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0 | can class a misdemeanor be expunged in texas | Texas expungement law allows expungement of arrests which did not lead to a finding of guilt, and class C misdemeanors if the defendant received deferred adjudication, and completed a community supervision. If the defendant was found guilty, pleaded guilty, or pleaded no contest to any offense other than a class ``C'' misdemeanor, it is not eligible for expungement; however, it may be eligible for non-disclosure if deferred adjudication was granted. | false |
0 | Is he very old? | Kramer the kitten loved to hunt for mice. He was black with white boots. Kramer was still a baby, so he liked to play all night long and sleep during the day. His favorite toy is a little fake squeaky mouse. One day, Kramer was waking up from a long nap. He saw a little mouse out of the corner of his eye. He jumped up and began to chase him around the room. He ran and ran until the mouse went into a little hole in the wall. Mary the mouse was so scared. She sat in the hole in the wall and cried little mouse tears. Kramer heard the mouse crying and said "Don't worry little mouse I want to play with you! Do you want to play too? Let's play hide and seek!" The mouse poked her head out and said "Sure!" I'm it first!" And Kramer took off around the corner with Mary chasing behind him. | false |
1 | did the iphone se come out after the six | The iPhone Special Edition (SE) is a smartphone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. as part of the iPhone series of devices. It was unveiled on March 21, 2016, at Apple's Cupertino headquarters, and was released on March 31, 2016. Despite chronologically succeeding the iPhone 6 family's launch, the iPhone SE serves as a successor of the iPhone 5S. It maintains the 4-inch screen size and largely identical design to the 5S, but includes selected hardware upgrades from the larger iPhone 6S model, including its updated processor, rear camera, and support for iOS 10 and iOS 11 software features, such as Apple Pay, always-on Siri activation, and Live Photos. It also features a new color in Rose Gold along with the standard Space Gray, Silver and Gold. The model was re-released with new improved options on March 24, 2017. | true |
1 | is 5' utr present in mature mrna | It is important to distinguish the 5' and 3' UTRs from other non-protein-coding RNA. Within the coding sequence there can be found sections of RNA that will not be included in the protein product. These sections of RNA are called introns. The RNA that results from RNA splicing are called exons. The reason why introns are not considered untranslated regions is that the introns are spliced out in the process of RNA splicing. The introns are not included in the mature mRNA molecule. | true |
1 | Are the characters related? | CHAPTER XXXIV
At a few minutes after nine, the following morning, the Marquis entered the room where breakfast was usually served. The Duchess, in travelling clothes and a hat, was lifting the covers from the silver dishes upon the sideboard, with a fork in her hand. She welcomed him a little shortly.
"Good morning, Reginald!"
"Good morning, Caroline," he replied. "Are you the only representative of the household?"
She snorted.
"Charlie Grantham went off in his little two-seater at eight o'clock this morning," she announced. "He is motoring up to town. Left apologies with Gossett, I believe--telegram or something in the night. All fiddlesticks, of course!"
"Naturally," the Marquis assented, helping himself from one of the dishes and drawing his chair up to his sister's side. "So exit Charles Grantham, eh?"
"And me," the Duchess declared, returning to her place and pouring out the coffee. "I suppose you can send me to Fakenham for the ten o'clock train?"
The Marquis considered for a moment.
"I am not sure, Caroline," he said, "that your departure is entirely kind."
"Well, I'm jolly certain I don't mean it to be," she answered bitterly. "I ask no questions, and I hate scenes. A week ago I should have scoffed at the idea of David Thain as a prospective suitor for Letitia. Now, my advice to you is, the sooner you can get them married, the better."
"Really!" he murmured. "You've given up the idea, then, of taking the young man to Scotland?"
"Entirely," the Duchess assured him emphatically. "I was an idiot to ever consider it. When people of his class find their way amongst us, disaster nearly always follows. You see, they don't know the rules of the game, as we play it. Whilst we are on this subject, Reginald, what are you going to do about it?" | true |
1 | Did Tommy have a choice of continuing his education more? | CHAPTER XXXVII
THE END OF A BOYHOOD
Convinced of his own worthlessness, Tommy was sufficiently humble now, but Aaron Latta, nevertheless, marched to the square on the following market day and came back with the boy's sentence, Elspeth being happily absent.
"I say nothing about the disgrace you have brought on this house," the warper began without emotion, "for it has been a shamed house since afore you were born, and it's a small offence to skail on a clarty floor. But now I've done more for you than I promised Jean Myles to do, and you had your pick atween college and the herding, and the herding you've chosen twice. I call you no names, you ken best what you're fitted for, but I've seen the farmer of the Dubb of Prosen the day, and he was short-handed through the loss of Tod Lindertis, so you're fee'd to him. Dinna think you get Tod's place, it'll be years afore you rise to that, but it's right and proper that as he steps up, you should step down."
"The Dubb of Prosen!" cried Tommy in dismay. "It's fifteen miles frae here."
"It's a' that."
"But--but--but Elspeth and me never thought of my being so far away that she couldna see me. We thought of a farmer near Thrums."
"The farther you're frae her the better," said Aaron, uneasily, yet honestly believing what he said.
"It'll kill her," Tommy cried fiercely. With only his own suffering to consider he would probably have nursed it into a play through which he stalked as the noble child of misfortune, but in his anxiety for Elspeth he could still forget himself. "Fine you ken she canna do without me," he screamed. | true |
0 | Was Winter just beginning? | CHAPTER XXXI
THIRLWELL'S REWARD
Winter was nearly over when, one evening, George and Scott arrived at the Farnam homestead where Agatha was a guest. The house was centrally heated, and when the party gathered in Mrs. Farnam's pretty, warm room, Agatha wondered what Thirlwell was doing in the frozen North. Farnam had invested some money in the mine, and Agatha knew George had come to talk about the company's business.
"Things are not going well with us," he said presently. "Our money's nearly spent and Thirlwell has not been able to get out much ore. I think I told you he suspected Stormont sent the men who staked the claims behind our block, and the fellow's now getting on our track. He's been to see Gardner, Leeson, and one or two others."
"It would be awkward if they turned us down," Farnam remarked.
Agatha waited. She knew Gardner and Leeson held a number of the shares, but she did not understand the matter yet.
"Very awkward," George agreed. "I went to Leeson, and although he didn't say much, I reckon Stormont wants to buy his stock. He allowed that he and Gardner were not satisfied about our prospects, and I couldn't give him much ground for holding on. Then I went to Hill, who said he'd got an offer for his stock and meant to sell, but wouldn't name the buyer. I suspected Stormont again, but we won't know until we get the transfer form."
"One could head him off by bidding higher for the shares," Farnam suggested. "Still I suppose it's impossible. Anyhow, I have no more money." | false |
0 | Are Terry Zwigoff and Pavel Ruminov both American film directors? | Pavel Yurevich Ruminov (Russian: Па́вел Ю́рьевич Руми́нов ; born 25 November 1974) is a Russian film director. He began his career in Vladivostok directing music videos for Russian acts such as Mumiy Troll and Zemfira before relocating to Moscow. He is best known in Russia for the Internet-based hype surrounding his first feature film "Dead Daughters", where he tried to marry horror and arthouse cinema effectively. The film divided critics in Russia, some praised its style and message, others found the structure of the movie to be very strange. He sold the remake rights for "Dead Daughters" to the Hollywood studio Gold Circle Films but no remake has been produced. His second film "Circumstances", a romantic comedy with dark overtones, was released in Russia in September 2009, but failed at the box-office. In 2012 his third movie "Ya Budu Ryadom" won the gran-prix for the best film at 23rd open film festival Kinotavr, the largest national film festival in Russia. Besides professional cinema, Pavel also makes amateur movies of his family and friends which are available on his website at YouTube. Terry Zwigoff (born May 18, 1949) is an American filmmaker whose work often deals with misfits, antiheroes, and themes of alienation. | false |
1 | Are Cindy Baer and Alfred E. Green both directors? | Cindy Baer is an American actress, director, producer, and entrepreneur. She helms the production company Free Dream Pictures, located in Burbank, California. Alfred E. Green (July 11, 1889 in Perris, California – September 4, 1960 in Hollywood, California) was a prolific movie director. Green entered film in 1912 as an actor for the Selig Polyscope Company. He became an assistant to director Colin Campbell. He then started to direct two-reelers until he started features in 1917. | true |
1 | was hong kong part of the british empire | British Hong Kong was the period during which Hong Kong was under British colonial rule, from 1841 to 1997 (excluding the Japanese occupation from 1941 to 1945). Colonial rule began with the British occupation of Hong Kong Island on 26 January 1841 during the First Opium War (1839--1842). The island was ceded to the United Kingdom by the Qing dynasty of China on 29 August 1842 and established as a Crown colony on 26 June 1843. It was later designated a British Dependent Territory in 1981. The Kowloon Peninsula was added to the colony after the Second Opium War (1856--1860). Finally, the New Territories were added under a 99-year lease in 1898. Although Hong Kong Island and Kowloon were ceded to Britain in perpetuity, the New Territories -- which comprised over 90 per cent of Hong Kong's land -- had such a vital role in the economy that the British government agreed to transfer sovereignty of the entirety of Hong Kong to China upon the expiration of the lease in 1997. The transfer has been considered by many as marking the end of the British Empire. | true |
0 | Are both Boston College and Brown University religion-affiliated institutes? | Boston College (also referred to as BC) is a private Jesuit Catholic research university located in the affluent village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States, 6 mi west of downtown Boston. It has 9,100 full-time undergraduates and almost 5,000 graduate students. The university's name reflects its early history as a liberal arts college and preparatory school (now Boston College High School) in Dorchester. It is a member of the 568 Group and the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Its main campus is a historic district and features some of the earliest examples of collegiate gothic architecture in North America. Brown University is a private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. | false |
1 | Do Galega and Huernia grow in parts of Africa? | Galega (goat's rue) is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, native to central and southern Europe, western Asia and tropical east Africa. They are tall, bushy, herbaceous perennials with erect racemes of pea-like flowers in shades of white, pink, blue or mauve. Their preferred habitats are sunny damp meadows or slopes. The genus Huernia (family Apocynaceae, subfamily Asclepiadoideae) consists of stem succulents from Eastern and Southern Africa, first described as a genus in 1810. The flowers are five-lobed, usually somewhat more funnel- or bell-shaped than in the closely related genus "Stapelia", and often striped vividly in contrasting colours or tones, some glossy, others matt and wrinkled depending on the species concerned. To pollinate, the flowers attract flies by emitting a scent similar to that of carrion. The genus is considered close to the genera "Stapelia" and "Hoodia". The name is in honour of Justin Heurnius (1587–1652) a Dutch missionary who is reputed to have been the first collector of South African Cape plants. His name was actually mis-spelt by the collector. | true |
1 | Was the legal system every involved? | When Paul was a boy growing up in Utah, he happened to live near a copper smelter , and the chemicals that poured out had made a wasteland out of what used to be a beautiful forest. One day a young visitor looked at this wasteland and called it an awful area. Paul knocked him down. From then on, something happened inside him.
Years later Paul was back in the area, and he went to the smelter office. He asked if they had any plans or if they would let him try to bring the trees back. The answer from that big industry was "No".
Paul then went to college to study the science of plants. Unfortunately, his teachers said there weren't any birds or squirrels to spread the seeds. It would be a waste of his life to try to do it. Everyone knew that, he was told. Even if he was knowledgeable as he had expected, he wouldn't get his idea accepted.
Paul later got married but his dream would not die. And then one night he did what he could with what he had. As Samuel Johnson wrote, "It is common to overlook what is near by keeping the eye fixed on something remote. Attainable good is often ignored by minds busied in wide ranges." Under the cover of darkness, he went secretly into the wasteland and started planting.
And every week, he made his secret journey into the wasteland and planted trees and grass. For fifteen years he did this against _ . Slowly rabbits appeared. Later, as there was legal pressure to clean up the environment, the company actually hired Paul to do what he was already doing.
