masses primarily form over the North-African desert from the heating of the vast continental land area, and it affects the whole desert during most of the year. Because of this extreme heating process, a thermal low is usually noticed near the surface, and is the strongest and the most developed during the summertime. The Sahara High represents the eastern continental extension of the Azores High, centered over the North Atlantic Ocean. The subsidence of the Sahara High nearly reaches the ground during the coolest part of the year while it limits to the upper troposphere during the hottest periods.
|
over what region is there the most cloud coverage?
|
{'text': 'eastern section', 'answer_start': 89}
|
124,293
| 123,951
|
5a53e8ccbdaabd001a3867dc
|
generic
|
During Soviet rule, Armenian athletes rose to prominence winning plenty of medals and helping the USSR win the medal standings at the Olympics on numerous occasions. The first medal won by an Armenian in modern Olympic history was by Hrant Shahinyan, who won two golds and two silvers in gymnastics at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. In football, their most successful team was Yerevan's FC Ararat, which had claimed most of the Soviet championships in the 70s and had also gone to post victories against professional clubs like FC Bayern Munich in the Euro cup.
|
Who was the first person from Munich to win medals in the olympics?
|
{'text': 'Hrant Shahinyan', 'answer_start': 234}
|
54,198
| 53,856
|
5726d182dd62a815002e913d
|
generic
|
Meanwhile, on 10 October 1950, the 89th Tank Battalion was attached to the 1st Cavalry Division, increasing the armor available for the Northern Offensive. On 15 October, after moderate KPA resistance, the 7th Cavalry Regiment and Charlie Company, 70th Tank Battalion captured Namchonjam city. On 17 October, they flanked rightwards, away from the principal road (to Pyongyang), to capture Hwangju. Two days later, the 1st Cavalry Division captured Pyongyang, the North's capital city, on 19 October 1950. Kim Il Sung and his government temporarily moved its capital to Sinuiju – although as UNC forces approached, the government again moved – this time to Kanggye.
|
What caused the North Koreans to move their capital for the second time?
|
{'text': 'UNC forces approached', 'answer_start': 592}
|
59,943
| 59,601
|
5a7cc770e8bc7e001a9e1ffd
|
generic
|
The Thuringian population has a significant sex ratio gap, caused by the emigration of young women, especially in rural areas. Overall, there are 115 to 120 men per 100 women in the 25–40 age group ("family founders") which has negative consequences for the birth ratio. Furthermore, the population is getting older and older with some rural municipalities recording more than 30% of over-65s (pensioners). This is a problem for the regional labour market, as there are twice as many people leaving as entering the job market annually.
|
What is the sex ratio gap in Thuringia falsely considered?
|
{'text': '115 to 120 men per 100 women in the 25–40 age group', 'answer_start': 146}
|
106,295
| 105,953
|
572ea78ec246551400ce4476
|
generic
|
Based on earlier transmitted reports, in the year 632, after the demise of Muhammad a number of his companions who knew the Quran by heart were killed in a battle by Musaylimah, the first caliph Abu Bakr (d. 634) decided to collect the book in one volume so that it could be preserved. Zayd ibn Thabit (d. 655) was the person to collect the Quran since "he used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah's Apostle". Thus, a group of scribes, most importantly Zayd, collected the verses and produced a hand-written manuscript of the complete book. The manuscript according to Zayd remained with Abu Bakr until he died. Zayd's reaction to the task and the difficulties in collecting the Quranic material from parchments, palm-leaf stalks, thin stones and from men who knew it by heart is recorded in earlier narratives. After Abu Bakr, Hafsa bint Umar, Muhammad's widow, was entrusted with the manuscript. In about 650, the third Caliph Uthman ibn Affan (d. 656) began noticing slight differences in pronunciation of the Quran as Islam expanded beyond the Arabian Peninsula into Persia, the Levant, and North Africa. In order to preserve the sanctity of the text, he ordered a committee headed by Zayd to use Abu Bakr's copy and prepare a standard copy of the Quran. Thus, within 20 years of Muhammad's death, the Quran was committed to written form. That text became the model from which copies were made and promulgated throughout the urban centers of the Muslim world, and other versions are believed to have been destroyed. The present form of the Quran text is accepted by Muslim scholars to be the original version compiled by Abu Bakr.
|
Which caliph decided to preserve the Quran as a single book after some of Muhammad's companions were killed in battle?
|
{'text': 'Abu Bakr', 'answer_start': 195}
|
108,646
| 108,304
|
572f88c2a23a5019007fc707
|
generic
|
Referred to as "Hyderabadi", the residents of Hyderabad are predominantly Telugu and Urdu speaking people, with minority Bengali, Gujarati (including Memon), Kannada (including Nawayathi), Malayalam, Marathi, Marwari, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil and Uttar Pradeshi communities. Hyderabad is home to a unique dialect of Urdu called Hyderabadi Urdu, which is a type of Dakhini, and is the mother tongue of most Hyderabadi Muslims, a unique community who owe much of their history, language, cuisine, and culture to Hyderabad, and the various dynasties who previously ruled. Hadhrami Arabs, African Arabs, Armenians, Abyssinians, Iranians, Pathans and Turkish people are also present; these communities, of which the Hadhrami are the largest, declined after Hyderabad State became part of the Indian Union, as they lost the patronage of the Nizams.
|
Hyderabadi is a type of what langauge?
|
{'text': 'Dakhini', 'answer_start': 360}
|
120,332
| 119,990
|
573147faa5e9cc1400cdbdfd
|
generic
|
Various theories for the decline of the Native American populations emphasize epidemic diseases, conflicts with Europeans, and conflicts among warring tribes. Scholars now believe that, among the various contributing factors, epidemic disease was the overwhelming cause of the population decline of the American natives. Some believe that after first contacts with Europeans and Africans, Old World diseases caused the death of 90 to 95% of the native population of the New World in the following 150 years. Smallpox killed up to one third of the native population of Hispaniola in 1518. By killing the Incan ruler Huayna Capac, smallpox caused the Inca Civil War. Smallpox was only the first epidemic. Typhus (probably) in 1546, influenza and smallpox together in 1558, smallpox again in 1589, diphtheria in 1614, measles in 1618—all ravaged the remains of Inca culture.
|
How did smallpox cause the Inca Civil War?
|
{'text': 'By killing the Incan ruler Huayna Capac', 'answer_start': 588}
|
16,757
| 16,415
|
56e11911e3433e1400422bd5
|
generic
|
Compass-M1 transmits in 3 bands: E2, E5B, and E6. In each frequency band two coherent sub-signals have been detected with a phase shift of 90 degrees (in quadrature). These signal components are further referred to as "I" and "Q". The "I" components have shorter codes and are likely to be intended for the open service. The "Q" components have much longer codes, are more interference resistive, and are probably intended for the restricted service. IQ modulation has been the method in both wired and wireless digital modulation since morsetting carrier signal 100 years ago.
|
What is the phase shift of the sub-signals detected in each frequency band used by Compass-M1?
|
{'text': '90 degrees (in quadrature)', 'answer_start': 139}
|
70,171
| 69,829
|
5726e48f5951b619008f81aa
|
generic
|
In certain cases compound words and set phrases may be contracted into single characters. Some of these can be considered logograms, where characters represent whole words rather than syllable-morphemes, though these are generally instead considered ligatures or abbreviations (similar to scribal abbreviations, such as & for "et"), and as non-standard. These do see use, particularly in handwriting or decoration, but also in some cases in print. In Chinese, these ligatures are called héwén (合文), héshū (合書) or hétǐzì (合体字), and in the special case of combining two characters, these are known as "two-syllable Chinese characters" (双音节汉字, 雙音節漢字).
|
What can be considered as set phrases?
|
{'text': 'single characters', 'answer_start': 71}
|
70,829
| 70,487
|
5726e93cdd62a815002e94ca
|
generic
|
NigeriaSat-2, Nigeria's second satellite, was built as a high-resolution earth satellite by Surrey Space Technology Limited, a United Kingdom-based satellite technology company. It has 2.5-metre resolution panchromatic (very high resolution), 5-metre multispectral (high resolution, NIR red, green and red bands), and 32-metre multispectral (medium resolution, NIR red, green and red bands) antennas, with a ground receiving station in Abuja. The NigeriaSat-2 spacecraft alone was built at a cost of over £35 million. This satellite was launched into orbit from a military base in China.
|
Where was Nigeria's second satellite launched?
|
{'text': 'China', 'answer_start': 581}
|
105,174
| 104,832
|
57302cf4b2c2fd14005689ee
|
generic
|
British night air defences were in a poor state. Few anti-aircraft guns had fire-control systems, and the underpowered searchlights were usually ineffective against aircraft at altitudes above 12,000 ft (3,700 m). In July 1940, only 1,200 heavy and 549 light guns were deployed in the whole of Britain. Of the "heavies", some 200 were of the obsolescent 3 in (76 mm) type; the remainder were the effective 4.5 in (110 mm) and 3.7 in (94 mm) guns, with a theoretical "ceiling"' of over 30,000 ft (9,100 m) but a practical limit of 25,000 ft (7,600 m) because the predictor in use could not accept greater heights. The light guns, about half of which were of the excellent Bofors 40 mm, dealt with aircraft only up to 6,000 ft (1,800 m). Although the use of the guns improved civilian morale, with the knowledge the German bomber crews were facing the barrage, it is now believed that the anti-aircraft guns achieved little and in fact the falling shell fragments caused more British casualties on the ground.
|
By July of 1940 how many guns were deployed in Britain?
|
{'text': 'only 1,200 heavy and 549 light guns', 'answer_start': 228}
|
84,876
| 84,534
|
5a80de408f0597001ac001d2
|
generic
|
Temporal measurement, chronometry, takes two distinct period forms: the calendar, a mathematical tool for organizing intervals of time, and the clock, a physical mechanism that counts the passage of time. In day-to-day life, the clock is consulted for periods less than a day whereas the calendar is consulted for periods longer than a day. Increasingly, personal electronic devices display both calendars and clocks simultaneously. The number (as on a clock dial or calendar) that marks the occurrence of a specified event as to hour or date is obtained by counting from a fiducial epoch—a central reference point.
|
How is the number that marks the occurrence of an interval obtained?
|
{'text': 'by counting from a fiducial epoch', 'answer_start': 555}
|
126,042
| 125,700
|
5733f165d058e614000b663c
|
generic
|
Portuguese law applied in the former colonies and territories and continues to be the major influence for those countries. Portugal's main police organizations are the Guarda Nacional Republicana – GNR (National Republican Guard), a gendarmerie; the Polícia de Segurança Pública – PSP (Public Security Police), a civilian police force who work in urban areas; and the Polícia Judiciária – PJ (Judicial Police), a highly specialized criminal investigation police that is overseen by the Public Ministry.
|
What is the Policia de Seguranca Publica - PSP (Public Security Police)?
|
{'text': 'a civilian police force who work in urban areas', 'answer_start': 311}
|
77,351
| 77,009
|
57279cc0708984140094e240
|
generic
|
German record company Odeon is often said to have pioneered the album in 1909 when it released the Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky on 4 double-sided discs in a specially designed package. (It is not indicated what size the records are.) However, Deutsche Grammophon had produced an album for its complete recording of the opera Carmen in the previous year. The practice of issuing albums does not seem to have been widely taken up by other record companies for many years; however, HMV provided an album, with a pictorial cover, for the 1917 recording of The Mikado (Gilbert & Sullivan).
|
What was one of the very first albums released?
|
{'text': 'Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky', 'answer_start': 99}
|
89,391
| 89,049
|
5ad154b9645df0001a2d17c0
|
generic
|
Harriet Harman became the Leader of the Opposition and acting Leader of the Labour Party following the resignation of Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010, pending a leadership election subsequently won by Ed Miliband. Miliband emphasised "responsible capitalism" and greater state intervention to change the balance of the UK economy away from financial services. Tackling vested interests and opening up closed circles in British society were also themes he returned to a number of times. Miliband also argued for greater regulation on banks and the energy companies.
|
What did Miliband want to regulate less?
|
{'text': 'banks', 'answer_start': 529}
|
55,334
| 54,992
|
5a62972ef8d794001af1c12e
|
generic
|
On 16 March 2012, 52 Greenpeace activists from five different countries boarded Fennica and Nordica, multipurpose icebreakers chartered to support Shell's drilling rigs near Alaska. Around the same time period, a reporter for Fortune magazine spoke with Edward Itta, an Inupiat Eskimo leader and the former mayor of the North Slope Borough, who expressed that he was conflicted about Shell's plans in the Arctic, as he was very concerned that an oil spill could destroy the Inupiat Eskimo's hunting-and-fishing culture, but his borough also received major tax revenue from oil and gas production; additionally, further revenue from energy activity was considered crucial to the future of the living standard in Itta's community.
|
What borough were the Greenpeace activists from?