Now the place is fourteen thousand acres of trees and grass and bushes, and Paul has received almost every environmental award Utah has. It took him until his hair turned white, but he managed to keep that impossible vow he made to himself as a child. | true |
1 | are Jewish people mentioned? | Today is National Bike-to-Work Day. And on New York City's jammed streets, people are cycling on hundreds of miles of new bike lanes. But New York's widespread efforts to make streets safer for bikes have also left some locals complaining about the loss of parking spots and lanes for cars.
When the weather is good, Aaron Naparstek likes to pedal his two young kids to school on a special Dutch-made bicycle. Naparstek supports the new lane.
Aaron: The bike lane on Prospect Park West is really introducing a lot of new people to the idea that it's possible to use a bike in New York City for transportation or to travel around. This is what 21stcentury New York City looks like.
Prospect Park West is still a one-way road, but where it used to have three lanes of car traffic, now it has two, plus a protected bike lane. Supporters say that makes the road safer for everyone, including pedestrians, by slowing down cars and taking bikes off the sidewalk. But some longtime residents disagree. Lois Carswell is president of a group called Seniors for Safety. She says the two-way bike lane is dangerous to older residents who are used to one-way traffic.
Lois: We wanted a lane -- the right kind of lane that would keep everybody safe, that would keep the bikers safe. But we want it to be done the right way. And it has not been done the right way.
Craig Palmer builds bars and restaurants in Manhattan. I was interviewing him for a different story when he brought up the bike lanes all on his own.
Craig: I think the biggest problem is that Bloomberg put all these bike lanes in. You took what used to be a full street and you're shrinking it.
Then there are the Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who forced the city to remove a bike lane through their neighborhood. But polls show that the majority of New Yorkers support bike lanes by a margin of 56% to 39%. Bicycle advocate Caroline Samponaro of Transportation Alternatives calls that _
Caroline: If this was an election, we would have already had our victory. The public has spoken and they keep speaking. And I think, more importantly, the public is starting to vote with their pedals. | true |
0 | has any nfl team ever won 3 superbowls in a row | The Pittsburgh Steelers (6--2) have won the most Super Bowls with six championships, while the New England Patriots (5--5), the Dallas Cowboys (5--3), and the San Francisco 49ers (5--1) have five wins. New England has the most Super Bowl appearances with ten, while the Buffalo Bills (0--4) have the most consecutive appearances with four (all losses) from 1990 to 1993. The Miami Dolphins are the only other team to have at least three consecutive appearances: 1972--1974. The Denver Broncos (3--5) and Patriots have each lost a record five Super Bowls. The Minnesota Vikings (0--4) and the Bills have lost four. The record for consecutive wins is two and is shared by seven franchises: the Green Bay Packers (1966--1967), the Miami Dolphins (1972--1973), the Pittsburgh Steelers (1974--1975 and 1978--1979, the only team to accomplish this feat twice), the San Francisco 49ers (1988--1989), the Dallas Cowboys (1992--1993), the Denver Broncos (1997--1998), and the New England Patriots (2003--2004). Among those, Dallas (1992--1993; 1995) and New England (2001; 2003--2004) are the only teams to win three out of four consecutive Super Bowls. The 1972 Dolphins capped off the only perfect season in NFL history with their victory in Super Bowl VII. The only team with multiple Super Bowl appearances and no losses is the Baltimore Ravens, who in winning Super Bowl XLVII defeated and replaced the 49ers in that position. Four current NFL teams have never appeared in a Super Bowl, including franchise relocations and renaming: the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans, though both the Browns (1964) and Lions (1957) had won NFL championship games prior to the creation of the Super Bowl. | false |
1 | will there be an 8th season of suits | The eighth season of the American legal drama Suits was ordered on January 30, 2018, and began airing on USA Network in the United States July 18, 2018. | true |
1 | Did the men he sent with word return? | CHAPTER V
THE BATTLE ON THE SEA
On the morrow Thorvald, my father, sent messengers to the head men of Agger, telling them of all that he and his House had suffered at the hands of Steinar, whereof those of their folk who had been present at the feast could bear witness. He added that if they stood by Steinar in his wickedness and treachery, thenceforward he and the men of the North would be their foes and work them mischief by land and sea.
In due course these messengers returned with the tale that the head men of Agger had met together and deposed Steinar from his lordship over them, electing another man, a nephew of Steinar's father. Also they sent a present of gold rings in atonement for the wrong which had been done to the house of Thorvald by one of their blood, and prayed that Thorvald and the northern men would bear them no ill will for that in which they were blameless.
Cheered by this answer, which halved the number of their foes, my father, Thorvald of Aar, and those Over-men of whom he was the High-lord, began to make their preparations to attack Athalbrand on his Island of Lesso. Of all these things Athalbrand learned by his spies, and later, when the warships were being prepared and manned, two messengers came from him, old men of repute, and demanded to see my father. This was the substance of his message, which was delivered in my hearing. | true |
1 | is there going to be a season 2 of penny on mars | On April 10, 2018, the production of the second season was announced. | true |
0 | does hagrid die in harry potter and the deathly hallows | During the climactic battle, Hagrid attempts to come to the defence of Aragog's carnivorous children, who have been driven out of the Forbidden Forest by the Death Eaters and are now attacking both Hogwarts defenders and Death Eaters indiscriminately, but he is carried off by a swarm of them. He later turns up, captive in the Death Eaters' camp, when Harry sacrifices himself to Voldemort. Hagrid is forced to carry Harry back to the school, not realising that Harry has survived again, and en route accuses the watching Centaurs of not doing enough to help. The Centaurs soon afterward join the fray and Hagrid takes part in the second half of the battle, felling his main nemesis among the Death Eaters, the magical-creature executioner Walden Macnair. | false |
1 | did double deckers used to have raisins in | The chocolate bar is structured in two layers; a lightly-whipped nougat layer, with a lower layer of cereal 'crispies', these are then coated in milk chocolate. Originally the bar contained raisins within the base layer; however, consumer research in the mid-1980s led to these being removed and the current formulation being introduced. Television adverts in the 1970s featured Willie Rushton before a mascot named Dougie the Double Decker Dog was introduced. | true |
1 | Was someone hiddn in the shadows? | CHAPTER VI.
THE LIME-KILN.
MR. MEADOWCROFT was the first to speak. "Somebody must find John," he said.
"Without losing a moment," added his daughter.
Ambrose suddenly stepped out of the dark corner of the room.
"_I_ will inquire," he said.
Silas followed him.
"I will go with you," he added.
Mr. Meadowcroft interposed his authority.
"One of you will be enough; for the present, at least. Go you, Ambrose. Your brother may be wanted later. If any accident has happened (which God forbid!) we may have to inquire in more than one direction. Silas, you will stay at the farm."
The brothers withdrew together; Ambrose to prepare for his journey, Silas to saddle one of the horses for him. Naomi slipped out after them. Left in company with Mr. Meadowcroft and his daughter (both devoured by anxiety about the missing man, and both trying to conceal it under an assumption of devout resignation to circumstances), I need hardly add that I, too, retired, as soon as it was politely possible for me to leave the room. Ascending the stairs on my way to my own quarters, I discovered Naomi half hidden by the recess formed by an old-fashioned window-seat on the first landing. My bright little friend was in sore trouble. Her apron was over her face, and she was crying bitterly. Ambrose had not taken his leave as tenderly as usual. She was more firmly persuaded than ever that "Ambrose was hiding something from her." We all waited anxiously for the next day. The next day made the mystery deeper than ever. | true |
1 | Does she like the smell? | CHAPTER XXXI
Duly shaved with one of Stanley's razors, bathed, and breakfasted, Felix was on the point of getting into the car to return to Joyfields when he received a message from his mother: Would he please go up and see her before he went?
He found her looking anxious and endeavoring to conceal it.
Having kissed him, she drew him to her sofa and said: "Now, darling, come and sit down here, and tell me all about this DREADFUL business." And taking up an odorator she blew over him a little cloud of scent. "It's quite a new perfume; isn't it delicious?"
Felix, who dreaded scent, concealed his feelings, sat down, and told her. And while he told her he was conscious of how pathetically her fastidiousness was quivering under those gruesome details--fighting with policemen, fighting with common men, prison--FOR A LADY; conscious too of her still more pathetic effort to put a good face on it. When he had finished she remained so perfectly still, with lips so hard compressed, that he said:
"It's no good worrying, Mother."
Frances Freeland rose, pulled something hard, and a cupboard appeared. She opened it, and took out a travelling-bag.
"I must go back with you at once," she said.
"I don't think it's in the least necessary, and you'll only knock yourself up."
"Oh, nonsense, darling! I must."
Knowing that further dissuasion would harden her determination, Felix said: "I'm going in the car."
"That doesn't matter. I shall be ready in ten minutes. Oh! and do you know this? It's splendid for taking lines out under the eyes!" She was holding out a little round box with the lid off. "Just wet your finger with it, and dab it gently on." | true |
1 | are varsol and mineral spirits the same thing | White spirit (UK) or mineral spirits (US, Canada), also known as mineral turpentine (AU/NZ), turpentine substitute, petroleum spirits, solvent naphtha (petroleum), Varsol, Stoddard solvent, or, generically, ``paint thinner'', is a petroleum-derived clear liquid used as a common organic solvent in painting. | true |
0 | Are Fabio Fognini and Brian Gottfried from the same country? | Fabio Fognini (] ; born 24 May 1987) is an Italian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world No. 29 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the current Italian No. 1. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 13, achieved in March 2014, and world No. 7 in doubles, achieved in July 2015. Fognini's most successful surface is red clay, upon which he won his four ATP singles titles in Stuttgart, Hamburg, Viña del Mar and Umag, reached the quarterfinals of the 2011 French Open and the semifinals of the 2013 Monte-Carlo Masters. Together with Simone Bolelli, Fognini won the 2015 Australian Open doubles event, becoming the first all Italian men's pair to win a Grand Slam title in the Open era. Brian Edward Gottfried (born January 27, 1952) is a retired tennis player from the United States who won 25 singles titles and 54 doubles titles during his professional career. The right-hander was the runner-up at the 1977 French Open and achieved a career-high singles ranking on the ATP tour on June 19, 1977, when he became World No. 3. | false |
0 | Did Peter Hooton and Floor Jansen found the band The Farm together? | Peter Hooton (born 2 December 1963) is the vocalist of Liverpool-based group The Farm. He was also its sole founder member in 1983, overseeing its rise to prominence with two top 10 singles in 1990, its breakup in 1996 and reformation in 2004. Peter Hooton (born 2 December 1963) is the vocalist of Liverpool-based group The Farm. He was also its sole founder member in 1983, overseeing its rise to prominence with two top 10 singles in 1990, its breakup in 1996 and reformation in 2004. Floor Jansen (] ; born 21 February 1981 in Goirle) is a Dutch singer, songwriter, and vocal coach. She is the lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. | false |
0 | Was the dog alone? | Rocky's been a fictional hero for decades, but in Edmonton, Alberta, today there's a hero named Rocky who is definitely real -- only he's 8 years old and has four legs.
This Rocky, a Labrador retriever-husky mix, is being hailed for pulling a 9-year-old girl from an icy river on Easter Sunday. His owner, Adam Shaw, 27, is getting similar praise.
"If that man and dog weren't there -- I just try not to think of it," Miranda Wagner, the mother of Samara, 9, and her 10-year-old sister, Krymzen, said in an interview with CNN affiliate CTV.
"I just want to give him a big hug and tell him he's my hero. If he wasn't there I wouldn't have my girls," Wagner said. "Doctors said two more minutes and Samara would have been gone."
Rocky and Shaw's heroics played out on the icy North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton on Sunday afternoon. The girls were tobogganing in a riverside park when they ended up on ice extending from the riverbank, their father, Corey Sunshine, told CNN affiliate CBC.
"From what I was told was, one of the toboggans came off the snowbank and onto the ice and they were trying to come back and the ice broke," he said.
Shaw said he was walking on a bridge over the river when he heard screams. Looking down on the river he saw one girl in the icy water and her sister trying to pull her out.