|
{'text': 'the North Slope Borough', 'answer_start': 316}
|
81,300
| 80,958
|
57280f04ff5b5019007d9c0a
|
generic
|
London is the seat of the Government of the United Kingdom. Many government departments are based close to the Palace of Westminster, particularly along Whitehall, including the Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street. The British Parliament is often referred to as the "Mother of Parliaments" (although this sobriquet was first applied to England itself by John Bright) because it has been the model for most other parliamentary systems. There are 73 Members of Parliament (MPs) from London, who correspond to local parliamentary constituencies in the national Parliament. As of May 2015, 45 are from the Labour Party, 27 are Conservatives, and one is a Liberal Democrat.
|
How many Members of Parliament are from London?
|
{'text': '73', 'answer_start': 457}
|
59,764
| 59,422
|
572696d45951b619008f7766
|
generic
|
Korean Presbyterian denominations are active in evangelism and many of its missionaries are being sent overseas, being the second biggest missionary sender in the world after the United States. GSM, the missionary body of the "Hapdong" General Assembly of Presbyterian Churches of Korea, is the single largest Presbyterian missionary organization in Korea. In addition there are many Korean-American Presbyterians in the United States, either with their own church sites or sharing space in pre-existing churches as is the case in Australia, New Zealand and even Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia with Korean immigration.
|
What is the name of the largest Presbyterian missionary organization in Korea?
|
{'text': 'General Assembly of Presbyterian Churches of Korea', 'answer_start': 236}
|
34,222
| 33,880
|
570a53286d058f1900182d54
|
generic
|
Imperial College Boat Club
The Imperial College Boat Club was founded on 12 December 1919. The Gold medal winning GB 8+ at the 2000 Sydney Olympics had been based at Imperial College's recently refurbished boathouse and included 3 alumni of the college along with their coach Martin McElroy. The club has been highly successful, with many wins at Henley Royal Regatta including most recently in 2013 with victory in The Prince Albert Challenge Cup event. The club has been home to numerous National Squad oarsmen and women and is open to all rowers not just students of Imperial College London.
|
What was the name of the coach of the Gold medal winning GB8+?
|
{'text': 'Martin McElroy', 'answer_start': 276}
|
8,865
| 8,523
|
56de5ef44396321400ee2862
|
generic
|
Institutes of technology in Venezuela were developed in the 1950s as an option for post-secondary education in technical and scientific courses, after the polytechnic French concepts. At that time, technical education was considered essential for the development of a sound middle class economy.
|
When did Venezuela begin to create institutes of technology?
|
{'text': '1950s', 'answer_start': 60}
|
60,020
| 59,678
|
5a7cdd7ce8bc7e001a9e2085
|
generic
|
During the 1930s, the first two motorways were built across the Land, the A4 motorway as an important east-west connection in central Germany and the main link between Berlin and south-west Germany, and the A9 motorway as the main north-south route in eastern Germany, connecting Berlin with Munich. The A4 runs from Frankfurt in Hesse via Eisenach, Gotha, Erfurt, Weimar, Jena and Gera to Dresden in Saxony, connecting Thuringia's most important cities. At Hermsdorf junction it is connected with the A9. Both highways were widened from four to six lanes (three each way) after 1990, including some extensive re-routing in the Eisenach and Jena areas. Furthermore, three new motorways were built during the 1990s and 2000s. The A71 crosses the Land in southwest-northeast direction, connecting Würzburg in Bavaria via Meiningen, Suhl, Ilmenau, Arnstadt, Erfurt and Sömmerda with Sangerhausen and Halle in Saxony-Anhalt. The crossing of the Thuringian Forest by the A71 has been one of Germany's most expensive motorway segments with various tunnels (including Germany's longest road tunnel, the Rennsteig Tunnel) and large bridges. The A73 starts at the A71 south of Erfurt in Suhl and runs south towards Nuremberg in Bavaria. The A38 is another west-east connection in the north of Thuringia running from Göttingen in Lower Saxony via Heiligenstadt and Nordhausen to Leipzig in Saxony. Furthermore, there is a dense network of federal highways complementing the motorway network. The upgrading of federal highways is prioritised in the federal trunk road programme 2015 (Bundesverkehrswegeplan 2015). Envisaged projects include upgrades of the B247 from Gotha to Leinefelde to improve Mühlhausen's connection to the national road network, the B19 from Eisenach to Meiningen to improve access to Bad Salzungen and Schmalkalden, and the B88 and B281 for strengthening the Saalfeld/Rudolstadt region.
|
When were the two motorways shortened?
|
{'text': 'after 1990', 'answer_start': 573}
|
116,320
| 115,978
|
5a5690656349e2001acdce3f
|
generic
|
The considerable spending did not lead to more growth and did not benefit the poor. Much of the increased spending has gone to current expenditures related to wages, transfers, and subsidies. The wage bill today constitutes over 15% of GDP and 55% of total public spending; these are some of the highest levels on the African continent. The recent rapid growth in SACU revenues has, however, reversed the fiscal situation, and a sizeable surplus was recorded since 2006. SACU revenues today account for over 60% of total government revenues. On the positive side, the external debt burden has declined markedly over the last 20 years, and domestic debt is almost negligible; external debt as a percent of GDP was less than 20% in 2006.
|
What led to considerable growth?
|
{'text': 'spending', 'answer_start': 17}
|
3,908
| 3,566
|
56cee50caab44d1400b88c18
|
generic
|
Several prominent American literary figures lived in New York during the 1830s and 1840s, including William Cullen Bryant, Washington Irving, Herman Melville, Rufus Wilmot Griswold, John Keese, Nathaniel Parker Willis, and Edgar Allan Poe. Public-minded members of the contemporaneous business elite lobbied for the establishment of Central Park, which in 1857 became the first landscaped park in an American city.
|
In what year was Central Park founded?
|
{'text': '1857', 'answer_start': 356}
|
32,840
| 32,498
|
5a554ade134fea001a0e1a1a
|
generic
|
Eavesdropping is the act of surreptitiously listening to a private conversation, typically between hosts on a network. For instance, programs such as Carnivore and NarusInsight have been used by the FBI and NSA to eavesdrop on the systems of internet service providers. Even machines that operate as a closed system (i.e., with no contact to the outside world) can be eavesdropped upon via monitoring the faint electro-magnetic transmissions generated by the hardware; TEMPEST is a specification by the NSA referring to these attacks.
|
What is eavesdropping?
|
{'text': 'listening to a private conversation', 'answer_start': 44}
|
95,209
| 94,867
|
572975a8af94a219006aa46f
|
generic
|
South Slavic dialects historically formed a continuum. The turbulent history of the area, particularly due to expansion of the Ottoman Empire, resulted in a patchwork of dialectal and religious differences. Due to population migrations, Shtokavian became the most widespread in the western Balkans, intruding westwards into the area previously occupied by Chakavian and Kajkavian (which further blend into Slovenian in the northwest). Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs differ in religion and were historically often part of different cultural circles, although a large part of the nations have lived side by side under foreign overlords. During that period, the language was referred to under a variety of names, such as "Slavic", "Illyrian", or according to region, "Bosnian", "Serbian" and "Croatian", the latter often in combination with "Slavonian" or "Dalmatian".