By the time he and Rocky sprinted down to the river, both girls were in the water. | false |
1 | did trinidad and tobago qualify for the world cup 2018 | Trinidad and Tobago entered qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in the Fourth Round and was drawn into Group C with Guatemala, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the United States. The team would finish second in Group C with a total of 11 points to qualify for the Hexagonal. However, they would finish in sixth place in the final round with only 6 points, even though they eliminated the United States from World Cup contention with a 2--1 victory in the final match. | true |
1 | was most of the civil war fought on confederate soil | The Union and Confederacy quickly raised volunteer and conscription armies that fought mostly in the South over the course of four years. The Union finally won the war when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of Appomattox Court House, followed by a series of surrenders by Confederate generals throughout the southern states. Four years of intense combat left 620,000 to 750,000 people dead, more than the number of U.S. military deaths in all other wars combined (at least until approximately the Vietnam War). Much of the South's infrastructure was destroyed, especially the transportation systems. The Confederacy collapsed, slavery was abolished, and 4 million slaves were freed. The Reconstruction Era (1863--1877) overlapped and followed the war, with the process of restoring national unity, strengthening the national government, and granting civil rights to freed slaves throughout the country. The Civil War is the most studied and written about episode in U.S. history. | true |
1 | were there others? | Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English military and political leader and later Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Cromwell was born into the middle gentry, albeit to a family descended from the sister of King Henry VIII's minister Thomas Cromwell. Little is known of the first 40 years of his life as only four of his personal letters survive alongside a summary of a speech he delivered in 1628. He became an Independent Puritan after undergoing a religious conversion in the 1630s, taking a generally tolerant view towards the many Protestant sects of his period. He was an intensely religious man, a self-styled Puritan Moses, and he fervently believed that God was guiding his victories. He was elected Member of Parliament for Huntingdon in 1628 and for Cambridge in the Short (1640) and Long (1640–1649) parliaments. He entered the English Civil War on the side of the "Roundheads" or Parliamentarians. Nicknamed "Old Ironsides", he demonstrated his ability as a commander and was quickly promoted from leading a single cavalry troop to being one of the principal commanders of the New Model Army, playing an important role in the defeat of the royalist forces. | true |
0 | Was it short? | CHAPTER XLV.
THE INVASION OF HAMPSHIRE.
When Tom and the major arrived at Waterloo Station, the latter in the breathless condition described in a preceding chapter, they found the German waiting for them with his two fellow-exiles. The gentleman of Nihilistic proclivities was somewhat tall and thin, with a long frock-coat buttoned almost up to his throat, which showed signs of giving at the seams every here and there. His grizzly hair fell over his collar behind, and he had a short bristling beard. He stood with one hand stuck into the front of his coat and the other upon his hip, as though rehearsing the position in which his statue might be some day erected in the streets of his native Russia, when the people had their own, and despotism was no more. In spite of his worn attire there was something noble and striking about the man. His bow, when Baumser introduced him to the major and Tom, would have graced any Court in Europe. Round his neck he had a coarse string from which hung a pair of double eye-glasses. These he fixed upon his aquiline nose, and took a good look at the gentlemen whom he had come to serve.
Bulow, of Kiel, was a small, dark-eyed, clean-shaven fellow, quick and energetic in his movements, having more the appearance of a Celt than of a Teuton. He seemed to be full of amiability, and assured the major in execrable English how very happy he was to be able to do a service to one who had shown kindness to their esteemed colleague and persecuted patriot, Von Baumser. Indeed both of the men showed great deference to the German, and the major began to perceive that his friend was a very exalted individual in Socialistic circles. He liked the look of the two foreigners, and congratulated himself upon having their co-operation in the matter on hand. | false |
1 | Does it work to improve economies? | The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., of "189 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world." Formed in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference primarily by the ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes, it came into formal existence in 1945 with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the international payment system. It now plays a central role in the management of balance of payments difficulties and international financial crises. Countries contribute funds to a pool through a quota system from which countries experiencing balance of payments problems can borrow money. , the fund had SDR477 billion (about $668 billion).
Through the fund, and other activities such as the gathering of statistics and analysis, surveillance of its members' economies and the demand for particular policies, the IMF works to improve the economies of its member countries. The organisation's objectives stated in the Articles of Agreement are: to promote international monetary co-operation, international trade, high employment, exchange-rate stability, sustainable economic growth, and making resources available to member countries in financial difficulty.
According to the IMF itself, it works to foster global growth and economic stability by providing policy, advice and financing the members, by working with developing nations to help them achieve macroeconomic stability and reduce poverty. The rationale for this is that private international capital markets function imperfectly and many countries have limited access to financial markets. Such market imperfections, together with balance-of-payments financing, provide the justification for official financing, without which many countries could only correct large external payment imbalances through measures with adverse economic consequences. The IMF provides alternate sources of financing. | true |
0 | is a vin number the same as a serial number | A vehicle identification number (VIN) is a unique code, including a serial number, used by the automotive industry to identify individual motor vehicles, towed vehicles, motorcycles, scooters and mopeds, as defined in ISO 3779:2009. | false |
1 | is there a bridge between wisconsin and michigan | The Interstate Bridge between Marinette, Wisconsin and Menominee, Michigan carries U.S. Route 41 (US 41) over the Menominee River. The current bridge was completed in November 2005 and replaced the previous span built in 1929. | true |
0 | Does he like to give kisses? | Lisa wants a new pet. Sometimes it is very hard trying to choose a new pet. There are so many different animals, each cuter than the last. There are cats, dogs, and goldfishes. In the end, Lisa chose a bunny. Lisa's bunny is very cute. The bunny has snowy white fur and large black eyes. His ears are large, floppy, and grey. She named the bunny Chomper since Chomper loves to eat everything. Chomper eats carrots, celery, and even licks Lisa's fingers! Nothing to worry, Chompers has a very small mouth and he is never fussy. Except...every time Lisa leans down to kiss Chomper - he runs away! Why? Chomper thinks Lisa is trying to steal his treats! He hates sharing his treats. Chomper always wants second helpings of food. Lisa is afraid Chomper would get so big he could fall off her lap. But not to worry Lisa, Chomper hops around the house a lot. Chomper knows how to stay fit like Lisa. It's clear as day! Lisa and Chomper make great friends. | false |
0 | Is Columbus one of these cultural centers? | Greek colonies and communities have been historically established on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, but the Greek people have always been centered around the Aegean and Ionian seas, where the Greek language has been spoken since the Bronze Age. Until the early 20th century, Greeks were distributed between the Greek peninsula, the western coast of Asia Minor, the Black Sea coast, Cappadocia in central Anatolia, Egypt, the Balkans, Cyprus, and Constantinople. Many of these regions coincided to a large extent with the borders of the Byzantine Empire of the late 11th century and the Eastern Mediterranean areas of ancient Greek colonization. The cultural centers of the Greeks have included Athens, Thessalonica, Alexandria, Smyrna, and Constantinople at various periods.
The evolution of Proto-Greek should be considered within the context of an early Paleo-Balkan sprachbund that makes it difficult to delineate exact boundaries between individual languages. The characteristically Greek representation of word-initial laryngeals by prothetic vowels is shared, for one, by the Armenian language, which also seems to share some other phonological and morphological peculiarities of Greek; this has led some linguists to propose a hypothetical closer relationship between Greek and Armenian, although evidence remains scant. | false |
0 | Did Georges Franju and Shane Meadows have the same nationality ? | Georges Franju (] ; 12 April 1912 – 5 November 1987) was a French filmmaker. He was born in Fougères, Ille-et-Vilaine. Shane Meadows (born 26 December 1972) is an English filmmaker of independent film. He is best known for the British cult film "This Is England" (2006) and "its three sequel series" (2010–2015). His other films include "Small Time" (1996), "Twenty Four Seven" (1997), "A Room for Romeo Brass" (1999), "Once Upon a Time in the Midlands" (2002), "Dead Man's Shoes" (2004), "Somers Town" (2006), "Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee" (2009) and "" (2013). | false |
0 | Was he on time? | Tom gets up at half past seven in the morning. He has an egg and some milk for his breakfast. Then he begins to go to school slowly. When he is on his way to school, he thinks, "I tell my teacher my mother is ill on Monday morning. I tell him my bike is wrong on Tuesday. What do I tell my teacher today?" Tom thinks over but he doesn't find a good idea before he gets to school."May I come in?" Tom shouts at the door of the classroom. " Oh, my boy," says Mr Green. " Please look at the clock on the wall. What time is it now?" " It's ten past eight," answers Tom. Mr Green is not happy. " You are late for class three times this week. If all the students are like you, the clock is no use, I think." " You are right, Mr Green," says Tom. " If we don't have the clock, how do you know I am late for class?" | false |
0 | Did the stricken horsemen fight back? | CHAPTER XVI.
"WHEN THE DEVIL DRIVES."
Monsieur de Vivonne had laid his ambuscade with discretion. With a closed carriage and a band of chosen ruffians he had left the palace a good half-hour before the king's messengers, and by the aid of his sister's gold he had managed that their journey should not be a very rapid one. On reaching the branch road he had ordered the coachman to drive some little distance along it, and had tethered all the horses to a fence under his charge. He had then stationed one of the band as a sentinel some distance up the main highway to flash a light when the two courtiers were approaching. A stout cord had been fastened eighteen inches from the ground to the trunk of a wayside sapling, and on receiving the signal the other end was tied to a gate-post upon the further side. The two cavaliers could not possibly see it, coming as it did at the very curve of the road, and as a consequence their horses fell heavily to the ground, and brought them down with them. In an instant the dozen ruffians who had lurked in the shadow of the trees sprang out upon them, sword in hand; but there was no movement from either of their victims. De Catinat lay breathing heavily, one leg under his horse's neck, and the blood trickling in a thin stream down his pale face, and falling, drop by drop, on to his silver shoulder-straps. Amos Green was unwounded, but his injured girth had given way in the fall, and he had been hurled from his horse on to the hard road with a violence which had driven every particle of breath from his body. | false |
1 | Did a fight breakout? | Five Al-Shabaab militants are dead after they attacked an African Union military base in Somalia on Thursday, AU officials said.
The militants attacked the Halane military base in Mogadishu, Somalia's largest base for African Union troops, according to the African Union Mission in Somalia.
Two militants detonated themselves inside the Halane base and three were shot dead by AU troops during the raid, AMISOM spokesman Ali Aden Houmed said.
Three AU soldiers and a civilian died in the attack, AMISOM said on its website.
The AMISOM statement said other personnel at Halane are "safe and secure." Some of the attackers wore Somali military uniforms during the lunchtime raid on the facility located close to Mogadishu International Airport, the AU said.
A spokesman for the al Qaeda-linked terror group described the attack on the heavily fortified base -- which also houses several U.N. and international agencies -- on Radio Andalus, a pro-Al-Shabaab broadcaster.
"Our Mujahedeen forces detonated a car bomb at the entrance of the Halane compound ... then managed to enter the facility," Sheikh Abdiaziz Abu Musab said. A firefight then broke out with troops, he said.
Maman S. Sidikou, special representative of the AU Commission chairperson (SRCC) for Somalia and head of AMISOM, offered his condolences to the families of the victims and "applauded the quick response and bravery of the ... troops in quelling this reprehensible attack," according to AMISOM.
Al-Shabaab has been waging war in Somalia in an effort to implement a stricter form of Islamic law, or sharia. | true |
0 | Did he think the man was guilty? | CHAPTER XIII
Four men were discussing the verdict at the adjourned inquest upon Victor Bidlake, at Soto's American Bar about a fortnight later. They were Robert Fairfax, a young actor in musical comedy, Peter Jacks, a cinema producer, Gerald Morse, a dress designer, and Sidney Voss, a musical composer and librettist, all habitues of the place and members of the little circle towards which the dead man had seemed, during the last few weeks of his life, to have become attracted. At a table a short distance away, Francis Ledsam was seated with a cocktail and a dish of almonds before him. He seemed to be studying an evening paper and to be taking but the scantiest notice of the conversation at the bar.