|
Why was Shtokavian the most widespread culture in the western Balkans?
|
{'text': 'population migrations', 'answer_start': 214}
|
94,560
| 94,218
|
5a74d37d42eae6001a389adb
|
generic
|
Animals typically use the color green as camouflage, blending in with the chlorophyll green of the surrounding environment. Green animals include, especially, amphibians, reptiles, and some fish, birds and insects. Most fish, reptiles, amphibians, and birds appear green because of a reflection of blue light coming through an over-layer of yellow pigment. Perception of color can also be affected by the surrounding environment. For example, broadleaf forests typically have a yellow-green light about them as the trees filter the light. Turacoverdin is one chemical which can cause a green hue in birds, especially. Invertebrates such as insects or mollusks often display green colors because of porphyrin pigments, sometimes caused by diet. This can causes their feces to look green as well. Other chemicals which generally contribute to greenness among organisms are flavins (lychochromes) and hemanovadin. Humans have imitated this by wearing green clothing as a camouflage in military and other fields. Substances that may impart a greenish hue to one's skin include biliverdin, the green pigment in bile, and ceruloplasmin, a protein that carries copper ions in chelation.
|
What is the name of the chemical in reptiles that causes them to appear green?
|
{'text': 'Turacoverdin', 'answer_start': 539}
|
53,838
| 53,496
|
5726704cf1498d1400e8dfb0
|
generic
|
The '98 season would begin on a somber note with the death of legendary broadcaster Harry Caray. After the retirement of Sandberg and the trade of Dunston, the Cubs had holes to fill and the signing of Henry Rodríguez, known affectionately as "H-Rod" to bat cleanup provided protection for Sammy Sosa in the lineup, as Rodriguez slugged 31 round-trippers in his first season in Chicago. Kevin Tapani led the club with a career high 19 wins, Rod Beck anchored a strong bullpen and Mark Grace turned in one of his best seasons. The Cubs were swamped by media attention in 1998, and the team's two biggest headliners were Sosa and rookie flamethrower Kerry Wood. Wood's signature performance was one-hitting the Houston Astros, a game in which he tied the major league record of 20 strikeouts in nine innings. His torrid strikeout numbers earned Wood the nickname "Kid K," and ultimately earned him the 1998 NL Rookie of the Year award. Sosa caught fire in June, hitting a major league record 20 home runs in the month, and his home run race with Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire transformed the pair into international superstars in a matter of weeks. McGwire finished the season with a new major league record of 70 home runs, but Sosa's .308 average and 66 homers earned him the National League MVP Award. After a down-to-the-wire Wild Card chase with the San Francisco Giants, Chicago and San Francisco ended the regular season tied, and thus squared off in a one-game playoff at Wrigley Field in which third baseman Gary Gaetti hit the eventual game winning homer. The win propelled the Cubs into the postseason once again with a 90–73 regular season tally. Unfortunately, the bats went cold in October, as manager Jim Riggleman's club batted .183 and scored only four runs en route to being swept by Atlanta. On a positive note, the home run chase between Sosa, McGwire and Ken Griffey, Jr. helped professional baseball to bring in a new crop of fans as well as bringing back some fans who had been disillusioned by the 1994 strike. The Cubs retained many players who experienced career years in '98, and after a fast start in 1999, they collapsed again (starting with being swept at the hands of the cross-town White Sox in mid-June) and finished in the bottom of the division for the next two seasons.
|
How many round-trippers did Rodriguez slug in his first season in Chicago?
|
{'text': '31', 'answer_start': 337}
|
108,274
| 107,932
|
57304bf5069b531400832016
|
generic
|
On the other hand, classical (analog) television transmissions are usually horizontally polarized, because in urban areas buildings can reflect the electromagnetic waves and create ghost images due to multipath propagation. Using horizontal polarization, ghosting is reduced because the amount of reflection of electromagnetic waves in the p polarization (horizontal polarization off the side of a building) is generally less than s (vertical, in this case) polarization. Vertically polarized analog television has nevertheless been used in some rural areas. In digital terrestrial television such reflections are less problematic, due to robustness of binary transmissions and error correction.
|
What cause less problems in digital terrestrial television?
|
{'text': 'Vertically polarized analog television', 'answer_start': 472}
|
38,552
| 38,210
|
570ce8b4fed7b91900d45ac5
|
generic
|
On the uneven bars, the gymnast performs a routine on two horizontal bars set at different heights. These bars are made of fiberglass covered in wood laminate, to prevent them from breaking. In the past, bars were made of wood, but the bars were prone to breaking, providing an incentive to switch to newer technologies. The width and height of the bars may be adjusted. In the past, the uneven parallel bars were closer together. They've been moved increasingly further apart, allowing gymnasts to perform swinging, circling, transitional, and release moves, that may pass over, under, and between the two bars. At the Elite level, movements must pass through the handstand. Gymnasts often mount the Uneven Bars using a springboard, or a small mat. Chalk and grips (a leather strip with holes for fingers to protect hands and improve performance) may be used while doing this event. The chalk helps take the moisture out of gymnast's hands to decrease friction and prevent rips (tears to the skin of the hands), dowel grips help gymnasts grip the bar.
|
What are the uneven bars?
|
{'text': 'two horizontal bars set at different heights', 'answer_start': 54}
|
113,119
| 112,777
|
5ad4d03b5b96ef001a10a185
|
generic
|
Like most of southern California, the majority of San Diego's current area was originally occupied by chaparral, a plant community made up mostly of drought-resistant shrubs. The endangered Torrey pine has the bulk of its population in San Diego in a stretch of protected chaparral along the coast. The steep and varied topography and proximity to the ocean create a number of different habitats within the city limits, including tidal marsh and canyons. The chaparral and coastal sage scrub habitats in low elevations along the coast are prone to wildfire, and the rates of fire have increased in the 20th century, due primarily to fires starting near the borders of urban and wild areas.
|
What advantage comes along with sage scrub habitats?
|
{'text': 'prone to wildfire', 'answer_start': 539}
|
121,383
| 121,041
|
57317859a5e9cc1400cdbf9c
|
generic
|
Only scant remains prove that mosaics were still used in the Early Middle Ages. The Abbey of Saint-Martial in Limoges, originally an important place of pilgrimage, was totally demolished during the French Revolution except its crypt which was rediscovered in the 1960s. A mosaic panel was unearthed which was dated to the 9th century. It somewhat incongruously uses cubes of gilded glass and deep green marble, probably taken from antique pavements. This could also be the case with the early 9th century mosaic found under the Basilica of Saint-Quentin in Picardy, where antique motifs are copied but using only simple colors. The mosaics in the Cathedral of Saint-Jean at Lyon have been dated to the 11th century because they employ the same non-antique simple colors. More fragments were found on the site of Saint-Croix at Poitiers which might be from the 6th or 9th century.
|
Where is the Abbey of Saint-Martial?
|
{'text': 'Limoges', 'answer_start': 110}
|
86,211
| 85,869
|
57282b823acd2414000df60f
|
generic
|
PlayStation Network is the unified online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service provided by Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable, announced during the 2006 PlayStation Business Briefing meeting in Tokyo. The service is always connected, free, and includes multiplayer support. The network enables online gaming, the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Home and other services. PlayStation Network uses real currency and PlayStation Network Cards as seen with the PlayStation Store and PlayStation Home.
|
In what city did Sony hold their 2006 PlayStation Business Briefing?
|
{'text': 'Tokyo', 'answer_start': 247}
|
8,169
| 7,827
|
56dc7e9a14d3a41400c26928
|
generic
|
Education in Northern Ireland differs slightly from systems used elsewhere in the United Kingdom, but it is more similar to that used in England and Wales than it is to Scotland.
|
Which countries have school systems somewhat similar to Northern Ireland?
|
{'text': 'England and Wales', 'answer_start': 137}
|
63,775
| 63,433
|
5acf926d77cf76001a6852d7
|
generic
|
Some of the county's secondary schools have specialist school status. Some schools have sixth forms and others transfer their sixth formers to colleges. Several schools can trace their origins back many years, such as The Blue School in Wells and Richard Huish College in Taunton. Others have changed their names over the years such as Beechen Cliff School which was started in 1905 as the City of Bath Boys' School and changed to its present name in 1972 when the grammar school was amalgamated with a local secondary modern school, to form a comprehensive school. Many others were established and built since the Second World War. In 2006, 5,900 pupils in Somerset sat GCSE examinations, with 44.5% achieving 5 grades A-C including English and Maths (compared to 45.8% for England).
|
What 5 grades A-C percentage to they get at City of Bath Boys' School?
|
{'text': '44.5%', 'answer_start': 695}
|
115,702
| 115,360
|
5733d4c24776f41900661307
|
generic
|
In 1939, coinciding with the start of World War II, Rene Dubos reported the discovery of the first naturally derived antibiotic, tyrothricin, a compound of 20% gramicidin and 80% tyrocidine, from B. brevis. It was one of the first commercially manufactured antibiotics universally and was very effective in treating wounds and ulcers during World War II. Gramicidin, however, could not be used systemically because of toxicity. Tyrocidine also proved too toxic for systemic usage. Research results obtained during that period were not shared between the Axis and the Allied powers during the war.
|
Who discovered tyrothricin?
|
{'text': 'Rene Dubos', 'answer_start': 52}
|
84,070
| 83,728
|
5728b6544b864d1900164ca2
|
generic
|
The next to arrive were the Dutch, with their main base in Ceylon. The British—who set up a trading post in the west coast port of Surat in 1619—and the French. The internal conflicts among Indian kingdoms gave opportunities to the European traders to gradually establish political influence and appropriate lands. Although these continental European powers controlled various coastal regions of southern and eastern India during the ensuing century, they eventually lost all their territories in India to the British islanders, with the exception of the French outposts of Pondichéry and Chandernagore, the Dutch port of Travancore, and the Portuguese colonies of Goa, Daman and Diu.[citation needed]
|
To whom did the foreigners lose most of their acquired lands?
|
{'text': 'British', 'answer_start': 510}
|
130,386
| 130,044
|
5735d1a86c16ec1900b92834
|
generic
|
The main international airport serving Kathmandu and thus Nepal is the Tribhuvan International Airport, located about six kilometers (6 km (3.7 mi)) from the city centre. Operated by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal it has two terminals, one domestic and one international. At present, about 22 international airlines connect Nepal to other destinations in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, to cities such as Istanbul, Delhi, Kolkata, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Dhaka, Islamabad, Paro, Lhasa, Chengdu, and Guangzhou. A recent extension to the international terminal has made the distance to the airplanes shorter and in October 2009 it became possible to fly directly to Kathmandu from Amsterdam with Arkefly. Since 2013, Turkish Airlines connects Istanbul to Kathmandu. Regionally, several Nepali airlines operate from the city, including Agni Air, Buddha Air, Cosmic Air, Nepal Airlines and Yeti Airlines, to other major towns across Nepal.
|
From what city does Arkefly offer nonstop flights to Kathmandu?
|
{'text': 'Amsterdam', 'answer_start': 698}
|
103,010
| 102,668
|
5731c48ae17f3d14004223b5
|
generic
|
Since the mid-1980s, Spielberg has increased his role as a film producer. He headed up the production team for several cartoons, including the Warner Bros. hits Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Toonsylvania, and Freakazoid!, for which he collaborated with Jean MacCurdy and Tom Ruegger. Due to his work on these series, in the official titles, most of them say, "Steven Spielberg presents" as well as making numerous cameos on the shows. Spielberg also produced the Don Bluth animated features, An American Tail and The Land Before Time, which were released by Universal Studios. He also served as one of the executive producers of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and its three related shorts (Tummy Trouble, Roller Coaster Rabbit, Trail Mix-Up), which were all released by Disney, under both the Walt Disney Pictures and the Touchstone Pictures banners. He was furthermore, for a short time, the executive producer of the long-running medical drama ER. In 1989, he brought the concept of The Dig to LucasArts. He contributed to the project from that time until 1995 when the game was released. He also collaborated with software publishers Knowledge Adventure on the multimedia game Steven Spielberg's Director's Chair, which was released in 1996. Spielberg appears, as himself, in the game to direct the player. The Spielberg name provided branding for a Lego Moviemaker kit, the proceeds of which went to the Starbright Foundation.
|
What charity did Spielberg's 'Lego Moviemaker' kit fund?