"It just shows," Peter Jacks declared, "that crime is the easiest game in the world. Given a reasonable amount of intelligence, and a murderer's business is about as simple as a sandwich-man's."
"The police," Gerald Morse, a pale-faced, anaemic-looking youth, declared, "rely upon two things, circumstantial evidence and motive. In the present case there is no circumstantial evidence, and as to motive, poor old Victor was too big a fool to have an enemy in the world."
Sidney Voss, who was up for the Sheridan Club and had once been there, glanced respectfully across at Francis.
"You ought to know something about crime and criminals, Mr. Ledsam," he said. "Have you any theory about the affair?"
Francis set down the glass from which he had been drinking, and, folding up the evening paper, laid it by the side of him. | false |
0 | did the berlin wall go all around west berlin | The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer, pronounced (bɛʁˈliːnɐ ˈmaʊ̯ɐ) ( listen)) was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany), starting on 13 August 1961, the Wall cut off (by land) West Berlin from virtually all of surrounding East Germany and East Berlin until government officials opened it in November 1989. Its demolition officially began on 13 June 1990 and finished in 1992. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, accompanied by a wide area (later known as the ``death strip'') that contained anti-vehicle trenches, ``fakir beds'' and other defenses. The Eastern Bloc portrayed the Wall as protecting its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the ``will of the people'' in building a socialist state in East Germany. | false |
1 | Did it have more than one author? | Information technology (IT) is the application of computers to store, study, retrieve, transmit, and manipulate data, or information, often in the context of a business or other enterprise. IT is considered a subset of information and communications technology (ICT). In 2012, Zuppo proposed an ICT hierarchy where each hierarchy level "contain[s] some degree of commonality in that they are related to technologies that facilitate the transfer of information and various types of electronically mediated communications."
The term is commonly used as a synonym for computers and computer networks, but it also encompasses other information distribution technologies such as television and telephones. Several industries are associated with information technology, including computer hardware, software, electronics, semiconductors, internet, telecom equipment, and e-commerce. Humans have been storing, retrieving, manipulating, and communicating information since the Sumerians in Mesopotamia developed writing in about 3000 BC, but the term "information technology" in its modern sense first appeared in a 1958 article published in the "Harvard Business Review"; authors Harold J. Leavitt and Thomas L. Whisler commented that "the new technology does not yet have a single established name. We shall call it information technology (IT)." Their definition consists of three categories: techniques for processing, the application of statistical and mathematical methods to decision-making, and the simulation of higher-order thinking through computer programs. | true |
1 | Was anyone trying not to be seen by the hunter? | CHAPTER XIX
SAMMY JAY IS MODEST
As soon as the angry hunter with the terrible gun had disappeared among the trees of the Green Forest, and Lightfoot was sure that he had gone for good, Lightfoot came out from his hiding-place on top of the ridge and walked down to the pond of Paddy the Beaver for a drink. He knew that it was quite safe to do so, for Sammy Jay had followed the hunter, all the time screaming, "Thief! thief! thief!" Every one within hearing could tell just where that hunter was by Sammy's voice. It kept growing fainter and fainter, and by that Lightfoot knew that the hunter was getting farther and farther away.
Paddy the Beaver swam out from his hiding-place and climbed out on the bank near Lightfoot. There was a twinkle in his eyes. "That blue-coated mischief-maker isn't such a bad fellow at heart, after all, is he?" said he.
Lightfoot lifted his beautiful head and set his ears forward to catch the sound of Sammy's voice in the distance.
"Sammy Jay may be a mischief-maker, as some people say," said he, "but you can always count on him to prove a true friend in time of danger. He brought me warning of the coming of the hunter the other morning. You saw him save Mr. and Mrs. Quack a little while ago, and then he actually drove that hunter away. I suppose Sammy Jay has saved more lives than any one I know of. I wish he would come back here and let me thank him." | true |
1 | Are Glenn Cooper and Roger Zelazny both writers? | Glenn Cooper (born January 8, 1953) is an American author and physician best known for being an internationally best selling thriller writer. His books have been translated into 31 languages and, as of 2014, have sold over six million copies. He currently lives in Gilford, New Hampshire. Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American poet and writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for "The Chronicles of Amber". He won the Nebula award three times (out of 14 nominations) and the Hugo award six times (also out of 14 nominations), including two Hugos for novels: the serialized novel "...And Call Me Conrad" (1965), subsequently published under the title "This Immortal" (1966) and then the novel "Lord of Light" (1967). | true |
1 | are there other countries that also use it? | Russian (ру́сский язы́к, russkiy yazyk, pronounced [ˈruskʲɪj jɪˈzɨk] ( listen)) is an East Slavic language and an official language in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and many minor or unrecognised territories. It is an unofficial but widely-spoken language in Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, and to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics of the Soviet Union and former participants of the Eastern Bloc. Russian belongs to the family of Indo-European languages and is one of the three living members of the East Slavic languages. Written examples of Old East Slavonic are attested from the 10th century onwards.
Russian distinguishes between consonant phonemes with palatal secondary articulation and those without, the so-called soft and hard sounds. This distinction is found between pairs of almost all consonants and is one of the most distinguishing features of the language. Another important aspect is the reduction of unstressed vowels. Stress, which is unpredictable, is not normally indicated orthographically though an optional acute accent (знак ударения, znak udareniya) may be used to mark stress, such as to distinguish between homographic words, for example замо́к (zamok, meaning a lock) and за́мок (zamok, meaning a castle), or to indicate the proper pronunciation of uncommon words or names. | true |
0 | Are Brassolaeliocattleya and Codonopsis both hybrids? | Brassolaeliocattleya, abbreviated Blc. in the horticultural trade, is the orchid nothogenus for intergeneric hybrid greges containing at least one ancestor species from each of the three ancestral genera "Brassavola" , "Cattleya" and "Laelia ", and from no other genera. Codonopsis is a genus of flowering plant in the family Campanulaceae. As currently recognized, "Codonopsis" includes two other groups sometimes separated as distinct genera, i.e. "Campanumoea" and "Leptocodon." The enlarged genus "Codonopsis" is widespread across eastern, southern, central, and southeastern Asia, including China, Japan, the Russian Far East, Kazakhstan, the Indian Subcontinent, Iran, Indochina, Indonesia, etc. | false |
0 | Was mike in time for breakfast that moring? | CHAPTER XXX
MR. JACKSON MAKES UP HIS MIND
Two years have elapsed and Mike is home again for the Easter holidays.
If Mike had been in time for breakfast that morning he might have gathered from the expression on his father's face, as Mr. Jackson opened the envelope containing his school report and read the contents, that the document in question was not exactly a paean of praise from beginning to end. But he was late, as usual. Mike always was late for breakfast in the holidays.
When he came down on this particular morning, the meal was nearly over. Mr. Jackson had disappeared, taking his correspondence with him; Mrs. Jackson had gone into the kitchen, and when Mike appeared the thing had resolved itself into a mere vulgar brawl between Phyllis and Ella for the jam, while Marjory, who had put her hair up a fortnight before, looked on in a detached sort of way, as if these juvenile gambols distressed her.
"Hullo, Mike," she said, jumping up as he entered; "here you are--I've been keeping everything hot for you."
"Have you? Thanks awfully. I say--" his eye wandered in mild surprise round the table. "I'm a bit late."
Marjory was bustling about, fetching and carrying for Mike, as she always did. She had adopted him at an early age, and did the thing thoroughly. She was fond of her other brothers, especially when they made centuries in first-class cricket, but Mike was her favourite. She would field out in the deep as a natural thing when Mike was batting at the net in the paddock, though for the others, even for Joe, who had played in all five Test Matches in the previous summer, she would do it only as a favour. | false |
1 | Did BOTH Brian Helgeland and Monta Bell's occupations include screenwriter, producer, and director? | Brian Thomas Helgeland (born January 17, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. He is most known for writing the screenplays for "L.A. Confidential" (for which he received the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay), "Mystic River", and "". Helgeland also wrote and directed "42" (2013), a biopic of Jackie Robinson, and "Legend" (2015), about the rise and fall of the Kray twins. Monta Bell (February 5, 1891 – February 4, 1958) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. | true |
0 | Have they performed an autopsy yet? | (CNN) -- A body discovered at Churchill Downs on Sunday, a day after the storied Louisville racetrack hosted the Kentucky Derby, may have been the victim of a homicide, police said.
Workers in the barn area discovered the body early in the morning and notified track security, which called police, said Robert Biven, a spokesman for the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department.
"We just got the call just prior to 5 a.m. to respond to the backside" of the racetrack, Biven told CNN.
Police spokeswoman Alicia Smiley said police suspect foul play.
The body, which has not been identified, appears to be a Latino man in his 30s or 40s, Biven said.
About 400 people were located Saturday night in the rear of the racetrack, he said. "So we are trying to speak with as many people as we possibly can," he said. "We do have a few leads coming in." An autopsy is to be carried out Monday morning.
Biven described the track's backside as "like a mini city," with 48 barns, workers' dormitories and areas where trainers live. "It's a 24-hour operation," he said.
I'll Have Another wins Kentucky Derby
Operations at the racetrack were to continue normally on Sunday, Churchill Downs spokesman John Asher said. No races are scheduled at the track for three days, but cleanup from Saturday's race was to continue and the racetrack museum was to be open, he said.
CNN's Kara Devlin and Christine Sever contributed to this report
| false |
0 | is chicago the biggest city in the world | Chicago (/ʃɪˈkɑːɡoʊ/ ( listen), locally also /-ˈkɔː-/), officially the City of Chicago, is the third most populous city in the United States, after New York City and Los Angeles. With over 2.7 million residents, it is also the most populous city in both the state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States. It is the county seat of Cook County. The Chicago metropolitan area, often referred to as Chicagoland, has nearly 10 million people and is the third-largest in the United States. It is the birthplace of the skyscraper and perhaps the most influential architectural city of the 20th century. Chicago saw the creation of the first standardized futures contracts at the Chicago Board of Trade; today its successor has evolved into the largest and most diverse derivatives market in the world, generating 20% of all volume in commodities and financial futures. | false |
0 | Was a specific illness given? | Mr. Clinton and his 13-year-old son Tony are baseball fans. Last October 10th was Tony's birthday, so Mr. Clinton decided to drive him to New York, for the first game of the World Series . They had no ticket but hoped to buy a pair from others. After they arrived, they walked in the street for two hours, carrying a sign, "We need two tickets." Then they found the cheapest ticket was $200. They were about to leave when suddenly a man stopped them. He took out two tickets and handed them to Mr. Clinton. "How much do you want?" "Just a present." said the man, "Enjoy the game." Mr. Clinton wouldn't accept, so the man explained, "I'm Jackson. Hans is my boss. He and his wife haven't missed a World Series in 18 years. But he is ill and can't watch the game this time. So he told me to give the two tickets to people who would actually enjoy the game. Then I saw you and I followed you for a while. You seemed very sad. You made me think of my dad and me when I was a child. I dreamed of going to a World Series game with my father. But my dream never came true." How do you suppose this made Mr. Clinton and his son feel? Here is what Mr. Clinton said: "This is the most wonderful thing that ever happened to us. My boy and I must have turned to each other over 30 times and said, 'I can't believe this.' We still never forget Jackson and Hans." | false |
1 | Are Cordoba Fighting Dog and Portuguese Water Dog both examples of dog breeds? | The Cordoba Fighting Dog is an extinct breed of fighting dog. The Cordoba was a crossbreed of Mastiff, Bull Terrier, Bulldog, and Boxer.. Its temperament includes being very fierce, very aggressive, The Portuguese Water Dog is a breed of working dog as classified by the American Kennel Club. Portuguese Water Dogs are originally from the Portuguese region of the Algarve, from where the breed expanded to all around Portugal's coast, where they were taught to herd fish into fishermen's nets, to retrieve lost tackle or broken nets, and to act as couriers from ship to ship, or ship to shore. | true |
0 | Are immigrants finding that to be accurate? | What Is Today's American Dream
They may not have called it the American Dream, but for centuries people have gone to America in search of freer, happier, and richer lives. But is today's American Dream a mythical concept or still a reality?
Isabel Belarsky's tiny Brooklyn apartment fills with the sound of her father's voice. Sidor Belarsky sings an Aria in Russian and 90-year-old Isabel, her lips painted an elegant red, sways gently to the song coming from her stereo.
Isabel speaks with pride about her father's talent and his success as an opera singer: Albert Einstein was such a fan she says that he invited Sidor to accompany him on his speaking engagements and would ask him to sing to the audience.
How the Belarskys came to be in America is an extraordinary tale that Isabel loves to tell. It was the offer of a six-month job by a Mormon college president, who had seen Sidor singing in Leningrad, that enabled the Belarskys to escape from Stalin's Russia in 1930. "Our dream was being in America," Isabel says. "They loved it. My mother could never think of Russia, it was her enemy and my father, he made such a wonderful career here."
Like generations of immigrants before them, the Belarskys came to America in search of freedom--to them the American Dream meant liberty. But Isabel says it promised even more. "The dream is to work, to have a home and to get ahead. You can start as a janitor and become the owner of the building."
The American Dream is not written into the constitution but it is so ingrained in the national psyche that it might as well be. Many point to the second sentence in the Declaration of Independence--the "certain unalienable rights" that include "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" as the "official" version of the phrase. But it was actually in 1931 that the term was popularized, when historian James Truslow Adams wrote in The Epic of America that the Dream means "a better, richer, and happier life for all our citizens of every rank".
The concept of the American Dream has not stayed static. For European immigrants, like Isabel, fleeing persecution in the first half of the last century, the Dream was about a life without persecution.
But somewhere in the middle of the last century the dream changed. As America's post war economy boomed, the new arrivals wanted more than freedom--they wanted a share of the prosperity as well.
In the 1950s, TV commercials featured housewives proudly showing off kitchens filled with gleaming appliances. The quest for liberation became a quest for Coca Cola. As the century wore on, the materialistic slant of the dream overtook the political side. Dallas and Dynasty suggested this was a country where it was possible to become not just rich, but filthily rich.
Cheyanne Smith was shocked at the deprivation that greeted her in America. She arrived in New York from the Caribbean seven years ago. Having watched endless American TV shows as a child, she thought she knew what to expect when her family moved to Brooklyn. Instead, the deprivation of one of New York's poorest neighbourhoods shocked her.
"I thought this is not America because this is not what I see on television," she says. Like Cheyanne, 18-year-old Franscisco Curiel is also ambitious. He came from Mexico City three years ago to go to college here but he's worried that Brooklyn's schools aren't going to give him a good enough education. "The system is broken; we can't get the superior education that they supposedly want to give us," he says.
Through the centuries America's immigrants have endured terrible hardship and sacrifice so that they and their children can get ahead. Perhaps it's not surprising to hear the members of the Bushwick youth group lament the multiple, low paid jobs that their parents must do simply to get the rent paid and put food on the table. What is startling is that these bright, ambitious youngsters just don't believe that talent and hard work are enough to ensure they will ever have a shot at that mythical American Dream. | false |
0 | Did she work with lions in Africa? | Young women are more adventurous than young men when travelling abroad in gap years.One in three female backpackers visits more than three countries during a year out and travels alone, according to new research.
By contrast, the majority of their male counterparts visit only one country and tend to travel in groups, says a survey by the Gap Year company, which provides information and services for students considering taking a year out.
More women than men say that their prime reason for taking time off is to see the world and experience different cultures.Men are more likely to rank "having fun" higher on their list of _ .Women are more likely to value the challenge of a foreign trip, and many cited reasons such as learning a language and meeting new people.
The more adventurous gap years taken by women seem to work to their benefit; more than three quarters of those surveyed have reported increased confidence, self-reliance and independence, whereas only half of the men had that experience.
The research also shows that women are more likely to do voluntary work while travelling, with more than one in ten helping with teaching or development projects.One of the reasons given for this is a wish to see the country in an authentic light.
A greater proportion of women than men face objections or criticism from their families over their gapyear plans.Among the men surveyed, lack of money is the main barrier to travel.
Carolyn Martin, a doctor from London,is a typically confident female traveller.Starting in Cape Town, she travelled around southern Africa and Australia with a string of unusual and sometimes dangerous jobs.
"I had one job chasing elephants off the runway in Africa by banging a stick against a pan," she recalled."It was OK but one day I did get chased by one."
She said that she had travelled alone because "you meet more people". | false |
1 | can there be a hurricane in the pacific ocean | A Pacific hurricane is a mature tropical cyclone that develops within the eastern and central Pacific Ocean to the east of 180°W, north of the equator. For tropical cyclone warning purposes, the northern Pacific is divided into three regions: the eastern (North America to 140°W), central (140°W to 180°), and western (180° to 100°E), while the southern Pacific is divided into 2 sections, the Australian region (90E to 160°E) and the southern Pacific basin between 160°E and 120°W. Identical phenomena in the western north Pacific are called typhoons. This separation between the two basins has a practical convenience, however, as tropical cyclones rarely form in the central north Pacific due to high vertical wind shear, and few cross the dateline. | true |
1 | Did it ever show up? | A few years ago, an Englishman called Roy Jones went on holiday to a small seaside town in the west of England. He was swimming in the sea one day when, as he opened his mouth, his false teeth fell out and floated away. The following year, Mr. Jones returned to the same town. As he was having dinner in a local cafe one evening, he mentioned the story of his lost teeth to the manager. The manager looked surprised. He explained that he had found a set of false teeth on the beach last month. Then he asked Roy Jones if he wanted to try them on. "OK", said Mr. Jones. "I suppose it won't do any harm." When the manager brought him the teeth, Mr. Jones put them into his mouth, and laughed and laughed. They were his. In 1987, an American couple called Jane and Robert Bentley went for a picnic on a beach in California. When they returned home, Mrs. Bentley realized that she had lost her wedding ring. It wasn't a lot of money but it was valuable to Jane Bentley. The Bentleys drove straight back to the beach, and searched for the ring for three hours, but could not find it. A few months later, Mr. Bentley went fishing off the same beach. As he pulled a large crab out of the sea, he noticed that there was something attached to one of its claws. It was his wife's wedding ring! At the end of the 19thcentury, a young woman called Rose Harcourt was on her honeymoon in Barmouth, North Wales, when she lost a gold bracelet her husband had given her as a wedding gift. Feeling very upset, she went straight to the police stations and asked if anyone had found her bracelet. Unfortunately, no one had. Twenty-five years later, the Harcourts returned to Barmouth _ They were sitting on the beach one day when Mrs. Harcourt noticed something gold in the sand by the edge of the sea. She walked down to see what it was, and discovered her gold bracelet that had been missing for 25 years. | true |
1 | Does Redgauntlet think he's a criminal? | CHAPTER XXIII
NARRATIVE CONTINUED
When Redgauntlet left the room, in haste and discomposure, the first person he met on the stair, and indeed so close by the door of the apartment that Darsie thought he must have been listening there, was his attendant Nixon.
'What the devil do you here?' he said, abruptly and sternly.
'I wait your orders,' said Nixon. 'I hope all's right!--excuse my zeal.'
'All is wrong, sir. Where is the seafaring fellow--Ewart--what do you call him?'
'Nanty Ewart, sir. I will carry your commands,' said Nixon.
'I will deliver them myself to him,' said Redgauntlet; call him hither.'
'But should your honour leave the presence?' said Nixon, still lingering.
''Sdeath, sir, do you prate to me?' said Redgauntlet, bending his brows. 'I, sir, transact my own business; you, I am told, act by a ragged deputy.'
Without further answer, Nixon departed, rather disconcerted, as it seemed to Darsie.
'That dog turns insolent and lazy,' said Redgauntlet; but I must bear with him for a while.'
A moment after, Nixon returned with Ewart.
'Is this the smuggling fellow?' demanded Redgauntlet. Nixon nodded.
'Is he sober now? he was brawling anon.'
'Sober enough for business,' said Nixon.
'Well then, hark ye, Ewart;--man your boat with your best hands, and have her by the pier--get your other fellows on board the brig--if you have any cargo left, throw it overboard; it shall be all paid, five times over--and be ready for a start to Wales or the Hebrides, or perhaps for Sweden or Norway.' | true |
0 | Was it said to be a fair fight? | CHAPTER XII
FAIR AND FOUL FIGHTING
As Dick went down, Tom and Sam uttered cries of chagrin and horror. The eldest Rover had been struck on the chin, and the blood was flowing from a deep scratch.
"Get up! Get up, Dick!" cried Tom. "Don't say you are beaten!"
"Yes, yes; get up and go at him!" added Sam.
The urging was unnecessary, as Dick was already scrambling up. Dan Baxter made a dash at him, intending to strike him while he was down, but a fierce look from Tom stopped him.
"You'll fight fair, Baxter," were Tom's words.
"Yes, he'll fight fair," repeated Dick, throwing back his head as if to collect himself. "Fellow-students, Dan Baxter is not fit to be a pupil at this academy."
"Why not?" came in a chorus.
"He is not fighting me fairly."
"What do you mean?" blustered Mumps.
"Don't find fault because he knocked you down," added another of the bully's cronies.
"I say he is not fighting fair," repeated Dick stoutly. "He has something in each hand."
At this unexpected announcement Dan Baxter started back and changed color. Then of a sudden he placed both hands into his trouser pockets.
"He is putting the things out of sight!" cried Tom, who saw through the bully's intentions.
"Come, Baxter, show us what you had."
"I didn't have anything," growled the bully. "If you say I had I'll punch your head off. This is only a ruse to, let Dick gain time to get his wind." | false |
1 | Did he ever find someone who collected them? | Even at school there had been an unhealthy competition between George and Richard.
"I'll be the first millionaire in Coleford!" Richard used to boast.
"And you'll be sorry that you knew me," George would reply "because I'll surely be the best lawyer in our town!"
After graduation, George never became a lawyer and Richard was anybody but a millionaire .... Instead, it happened that both men opened bookshops on opposite sides of Coleford High Street, while it was hard to make much money from books then, which made the competition between them worse. Eventually, Richard closed down his, dreaming of making a fortune elsewhere.
Now, with only one bookshop in the town, business was better for George. But sometimes he sat in his narrow old kitchen and gazed out of the dirty window, thinking about his former rival . Perhaps he missed him?
George was very interested in old dictionaries, and he had recently found a collector in Australia who was selling a rare first edition. When the parcel arrived, the book was in perfect condition and George was quite delighted. But while he was having lunch, George glanced at the photo in the newspaper that the book had been wrapped in. He was astonished -- the smiling face was older than he remembered but unmistakable! Trembling, George started reading: "Bookends Company has bought ten bookstores from its competitors. The company, owned by multi-millionaire Richard Pike, is now the largest bookseller in this country." | true |
1 | is there a 4th season of the flash | The fourth season of the American television series The Flash, which is based on the DC Comics character Barry Allen / Flash, follows a crime scene investigator with superhuman speed who fights criminals, including others who have also gained superhuman abilities. It is set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with the other television series of the universe, and is a spin-off of Arrow. The season is produced by Berlanti Productions, Warner Bros. Television, and DC Entertainment, with Andrew Kreisberg and Todd Helbing serving as showrunners. | true |
1 | Are Vernon, Florida and Moana both documentaries? | Vernon, Florida is a 1981 documentary film produced and directed by Errol Morris profiling various residents living within the town of Vernon, Florida. Originally titled "Nub City", this follow-up to "Gates of Heaven" initially focused on residents of the Southern town who cut off their own limbs as a way to collect insurance money. After Morris's life was threatened by the subjects of the film, he re-worked "Nub City" into "Vernon, Florida". Moana (] ) is a 1926 American documentary film, or more strictly a work of "docufiction" that was directed by Robert J. Flaherty, the creator of "Nanook of the North" (1922). | true |
0 | Were they upset with how it looked? | Billy and Sara are brother and sister. They went to the beach with their family last July for a week, and had the best time ever! On Monday, Billy and Sara wanted to build a giant sandcastle. They invited their new friends Jack and Jane to help build the sandcastle. Jack and Jane had a house on the beach, so they were really good when it came to building sandcastles. They hoped that they could make the sandcastle taller than themselves, but they soon found they needed more help. They asked their cousin Joey to help them build the biggest sandcastle in the world! Joey wasn't the friendliest cousin in the world, but to Billy and Sara's surprise, Joey was happy to help build the sandcastle. Billy, Sara, Jake, Jane and Joey had spent the whole day building the sandcastle, and finally, right before dinner time, they completed it. The sandcastle was huge! It had a river around the castle, and even a bridge to cross the river. It even had a flag at the top, and a wall that went around the castle too! They were so happy! \tab
The rest of the week at the beach was a lot of fun for Billy and Sara. On Tuesday, they went for ice cream. Sara's ice cream fell and dripped all the way down to her tummy, but Billy gave her some of his. On Wednesday, they watched the fireworks at night. On Thursday, they went swimming all day long, moving like worms in the water. On Friday, they had to go back home. They were sad, so they started counting down the days until next year at the beach! | false |
0 | Did the Turks all stay in Turkey? | Turkish people (), or the Turks (), also known as Anatolian Turks (), are a Turkic ethnic group and nation living mainly in Turkey and speaking Turkish, the most widely spoken Turkic language. They are the largest ethnic group in Turkey, as well as by far the largest ethnic group among the speakers of Turkic languages. Ethnic Turkish minorities exist in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire. In addition, a Turkish diaspora has been established with modern migration, particularly in Western Europe.