|
{'text': 'Starbright Foundation', 'answer_start': 1426}
|
38,473
| 38,131
|
5a6118ece9e1cc001a33cf01
|
generic
|
The Federation of International Gymnastics (FIG) was founded in Liege in 1881. By the end of the nineteenth century, men's gymnastics competition was popular enough to be included in the first "modern" Olympic Games in 1896. From then on until the early 1950s, both national and international competitions involved a changing variety of exercises gathered under the rubric, gymnastics, that would seem strange to today's audiences and that included for example, synchronized team floor calisthenics, rope climbing, high jumping, running, and horizontal ladder. During the 1920s, women organized and participated in gymnastics events. The first women's Olympic competition was primitive, only involving synchronized calisthenics and track and field. These games were held in 1928, in Amsterdam.
|
When did athletes start getting medals?
|
{'text': 'the early 1950s', 'answer_start': 244}
|
37,250
| 36,908
|
5ad1771f645df0001a2d1d2d
|
generic
|
Before the war, many observers believed the US and its allies could win but might suffer substantial casualties (certainly more than any conflict since Vietnam), and that the tank battles across the harsh desert might rival those of North Africa during World War II. After nearly 50 years of proxy wars, and constant fears of another war in Europe between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, some thought the Persian Gulf War might finally answer the question of which military philosophy would have reigned supreme. Iraqi forces were battle-hardened after 8 years of war with Iran, and they were well equipped with late model Soviet tanks and jet fighters, but the antiaircraft weapons were crippled; in comparison, the US had no large-scale combat experience since its withdrawal from Vietnam nearly 20 years earlier, and major changes in US doctrine, equipment and technology since then had never been tested under fire.
|
Prior to the Persian Gulf War, where and when was the last major African military conflict?
|
{'text': 'Vietnam nearly 20 years earlier', 'answer_start': 777}
|
124,106
| 123,764
|
5731f53ce17f3d1400422584
|
generic
|
Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. There is a wide-ranging diaspora of around 5 million people of full or partial Armenian ancestry living outside of modern Armenia. The largest Armenian populations today exist in Russia, the United States, France, Georgia, Iran, Ukraine, Lebanon, and Syria. With the exceptions of Iran and the former Soviet states, the present-day Armenian diaspora was formed mainly as a result of the Armenian Genocide.
|
Why did many Armenians leave Armenia?
|
{'text': 'the Armenian Genocide', 'answer_start': 491}
|
67,064
| 66,722
|
5726c3b1f1498d1400e8ea97
|
generic
|
In 1964, Paul VI created a Secretariat for non-Christians, later renamed the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and a year later a new Secretariat (later Pontifical Council) for Dialogue with Non-Believers. This latter was in 1993 incorporated by Pope John Paul II in the Pontifical Council for Culture, which he had established in 1982. In 1971, Paul VI created a papal office for economic development and catastrophic assistance. To foster common bonds with all persons of good will, he decreed an annual peace day to be celebrated on January first of every year. Trying to improve the condition of Christians behind the Iron Curtain, Paul VI engaged in dialogue with Communist authorities at several levels, receiving Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet Nikolai Podgorny in 1966 and 1967 in the Vatican. The situation of the Church in Hungary, Poland and Romania, improved during his pontificate.
|
What organization did Paul VI create to address non believers by the church?
|
{'text': 'Secretariat for non-Christians', 'answer_start': 27}
|
80,476
| 80,134
|
5727b97a4b864d1900163b86
|
generic
|
Chengdu Economic and Technological Development Zone (Chinese: 成都经济技术开发区; pinyin: Chéngdū jīngjì jìshù kāifā qū) was approved as state-level development zone in February 2000. The zone now has a developed area of 10.25 km2 (3.96 sq mi) and has a planned area of 26 km2 (10 sq mi). Chengdu Economic and Technological Development Zone (CETDZ) lies 13.6 km (8.5 mi) east of Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province and the hub of transportation and communication in southwest China. The zone has attracted investors and developers from more than 20 countries to carry out their projects there. Industries encouraged in the zone include mechanical, electronic, new building materials, medicine and food processing.
|
How far east of Chengdu is CETDZ?
|
{'text': '8.5 mi', 'answer_start': 354}
|
1,895
| 1,553
|
56cd5f5b62d2951400fa654c
|
generic
|
According to Chen, the Ming officer of Hezhou (modern day Linxia) informed the Hongwu Emperor that the general situation in Dbus and Gtsang "was under control," and so he suggested to the emperor that he offer the second Phagmodru ruler, Jamyang Shakya Gyaltsen, an official title. According to the Records of the Founding Emperor, the Hongwu Emperor issued an edict granting the title "Initiation State Master" to Sagya Gyaincain, while the latter sent envoys to the Ming court to hand over his jade seal of authority along with tribute of colored silk and satin, statues of the Buddha, Buddhist scriptures, and sarira.
|
Who did the Hongwu Emperor grant the title Initiation State Master to?
|
{'text': 'Sagya Gyaincain', 'answer_start': 415}
|
79,373
| 79,031
|
5ad22d60d7d075001a428636
|
generic
|
In 2005, the Office of Fair Trading found fifty independent schools, including Eton, to have breached the Competition Act by "regularly and systematically" exchanging information about planned increases in school fees, which was collated and distributed among the schools by the bursar at Sevenoaks School. Following the investigation by the OFT, each school was required to pay around £70,000, totalling around £3.5 million, significantly less than the maximum possible fine. In addition, the schools together agreed to contribute another £3m to a new charitable educational fund. The incident raised concerns over whether the charitable status of independent schools such as Eton should be reconsidered, and perhaps revoked. However, Jean Scott, the head of the Independent Schools Council, said that independent schools had always been exempt from anti-cartel rules applied to business, were following a long-established procedure in sharing the information with each other, and that they were unaware of the change to the law (on which they had not been consulted). She wrote to John Vickers, the OFT director-general, saying, "They are not a group of businessmen meeting behind closed doors to fix the price of their products to the disadvantage of the consumer. They are schools that have quite openly continued to follow a long-established practice because they were unaware that the law had changed."
|
How much does Eaton give to the Independent Schools Council each year?
|
{'text': '£70,000', 'answer_start': 386}
|
115,098
| 114,756
|
5730938d069b53140083219f
|
generic
|
Whitehead was unimpressed by this objection. In the notes of one his students for a 1927 class, Whitehead was quoted as saying: "Every scientific man in order to preserve his reputation has to say he dislikes metaphysics. What he means is he dislikes having his metaphysics criticized." In Whitehead's view, scientists and philosophers make metaphysical assumptions about how the universe works all the time, but such assumptions are not easily seen precisely because they remain unexamined and unquestioned. While Whitehead acknowledged that "philosophers can never hope finally to formulate these metaphysical first principles," he argued that people need to continually re-imagine their basic assumptions about how the universe works if philosophy and science are to make any real progress, even if that progress remains permanently asymptotic. For this reason Whitehead regarded metaphysical investigations as essential to both good science and good philosophy.