The ethnonym "Turk" may be first discerned in Herodotus' (c. 484–425 BC) reference to Targitas, first king of the Scythians; furthermore, during the first century AD., Pomponius Mela refers to the "Turcae" in the forests north of the Sea of Azov, and Pliny the Elder lists the "Tyrcae" among the people of the same area. The first definite references to the "Turks" come mainly from Chinese sources in the sixth century. In these sources, "Turk" appears as "Tujue" (), which referred to the Göktürks. Although "Turk" refers to Turkish people, it may also sometimes refer to the wider language group of Turkic peoples.
In the 19th century, the word "Türk" only referred to Anatolian villagers. The Ottoman ruling class identified themselves as Ottomans, not usually as Turks. In the late 19th century, as the Ottoman upper classes adopted European ideas of nationalism the term "Türk" took on a much more positive connotation. The Turkish-speakers of Anatolia were the most loyal supporters of Ottoman rule. | false |
0 | is all the protein in the egg white | Egg white is the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms around fertilized or unfertilized egg yolks. The primary natural purpose of egg white is to protect the yolk and provide additional nutrition for the growth of the embryo (when fertilized). Egg white consists primarily of about 90% water into which is dissolved about 10% proteins (including albumins, mucoproteins, and globulins). Unlike the yolk, which is high in lipids (fats), egg white contains almost no fat, and carbohydrate content is less than 1%. Egg whites contain about 56% of the protein in the egg. Egg white has many uses in food (e.g. meringue, mousse) and also many other uses (e.g. in the preparation of vaccines such as those for influenza). | false |
1 | Did they ever run out of money? | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (abbreviated as MGM or M-G-M, also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or simply Metro, and for a former interval known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, or MGM/UA) is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of feature films and television programs.
Once the largest, most glamorous, and most revered film studio, MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures. Its headquarters are in Beverly Hills, California. It is one of the world's oldest film studios.
In 1971, it was announced that MGM would merge with 20th Century Fox, a plan which never came into fruition. Over the next thirty-nine years, the studio was bought and sold at various points in its history until, on November 3, 2010, MGM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. MGM emerged from bankruptcy on December 20, 2010, at which time the executives of Spyglass Entertainment, Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, became co-chairmen and co-CEOs of the holding company of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
As of 2017, MGM co-produces, co-finances, and co-distributes a majority of its films with Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros.
MGM Resorts International, a Las Vegas-based hotel and casino company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "MGM", is not currently affiliated with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. | true |
1 | Did the man referred to as the second one has a distinctive nose? | CHAPTER XVIII
DICK AND SAM BECOME PRISONERS
"Do you really think those are counterfeit, Dick?" gasped Sam.
"More than likely. Don't you remember the machinery? That printing press--"
"Yes, yes! It's as clear as day. This must be a regular den, and Sack Todd--"
Sam got no further, for, at that moment, he felt himself seized from behind. A pair of strong arms were thrown around him, so that he could scarcely budge.
Dick was attacked in a similar fashion, and, though both of the Rovers struggled desperately, they found that their assailants had the advantage.
"Caught you good and proper, didn't we?" came in the voice of Sack Todd.
"Let me go!" cried Dick.
"Not much, young man. Have you got the other one, Jimson?"
"I have," answered the second man, a fellow with a long nose. "And he won't get away in a hurry. I'm thinking."
"We had better take 'em inside," went on Sack Todd.
"Just as you say," answered Andy Jimson. "I reckon you boys remember me," he went on with a grin.
"You are the man who was on that lumber raft that came near running down our houseboat," said Dick.
"Struck it, fust clip. Didn't expect to meet me ag'in, did ye?"
"I did not."
"Wanted to shoot me, didn't ye?"
"Didn't you deserve it?" asked Sam boldly. "You came mighty close to sinking us."
"Oh, that was only a bit of fun on the part o' the feller who owned the raft. He knew what he was doin'. But I reckon you didn't know what you were doin' when you spied on Sack and his outfit," continued the long-nosed man sarcastically. | true |
0 | Were they fed? | CHAPTER XXVI
TOGETHER ONCE MORE
"Tom!"
"Dick and Sam!"
"How in the world did you get here?"
"Where are the others?"
These and a dozen other questions were asked and answered as the three Rover boys shook hands over and over again. Even though prisoners, they were delighted to be together once more, and doubly delighted to know that each was well.
"Oh, these chaps are first-class rascals," said Dick after they had settled down a bit. "They have treated us most shamefully. At first, they gave us pretty good eating, but now they are starving us."
"Starving you?" cried Tom.
"Yes--they want us to tell all we know," put in Sam. "They are very suspicious."
"Didn't you try to get away?"
"No use of trying. The walls are too solid and so is the door," said Dick. He caught Tom by the arm and added in a faint whisper in his brother's ear: "They are listening. We have a hole."
"Then we'll have to stay here," said Tom loudly, catching his cue instantly.
"Yes, and it's a shame," added Sam in an equally loud voice. "I suppose the others have gone on?"
"Certainly," said Tom calmly. "I was a chump to remain behind--only I wanted to find you. I got hold of a letter by accident."
A moment later, they heard the guards walk away, and then Tom told the truth about the letter, and Sam and Dick led him to the hole in the wall.
"It is not quite big enough to use, yet," whispered the eldest Rover. "But we hope to have it big enough by to-morrow. It's slow work, when you have got to be on your guard all the while." | false |
1 | Was he the press secretary during the 2012 race? | Jay Carney is stepping down as White House press secretary, President Barack Obama announced on Friday.
Obama said Carney told him of his decision in April, and Carney later said he plans to leave the position in mid-June.
The President announced that deputy press secretary Josh Earnest will step into the role.
Obama considers Carney "one of my closest friends."
"He's got good judgment. He has good temperament and he's got a good heart, and I will miss him a lot," Obama said.
Carney previously spent 21 years in journalism, including a stint as Washington bureau chief for Time magazine, and Obama noted that he went from one of those asking the questions to the person behind the podium in the White House briefing room.
He is Obama's second press secretary during the more than five years of his presidency.
Carney took over in 2011 when Robert Gibbs stepped down, and has been Obama's chief spokesman through budget battles with Congress, the 2012 reelection, the rocky Obamacare rollout, the controversy over the Benghazi terror attack, the Edward Snowden NSA leaks, and now the scandal engulfing the Veterans Affairs Department.
"It's been an amazing experience," Carney told reporters.
"In midlife you don't often make a whole new set of friends, and not just friends, but people you would fight by and for under any circumstances and that's certainly what I have been lucky enough to get over these past five and a half years," he said.
Carney said that he's had discussions about what's next for him but hasn't made any firm decisions. | true |
1 | does it ever deviate course? | The International Date Line (IDL) is an imaginary line of navigation on the surface of the Earth that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole and demarcates the change of one calendar day to the next. It passes through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, roughly following the 180° line of longitude but deviating to pass around some territories and island groups.
The IDL is roughly based on the meridian of 180° longitude, roughly down the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and halfway around the world from the Greenwich meridian. In many places, the IDL follows the 180° meridian exactly. In other places, however, the IDL deviates east or west away from that meridian. These various deviations generally accommodate the political and/or economic affiliations of the affected areas.
Proceeding from north to south, the first deviation of the IDL from 180° is to pass to the east of Wrangel Island and the Chukchi Peninsula, the easternmost part of Russian Siberia. (Wrangel Island lies directly on the meridian at 71°32′N 180°0′E, also noted as 71°32′N 180°0′W.) It then passes through the Bering Strait between the Diomede Islands at a distance of from each island at 168°58′37″ W. It then bends considerably west of 180°, passing west of St. Lawrence Island and St. Matthew Island. | true |
1 | Are Dishwalla and The Datsuns both bands? | Dishwalla is an American alternative rock band from Santa Barbara, California, United States. The band's name comes from a Hindi term for a person providing satellite TV to a neighborhood. In a "Vox" interview, lead guitarist Rodney Browning Cravens claimed the band took the name out of a "Wired" magazine article. The band is best known for their 1996 hit song "Counting Blue Cars." The Datsuns are a hard rock band from Cambridge, New Zealand, formed in 2000. To date they have released six albums and several singles, most of which have charted in New Zealand and/or the United Kingdom. "Deep Sleep", their latest record was released in October 2014. | true |
1 | is ben nevis the highest mountain in britain | Ben Nevis (Scottish Gaelic: Beinn Nibheis, pronounced (peˈɲivəʃ); English: /bɛnˈnɛvɪs/) is the highest mountain in the British Isles, located in Scotland. Standing at 1,345 metres (4,411 ft) above sea level, it is located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, close to the town of Fort William. | true |
1 | is lion a member of the cat family | The term ``big cat'' is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus Panthera, namely tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard and snow leopard. Except the snow leopard, these species are able to roar. A more liberal and expansive definition of the term includes species outside of Panthera including the cougar, clouded leopard, Sunda clouded leopard and cheetah, although these added species also do not roar. | true |
0 | Does the author think he should be in the Hall of Fame? | (CNN) -- Mark McGwire deserves a ban from baseball more than any sympathy.
It is sad to hear his quavery confession of a career filled with steroids, his sorrow over the pain it caused his family and fans, his revelation of a life of lies that burned inside him like a hidden disease and consumed the game he loved.
But for those of us who also love baseball, the damage he did was too deep and his further threat to the integrity of the game is too great to justify his return.
McGwire's entire playing career is indelibly stained and his judgment is not to be trusted. What else are we to make of a man who cheated and didn't come clean for 20 years? Can he be trusted to coach other players who may be using steroids? Is he fit for any job that is also a test of character and personal standards? Baseball should bar him from coaching and never again allow his name on a Hall of Fame ballot.
St. Louis manager Tony La Russa, McGwire's longtime apologist, is leading the charge to rehabilitate him in his new role as the Cardinals' batting coach, saying Monday's admission and expression of regret is worthy of respect.
This from a manager who either closed his eyes to drug use on his teams, didn't know what he should have known, or kept conspiratorially silent about it through all the years with McGwire on the Oakland Athletics (along with Jose Canseco) and on the Cards. | false |
0 | Did he buy it for 2 billion? | Historically, the channel's programming consisted mainly of featured classic theatrically released feature films from the Turner Entertainment film library – which comprises films from Warner Bros. Pictures (covering films released before 1950) and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (covering films released before May 1986). However, TCM now has licensing deals with other Hollywood film studios as well as its Time Warner sister company, Warner Bros. (which now controls the Turner Entertainment library and its own later films), and occasionally shows more recent films. Turner Classic Movies is a dedicated film channel and is available in United States, United Kingdom, France (TCM Cinéma), Spain (TCM España), Nordic countries, Middle East and Africa.
In 1986, eight years before the launch of Turner Classic Movies, Ted Turner acquired the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio for $1.5 billion. Concerns over Turner Entertainment's corporate debt load resulted in Turner selling the studio that October back to Kirk Kerkorian, from whom Turner had purchased the studio less than a year before. As part of the deal, Turner Entertainment retained ownership of MGM's library of films released up to May 9, 1986. Turner Broadcasting System was split into two companies; Turner Broadcasting System and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and reincorporated as MGM/UA Communications Co. | false |
0 | Was anything in the shop destroyed? | (CNN) -- A magnitude-4.4 earthquake rattled residents of southern California early Tuesday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, authorities said. However, police and fire officials said they had received calls from residents awakened by the quake. Its epicenter was 11 miles east-southeast of the Los Angeles Civic Center, the USGS reported. It struck at 4:04 a.m.
"First it was a small one and then a big one," said Chris Curiel, who was working at the Vallejo Mini Market in Whittier, a town near the epicenter. "It felt like the floor was sinking."
He said merchandise on the shelves began shaking, but there was no damage. Because his market is a gas station, earthquakes are a bit more worrisome, he said.
Curiel said he knew immediately an earthquake was happening, and he has felt one before.
Ravi Singh, night shift supervisor at a 7-Eleven in Pico Rivera -- the town a mile east-northeast of the epicenter -- told CNN he was making coffee when the store's windows started rattling. There was no damage, he said. "Everything is fine."
iReporter says "it sounded like there were kids dancing upstairs"
Although the temblor was centered 11 miles below the Earth's surface, according to USGS, the movement was enough to awaken some southern Californians.
"It felt like two quick jolts," said CNN's Rosalina Nieves. "I felt some shaking, and I wasn't sure if it was just my upstairs neighbor ... but then you definitely felt two quick jolts." She said the movement lasted for a couple of seconds. | false |
0 | should it be seen by a 5 year old? | Ask any student to say one thing they know about Charles Dickens, and it is very likely they will say Oliver Twist. His classic tale of a poor orphan boy strikes at the heart of all those who have ever wanted "more", as Oliver did.
And now, Dickens' classic scenes of the lives of the Victorian British poor will appear in a big screen movie, "Oliver Twist," an adaptation of his classic tale directed by Roman Polanski.
The new film is not meant for younger viewers, and is meant for children over 13. For those old enough to enjoy it, however, the film shows just how long people have been enjoying Dickens' remarkable literature. His short stories and essays began appearing in magazines in 1833. "Oliver Twist" was published in 1837 - more than 165 years ago.
"Oliver Twist" tells the story of an orphan forced to live in a workhouse headed by the awful Mr Bumble, who cheats the boys who work there out of their already low pay. Oliver decides to escape to the streets of London, where he meets a thief called Fagin, played by Sir Ben Kingsley, who leads him into a world of crime. Several of Dickens' books have been made into films and television series, including 2002's "Nicholas Nickleby" and 2000's "David Copperfield." And several versions of "A Christmas Carol" have entertained audiences for years.
In his novels, Dickens wrote about several important issues. He talked about the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1824 in "Oliver Twist"; the French Revolution in "A Tale of Two Cities"; and helping the poor in "Hard Times." One of Dickens' best-known books is the first Christmas book he wrote - "A Christmas Carol" (1843), about a mean man.
We thought this would be a good time to take a look at the man behind the words and see what kind of experiences helped shape and affect one of the best -- known writers of all time. | false |
1 | Were both Keisuke Kinoshita and Nikos Koundouros film directors? | Keisuke Kinoshita (木下 惠介 , "Kinoshita Keisuke" , December 5, 1912 – December 30, 1998) was a Japanese film director. Nikos Koundouros (Greek: Νίκος Κούνδουρος ; 15 December 1926 – 22 February 2017) was a Greek film director. | true |
1 | Was he happy to hear her? | CHAPTER XVII. THE BALCONY AT IMANO'S
At six o'clock that evening, Tavernake rang up the Milan Court and inquired for Elizabeth. There was a moment or two's delay and then he heard her reply. Even over the telephone wires, even though he stood, cramped and uncomfortable, in that stuffy little telephone booth, he felt the quick start of pleasure, the thrill of something different in life, which came to him always at the sound of her voice, at the slightest suggestion of her presence.
"Well, my friend, what fortune?" she asked him.
"None," he answered. "I have done my best. Beatrice will not listen to me."
"She will not come and see me?"
"She will not."
Elizabeth was silent for a moment. When she spoke again, there was a change in her tone.
"You have failed, then."
"I did everything that could be done," Tavernake insisted eagerly. "I am quite sure that nothing anybody could say would move Beatrice. She is very decided indeed."
"I have another idea," Elizabeth remarked, after a brief pause. "She will not come to me; very well, I must go to her. You must take me there."
"I cannot do that," Tavernake answered.
"Why not?"
"Beatrice has refused absolutely to permit me to tell you or any one else of her whereabouts," he declared. "Without her permission I cannot do it."
"Do you mean that?" she asked.
"Of course," he answered uncomfortably.
There was another silence. When she spoke again, her voice had changed for the second time. Tavernake felt his heart sink as he listened. | true |
1 | Do farm workers travel from place to place? | Dolores Huerta has worked hard most of her life to help other people. She has helped change things so that farm workers can have a better life. Dolores grew up in California. She was a good student and liked school. After she finished high school, she went to college and studied to be a teacher. After she became a teacher, Dolores noticed that many of her students were not getting enough food to eat. Some of them wore very old clothes. Dolores wondered how she could help them. Dolores decided to stop teaching so that she could spend more time helping the farm workers and their families. One thing she wanted to do was to get more pay for farm workers so they could buy their children the things they needed. Dolores knew that many farm workers moved often from one place to another to help pick different kinds of fruits and vegetables. She began talking and writing about these workers. Even people who lived far from California read what Dolores wrote. Getting higher pay for the farm workers was not easy. Dolores worked hard to make sure that farm workers got good pay for their work. She knew that nothing would change unless people made new laws to help the workers. Through all her hard work, new laws were made that gave farm workers good pay. Dolores Huerta has worked for more than 30 years in many different ways to make life better for working people. She has shown how much one person can change things. | true |
1 | Are Justin David Swibel and Robert Lepage both directors? | Justin David Swibel (born April 1, 1983) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. Robert Lepage, {'1': ", '2': ", '3': ", '4': "} (born December 12, 1957) is a French Canadian playwright, actor, film director, and stage director, one of Canada's most honoured theatre artists. | true |
1 | Was Hannah fine? | Meagan and her friend Samantha, both students, lived together in Denver. On mornings when Samantha had class, Meagan would watch her 2-year-old daughter, Hannah. Also part of the household was Meagan's pet, Willie, a parrot -- a particularly intelligent and chatty breed. He picked up quite a healthy vocabulary ("Silly Willie"was a favorite saying) and became a great mimic -- of cats, dogs, chickens and humans. One day with Samantha at school, Hannah sat in front of morning cartoons while Meagan cooked Pop-Tarts in the kitchen. When the toaster spat out the food, Meagan placed it at the center of the kitchen table to cool. She glanced at Hannah and, confident the child was fully engaged in the TV, slipped out quickly to use the bathroom. "I was gone maybe 30 seconds,"Meagan recalls."And suddenly, I heard the bird going crazy and shouting."She heard two very distinct words from the parrot's mouth."Mama! Baby! Mama! Baby!"Meagan ran out of the bathroom to find Hannah in the kitchen, holding the partly eaten Pop-Tarts, out of breath, her face and lips a terrifying shade of blue. And Willie was still crying. "Hannah had climbed up on a chair and gotten the Pop-Tarts and she was clearly choking on them,"says Meagan."I seized her and immediately started doing first aid until the piece came flying out."The bird quieted down and Meagan burst into tears, relief washing over her; Hannah was fine, already smiling her big smile. When Meagan told Samantha what happened,"She was so grateful, thanking me for what I did,"Meagan says."But I said, 'Don't thank me! It was Willie who was the hero!'" | true |
0 | is canada the biggest country in the world | Canada (French: (kanadɑ)) is a country located in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres (3.85 million square miles), making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States is the world's longest bi-national land border. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with 82 percent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, many near the southern border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons. | false |
1 | Were BBC Master and Acorn Archimedes both sold by Acorn Computers? | The Acorn Archimedes is a family of personal computers designed by Acorn Computers Ltd in Cambridge, England and sold in the late-1980s to mid-1990s, their first general purpose home computer based on their own ARM architecture (then the CPU and architecture was known as Acorn RISC Machine, or ARM, that later became one of the most widely used CPU architectures in the world, e.g. used in most smartphones). The first Archimedes was launched in 1987. The BBC Master is a home computer released by Acorn Computers in early 1986. It was designed and built for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and was the successor to the BBC Micro Model B. The Master 128 remained in production until 1993. | true |
0 | Did his father help them from the start? | Greg and his mother were building a racing car. They were going to enter it into a race on Saturday. They began building the racing car on Monday. First, they had to build the body of the car. Greg wanted it to look like a strawberry! So they colored it red and put little dots all over it. On Tuesday, Greg's father helped them put the wheels on the racing car. His mother had to hold the car's body up when his father put the wheels on. On Wednesday, Greg and his mother colored in the number 8 on the car. This was Greg's lucky number! On Thursday, Greg and his mother tested the racing car at a park near the river. It went really fast! On Friday, Greg and his mother and father were outside in their backyard, still practicing with the racing car, making sure it went as fast as it could. Greg really wanted to win the race! On Saturday, Greg and his mother went to the race. It was being held on the track at his school. They put their racing car on the track, and a man started to count down from 10. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, GO! Greg pushed his car forward as fast as he could! It reached the finish line before everyone else! Greg won the race! | false |
1 | Are both Giuseppe Tornatore and Syed Noor film directors? | Giuseppe Tornatore (born 27 May 1956) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is considered as one of the directors who brought critical acclaim back to Italian cinema. In a career spanning over 30 years he is best known for directing and writing drama films such as "The Legend of 1900", "Malèna", "Baarìa" and "The Best Offer". Probably his most noted film is "Nuovo Cinema Paradiso", for which Tornatore won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He directed also several advertising campaigns for Dolce & Gabbana. Syed Noor (Punjabi, Urdu: ) is a Pakistani film director based in Lahore. | true |
0 | was Peter clean? | Peter Woolf and Will Riley, both 55, greet each other with a large hug whenever they meet. They're now really good friends, but they weren't ten years ago.
Before the men ever had a proper conversation, they had a serious physical fight. Peter hit Will over the head with a heavy pot, and then they both rolled down the stairs of Will's North London home before Peter hit him again with a pot. Will was knocked out and bleeding from the back of the head, but he refused to give in to Peter-a desperate heroin addict with a 30-year habit who had broken into Will's home to steal whatever valuables he could then sell to buy drugs.
It was 5 p.m. on March 2002, when Peter forced the front door of Will's five-storey Georgian home in Islington. And when Will walked into his bedroom to get something, he was shocked to find an unpleasant-smelling man in front of him.
"I asked him what he was doing in my house, and he said he was a neighbor who had heard a noise and was worried," says Will. "I was sure he was a thief, so as he went past me, I grabbed him and pushed him to the floor.
"I managed to get him downstairs and out into the street after pulling his jacket down to trap his arms. I was shouting, 'Thief! Thief!' Someone had heard me shouting and called the police, who arrived within minutes."
The police put Peter into the back of their police car. He soon began a three-year sentence in London's Pentonville Prison on a charge of breaking and entering.
Despite having spent 18 years of his life in prison, Peter somehow remained hopeful that he could clean himself up, stop taking drugs and go on to do something useful on his eventual release.
A few weeks later, Will received a telephone call from police officer Kim Smith, who explained that a trial in restorative justice was about to take place and he wondered if Will would like to meet Peter, who was waiting for sentencing.