|
What did Whitehead ask people to reimagine in order for philosophy to make progress?
|
{'text': 'basic assumptions about how the universe works', 'answer_start': 690}
|
25,856
| 25,514
|
56f8c6939e9bad19000a0490
|
generic
|
All vertebrate brains share a common underlying form, which appears most clearly during early stages of embryonic development. In its earliest form, the brain appears as three swellings at the front end of the neural tube; these swellings eventually become the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain (the prosencephalon, mesencephalon, and rhombencephalon, respectively). At the earliest stages of brain development, the three areas are roughly equal in size. In many classes of vertebrates, such as fish and amphibians, the three parts remain similar in size in the adult, but in mammals the forebrain becomes much larger than the other parts, and the midbrain becomes very small.
|
During development, the brain is made up of three swellings at the front of what?
|
{'text': 'neural tube;', 'answer_start': 210}
|
29,363
| 29,021
|
570685bf52bb891400689a33
|
generic
|
Much of New Delhi, planned by the leading 20th-century British architect Edwin Lutyens, was laid out to be the central administrative area of the city as a testament to Britain's imperial pretensions. New Delhi is structured around two central promenades called the Rajpath and the Janpath. The Rajpath, or King's Way, stretches from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to the India Gate. The Janpath (Hindi: "Path of the People"), formerly Queen's Way, begins at Connaught Circus and cuts the Rajpath at right angles. 19 foreign embassies are located on the nearby Shantipath (Hindi: "Path of Peace"), making it the largest diplomatic enclave in India.
|
Which promenade was formerly known as the Queen's Way?
|
{'text': 'The Janpath', 'answer_start': 376}
|
1,060
| 718
|
56bfe66ea10cfb1400551381
|
generic
|
In October 2014, Beyoncé signed a deal to launch an activewear line of clothing with British fashion retailer Topshop. The 50-50 venture is called Parkwood Topshop Athletic Ltd and is scheduled to launch its first dance, fitness and sports ranges in autumn 2015. The line will launch in April 2016.
|
When will the full line appear?
|
{'text': 'April 2016', 'answer_start': 287}
|
12,111
| 11,769
|
56df730c5ca0a614008f9a81
|
generic
|
58.1% of the population described themselves in the 2011 census return as being at least nominally Christian and 0.8% as Muslim with all other religions represented by less than 0.5% each. The portion of people without a religion is 32.9%; above the national average of 24.7%. 7.1% did not state their religious belief. Since the 2001 Census, the number of Christians and Jews has decreased (-16% and -7% respectively), while all other religions have increased and non-religious people have almost doubled in number.
|
What percentage of Plymouth consists of non-religious people?
|
{'text': '32.9%', 'answer_start': 233}
|
21,154
| 20,812
|
5ad26973d7d075001a4292d6
|
generic
|
In many societies, however, a particular dialect, often the sociolect of the elite class, comes to be identified as the "standard" or "proper" version of a language by those seeking to make a social distinction, and is contrasted with other varieties. As a result of this, in some contexts the term "dialect" refers specifically to varieties with low social status. In this secondary sense of "dialect", language varieties are often called dialects rather than languages:
|
In certain context, which term refers to varieties with high social status?
|
{'text': 'dialect', 'answer_start': 300}
|
123,897
| 123,555
|
57320bb80fdd8d15006c6714
|
generic
|
From an institutional perspective, the rules of the House assign a number of specific responsibilities to the minority leader. For example, Rule XII, clause 6, grant the minority leader (or his designee) the right to offer a motion to recommit with instructions; Rule II, clause 6, states the Inspector General shall be appointed by joint recommendation of the Speaker, majority leader, and minority leader; and Rule XV, clause 6, provides that the Speaker, after consultation with the minority leader, may place legislation on the Corrections Calendar. The minority leader also has other institutional duties, such as appointing individuals to certain federal entities.
|
Who may place legislation on a corrections calendar?
|
{'text': 'minority leader', 'answer_start': 486}
|
128,436
| 128,094
|
5ad2ed91604f3c001a3fd9df
|
generic
|
Applied Anthropology refers to the application of the method and theory of anthropology to the analysis and solution of practical problems. It is a, "complex of related, research-based, instrumental methods which produce change or stability in specific cultural systems through the provision of data, initiation of direct action, and/or the formulation of policy". More simply, applied anthropology is the practical side of anthropological research; it includes researcher involvement and activism within the participating community. It is closely related to Development anthropology (distinct from the more critical Anthropology of development).
|
What refers to the study of the methods and theries of anthropology?
|
{'text': 'Applied Anthropology', 'answer_start': 0}
|
66,472
| 66,130
|
5ad0c966645df0001a2d0354
|
generic
|
In January 1790, Burke read Dr. Richard Price's sermon of 4 November 1789 entitled, A Discourse on the Love of our Country, to the Revolution Society. That society had been founded to commemorate the Glorious Revolution of 1688. In this sermon Price espoused the philosophy of universal "Rights of Men". Price argued that love of our country "does not imply any conviction of the superior value of it to other countries, or any particular preference of its laws and constitution of government". Instead, Price asserted that Englishmen should see themselves "more as citizens of the world than as members of any particular community".
|
When did Price read Burke's sermon?
|
{'text': '4 November 1789', 'answer_start': 58}
|
27,263
| 26,921
|
56f9e9738f12f3190062ffe8
|
generic
|
People have used wood for millennia for many purposes, primarily as a fuel or as a construction material for making houses, tools, weapons, furniture, packaging, artworks, and paper. The year-to-year variation in tree-ring widths and isotopic abundances gives clues to the prevailing climate at that time.
|
What is often made of wood that provides shelter to people?
|
{'text': 'houses', 'answer_start': 116}
|
101,466
| 101,124
|
572eab27cb0c0d14000f1431
|
generic
|
For much of the eighteenth century, France approached its wars in the same way. It would let colonies defend themselves or would offer only minimal help (sending them limited numbers of troops or inexperienced soldiers), anticipating that fights for the colonies would most likely be lost anyway. This strategy was to a degree forced upon France: geography, coupled with the superiority of the British navy, made it difficult for the French navy to provide significant supplies and support to French colonies. Similarly, several long land borders made an effective domestic army imperative for any French ruler. Given these military necessities, the French government, unsurprisingly, based its strategy overwhelmingly on the army in Europe: it would keep most of its army on the continent, hoping for victories closer to home. The plan was to fight to the end of hostilities and then, in treaty negotiations, to trade territorial acquisitions in Europe to regain lost overseas possessions. This approach did not serve France well in the war, as the colonies were indeed lost, but although much of the European war went well, by its end France had few counterbalancing European successes.
|
In treaty negotiations, what trades did France hope to make.
|
{'text': 'in treaty negotiations, to trade territorial acquisitions in Europe to regain lost overseas possessions.', 'answer_start': 886}
|
67,652
| 67,310
|
572784dcf1498d1400e8fa97
|
generic
|
Switzerland's trade was blockaded by both the Allies and by the Axis. Economic cooperation and extension of credit to the Third Reich varied according to the perceived likelihood of invasion and the availability of other trading partners. Concessions reached a peak after a crucial rail link through Vichy France was severed in 1942, leaving Switzerland completely surrounded by the Axis. Over the course of the war, Switzerland interned over 300,000 refugees and the International Red Cross, based in Geneva, played an important part during the conflict. Strict immigration and asylum policies as well as the financial relationships with Nazi Germany raised controversy, but not until the end of the 20th century.
|
What was severed in 1942, leaving Switzerland completely surrounded by the Axis?
|
{'text': 'a crucial rail link through Vichy France', 'answer_start': 272}
|
123,927
| 123,585
|
5a8490b47cf838001a46a950
|
generic
|
During this early period, it was more usual that neither major party grouping (Federalists and Democratic-Republicans) had an official leader. In 1813, for instance, a scholar recounts that the Federalist minority of 36 Members needed a committee of 13 "to represent a party comprising a distinct minority" and "to coordinate the actions of men who were already partisans in the same cause." In 1828, a foreign observer of the House offered this perspective on the absence of formal party leadership on Capitol Hill:
|
Who offered their view on lack of Democrat-Republican leadership in 1813?
|
{'text': 'a foreign observer', 'answer_start': 401}
|
86,520
| 86,178
|
572a9c3bbe1ee31400cb80c6
|
generic
|
Instead, the monarch directly grants royal assent by Order in Council. Assent is granted or refused on the advice of the Lord Chancellor. A recent example when assent was refused (or, more correctly, when the Lord Chancellor declined to present the law for assent) was in 2007, concerning reforms to the constitution of the Chief Pleas of Sark. (A revised version of the proposed reforms was subsequently given assent.) In 2011, campaigners against a law that sought to reduce the number of senators in the states of Jersey petitioned the Privy Council to advise the Queen to refuse royal assent. An Order in Council of 13 July 2011 established new rules for the consideration of petitions against granting royal assent.
|
What was the subject of the bill that the Lord Chancellor refused to present for royal assent in 2007?
|
{'text': 'reforms to the constitution of the Chief Pleas of Sark', 'answer_start': 289}
|
6,382
| 6,040
|
56d3754d59d6e41400146455
|
generic
|
Despite being eliminated earlier in the season, Chris Daughtry (as lead of the band Daughtry) became the most successful recording artist from this season. Other contestants, such as Hicks, McPhee, Bucky Covington, Mandisa, Kellie Pickler, and Elliott Yamin have had varying levels of success.
|
Which season five contestant has had the most success after the show?
|
{'text': 'Chris Daughtry', 'answer_start': 48}
|
51,549
| 51,207
|
5a0cbf1df5590b0018dab539
|
generic
|
In 2011, the foundation launched a program called "Reinvent the Toilet Challenge" with the aim to promote the development of innovations in toilet design to benefit the 2.5 billion people that do not have access to safe and effective sanitation. This program has generated significant interest of the mainstream media. It was complemented by a program called "Grand Challenges Explorations" (2011 to 2013 with some follow-up grants reaching until 2015) which involved grants of US$100,000 each in the first round. Both funding schemes explicitly excluded project ideas that relied on centralized sewerage systems or are not compatible with development country contexts.
|
What program generated interest by Grand Challenges Explorations?
|
{'text': 'Reinvent the Toilet Challenge', 'answer_start': 51}
|
64,475
| 64,133
|
57274d85dd62a815002e9ac4
|
generic
|
Though there is no doubt that the demographic crisis of the 14th century caused a dramatic fall in production and commerce in absolute terms, there has been a vigorous historical debate over whether the decline was greater than the fall in population. While the older orthodoxy held that the artistic output of the Renaissance was a result of greater opulence, more recent studies have suggested that there might have been a so-called 'depression of the Renaissance'. In spite of convincing arguments for the case, the statistical evidence is simply too incomplete for a definite conclusion to be made.
|
What type of evidence is too incomplete for a decision to be made between the two theories of the Renaissance?
|
{'text': 'statistical', 'answer_start': 519}
|
52,472
| 52,130
|
5a7a0ffa17ab25001a8a02a1
|
generic
|
The original early 19th-century interior designs, many of which survive, include widespread use of brightly coloured scagliola and blue and pink lapis, on the advice of Sir Charles Long. King Edward VII oversaw a partial redecoration in a Belle Époque cream and gold colour scheme. Many smaller reception rooms are furnished in the Chinese regency style with furniture and fittings brought from the Royal Pavilion at Brighton and from Carlton House. The palace has 775 rooms, and the garden is the largest private garden in London. The state rooms, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public each year for most of August and September, and on selected days in winter and spring.
|
Which style are none of the reception rooms furnished in?
|
{'text': 'Chinese regency style', 'answer_start': 332}
|
17,927
| 17,585
|
56e172f5cd28a01900c67954
|
generic
|
Many of Boston's medical facilities are associated with universities. The facilities in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area and in Massachusetts General Hospital are affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Tufts Medical Center (formerly Tufts-New England Medical Center), located in the southern portion of the Chinatown neighborhood, is affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine. Boston Medical Center, located in the South End neighborhood, is the primary teaching facility for the Boston University School of Medicine as well as the largest trauma center in the Boston area; it was formed by the merger of Boston University Hospital and Boston City Hospital, which was the first municipal hospital in the United States.
|
The Longwood medical and Academic Area is affiliated with what medical school?
|
{'text': 'Harvard Medical School', 'answer_start': 185}
|
82,929
| 82,587
|
5ad2c87ed7d075001a42a203
|
generic
|
Admissions are characterized as "most selective" by U.S. News & World Report. There were 35,099 applications for the undergraduate class of 2020 (entering 2016), and 3,751 (10.7%) were admitted, making Northwestern one of the most selective schools in the United States. For freshmen enrolling in the class of 2019, the interquartile range (middle 50%) on the SAT was 690–760 for critical reading and 710-800 for math, ACT composite scores for the middle 50% ranged from 31–34, and 91% ranked in the top ten percent of their high school class.
|
For freshman enrolling in the class of 2019, what was the interquartile range on the ACT for critical reading?
|
{'text': '690–760', 'answer_start': 368}
|
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