Will met Peter again. He says, "I thought I might be able to help him change _ ."
Will saved Peter's life. "We're great friends, we get on extremely well, and when we meet, we talk about everything," says Will. "Peter's a fine man." | false |
1 | can you blink one eye at a time | Some animals, such as tortoises and hamsters, blink their eyes independently of each other. Humans use winking, the blinking of only one eye, as a form of body language. | true |
0 | Is Brecon Cathedral in the same country as Portsmouth Cathedral? | Brecon Cathedral, (Welsh: "Eglwys Gadeiriol Aberhonddu" ) in the town of Brecon, Powys, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon in the Church in Wales and seat of the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon. Previously the church of Brecon Priory and then the Parish Church of St John the Evangelist, it became Brecon Cathedral following the disestablishment of the Church in Wales in 1920 and the creation of the diocese in 1923. The Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, commonly known as Portsmouth Cathedral, is an English cathedral church. It is the cathedral of the Church of England Diocese of Portsmouth and is located in the centre of Old Portsmouth. It is the seat of the Bishop of Portsmouth. | false |
0 | does the word kangaroo mean i don't know | The word ``kangaroo'' derives from the Guugu Yimithirr word gangurru, referring to grey kangaroos. The name was first recorded as ``kanguru'' on 12 July 1770 in an entry in the diary of Sir Joseph Banks; this occurred at the site of modern Cooktown, on the banks of the Endeavour River, where HMS Endeavour under the command of Lieutenant James Cook was beached for almost seven weeks to repair damage sustained on the Great Barrier Reef. Cook first referred to kangaroos in his diary entry of 4 August. Guugu Yimithirr is the language of the people of the area. | false |
1 | Are John H. Auer and Jerome Robbins both directors? | John H. Auer (August 3, 1906 in Budapest, Hungary – March 15, 1975 in North Hollywood, Los Angeles) was a Hungarian-born child actor who, on coming to the Americas in 1928, became a movie director and producer, initially in Mexico but, from the early 1930s, in Hollywood. Jerome Robbins (October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American choreographer, director, dancer, and theater producer who worked in classical ballet, on Broadway, and in films and television. Among his numerous stage productions he worked on were "On the Town", "Peter Pan", "High Button Shoes", "The King And I", "The Pajama Game", "Bells Are Ringing", "West Side Story", "", and "Fiddler on the Roof"; Robbins was a five time Tony Award winner and a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors. He received two Academy Awards, including the 1961 Academy Award for Best Director with Robert Wise for "West Side Story". A documentary about his life and work, "Something to Dance About", featuring excerpts from his journals, archival performance and rehearsal footage, and interviews with Robbins and his colleagues, premiered on PBS in 2009 and won both an Emmy and a Peabody Award the same year. | true |
0 | Are Howea belmoreana and Crinodendron in the same family? | Howea belmoreana, the curly palm, kentia palm, or Belmore sentry palm, is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae, endemic to Lord Howe Island, Australia. It and "Howea forsteriana" probably evolved from a common ancestor through sympatric speciation. The canopy of a mature kentia palm tree spreads 5 - in diameter and contains roughly 36 leaves. Crinodendron is a botanic genus with 8 species of flowering plants belonging to the family Elaeocarpaceae. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees native to the forests of Chile. They have narrow, leathery evergreen leaves and pendent bell-shaped flowers in red, pink or white. | false |
1 | Did police reopot anything about him? | NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- One of the FBI's most wanted terrorists escaped a raid over the weekend, Kenyan police said Monday.
Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a suspected terrorist, is shown in photos released by the FBI.
Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, indicted in the United States for alleged involvement in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, managed to evade police in a raid Saturday morning in Malindi, along Kenya's coast, said police spokesman Eric Kiraithe.
The United States calls Mohammed a senior al Qaeda operative in East Africa.
U.S. officials accuse him of being an architect of the embassy bombings that killed 225 people.
They also believe Mohammed was involved in attacks on an Israeli-owned hotel and airliner in Kenya in 2002.
Kiraithe said Kenyan authorities received information from "local intelligence networks" that led them to conduct the raid, which involved no foreign intelligence officials.
He said police know Mohammed had, in fact, been at the location they raided, because they found two passports under names Mohammed has used. Kiraithe did not say what countries the passports were from.
A massive manhunt is under way for Mohammed in Malindi and surrounding areas, "more intensive than ever before because we wouldn't want to miss him now," Kiraithe said.
The U.S. offers a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his apprehension or conviction.
Mohammed has escaped capture and attacks before. Early last year a U.S.-led air strike in Somalia failed to kill him. In 2003, Kenyan police said he escaped authorities. | true |
1 | are cadbury creme eggs only sold at easter | Creme eggs are available annually between 1 January and Easter Day. In the UK in the 1980s, Cadbury made Creme Eggs available year-round but sales dropped and they returned to seasonal availability. In 2018 white chocolate versions of the Creme Eggs were made available. These eggs were not given a wrapper that clearly marked them as white chocolate eggs and were mixed in with the normal Creme Eggs in the United Kingdom. Individuals who discovered an egg would win money via a code printed on the inside of the wrapper. | true |
0 | Did she fear the Duke? | CHAPTER XVIII. THE ZENITH
Andrea Doria did not remain to make formal surrender of the citadel of Sinigaglia to the duke--for which purpose, be it borne in mind, had Cesare been invited, indirectly, to come to Sinigaglia. He fled during the night that saw Vitelli and Oliverotto writhing their last in the strangler's hands. And his flight adds colour to the versions of the affair that were afforded the world by Cesare and his father. Andrea Doria, waiting to surrender his trust, had nothing to fear from the duke, no reason to do anything but remain. Andrea Doria, intriguing against the duke's life with the condottieri, finding them seized by the duke, and inferring that all was discovered, had every reason to fly.
The citadel made surrender on that New Year's morning, when Cesare summoned it to do so, whilst the troops of the Orsini and Vitelli lodged in the castles of the territory, being taken unawares, were speedily disposed of. So, there being nothing more left to do in Sinigaglia, Cesare once more marshalled his men and set out for Città di Castello--the tyranny of the Vitelli, which he found undefended and of which he took possession in the name of the Church. Thence he rushed on towards Perugia, for he had word that Guidobaldo of Urbino, Fabio Orsini, Annibale and Venanzio Varano, and Vitelli's nephew were assembled there under the wing of Gianpaolo Baglioni, who, with a considerable condotta at his back, was making big talk of resisting the Duke of Romagna and Valentinois. In this, Gianpaolo persevered most bravely until he had news that the duke was as near as Gualdo, when precipitately he fled--leaving his guests to shift for themselves. He had remembered, perhaps, at the last moment how narrow an escape he had had of it at Sinigaglia, and he repaired to Siena to join Pandolfo Petrucci, who had been equally fortunate in that connection. | false |
0 | Did Ava DuVernay and Monty BanksBanks have the same nationality ? | Ava Marie DuVernay ( ; born August 24, 1972) is an American director, screenwriter, film marketer, and film distributor. At the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, DuVernay won the Best Director Prize for her second feature film "Middle of Nowhere", becoming the first African-American woman to win the award. For her work in "Selma" (2014), DuVernay was the first black female director to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award. With "Selma", she was also the first black female director to have her film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2017, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for her film "13th" (2016). Montague (Monty) Banks (15 July 1897 [registered on 18 July 1897] – 7 January 1950 born Mario Bianchi) was an Italian comedian and film director who achieved success in the United States and in England. | false |
0 | Did Royce say anything about it? | CHAPTER XXIII
ON THE EAST SIDE
If Royce began to cry there must have been something radically wrong with him," declared Tom. "Dora, do you think he had been drinking? Sometimes when men drink they break down and cry, you know."
"I don't know anything about that, Tom; but I do know that he acted the strangest. I asked him if he was working, and he said no-- that he had been unable to get a job of any kind. Then I questioned him about why he had left Hope, and he said it was because he could not get along with some of the hired help and with Miss Harrow."
"Say!" cried Sam. "Did he say anything about that four-hundred-dollar diamond ring that was missing?"
"Why, no, Sam. I didn't mention it, and he didn't say anything about it either. Perhaps he didn't know it was missing."
"Oh, he must know about it," broke in Tom. "It was talked about all over the place."
"Well, what happened next?" questioned Dick.
"I talked to him for awhile, and I found out that he was out of work and also out of money. I felt sorry for him, and I offered to lend him ten dollars," answered Dora. "I hope you don't think I did wrong," she went on, anxiously.
"You meant well, Dora, I'm sure of that," was Dick's quick reply, "but whether the money will do this fellow Royce any good or not, is a question. If he is a drinking man, he'll drink it up very quickly and that will be the end of it." | false |
1 | was catherine tramell the killer in basic instinct | Catherine Tramell is a fictional character and main antagonist in the film Basic Instinct (1992) and its sequel, Basic Instinct 2 (2006). Catherine, created by writer Joe Eszterhas, is played by Sharon Stone in both films. In Basic Instinct, Tramell is a serial killer and love interest of washed-up detective Nick Curran; Basic Instinct 2 pairs her with the similarly troubled British psychologist Michael Glass. | true |
1 | Is Mindy Kaling's show airing? | (CNN) -- Who doesn't love a good holiday-themed episode?
Before our favorite TV characters put their turkeys in the oven, decorate their Christmas trees and light their menorahs, they'll dress up in funny costumes and beg for candy ... or mercy.
Kicking off prime time's Halloween celebration is ABC Family's "Pretty Little Liars," which will air its second annual Halloween special on Tuesday at 8 p.m.
We can't wait to see how "A" will terrorize Aria, Hanna, Emily and Spencer aboard Rosewood's Halloween Ghost Train.
On a lighter note, "The Mindy Project" will air its Halloween episode, complete with hilarious costumes and an equally hilarious guest star, Bill Hader, at 9:30 p.m.
Mindy Kaling, the creator and star of the Fox sitcom, said her character will have "five or six costume changes" throughout the episode, and "they're not sexy, hot girl costumes."
Here are some other special Halloween episodes to look for:
Wednesday
"Modern Family": Claire likes her Halloween gory, but she's forced to keep things PG this year. Speaking of parental guidance, Lily probes Mitch and Cam to find out who her real mom is. 9 p.m. on ABC
"Suburgatory": Tessa, Lisa, Malik and Ryan have a "Scooby-Doo"-themed Halloween. 9:30 p.m. on ABC
"The Neighbors": The Weavers get ready for their first Halloween in the suburbs. 8:30 p.m. on ABC
"The Middle": The episode, appropriately titled "Halloween III: The Driving," follows Sue as she injures Axl while learning how to drive. Brick, meanwhile, eats too much candy. 8 pm. on ABC | true |
1 | Are Wenling and Xinzheng both in China? | Wenling (Wenling dialect: Uen-lin Zy ] ; ) is a coastal county-level city in the municipal region of Taizhou, in southeastern Zhejiang province, China. It borders Luqiao and Huangyan to the north, Yuhuan to the south, Yueqing to the west, looks out to the East China Sea to the east. Wenling locates on 28°22'N, 121°21'E, approximately 300 km south of Shanghai. Xinzheng () is a small county-level city of Zhengzhou in the south of Henan province of Central China. The city has a population of 600,000 people and covers an area of 15 km2 . | true |
0 | Is she an only child? | Not so long ago, most people didn't know who Shelly Ann Francis Pryce was going to become. She was just an average high school athlete. There was every indication that she was just another American teenager without much of a future. However, one person wants to change this. Stephen Francis observed then eighteen-year-old Shelly Ann as a track meet and was convinced that he had seen the beginning of true greatness. Her time were not exactly impressive, but even so, he seemed there was something trying to get out, something the other coaches had overlooked when they had assessed her and found her lacking. He decided to offer Shelly Ann a place in his very strict training seasons. Their cooperation quickly produced results, and a few year later at Jamaica's Olympic games in early 2008, Shelly Ann, who at that time only ranked number 70 in the world, beat Jamaica's unchallenged queen of the sprint .
"Where did she come from?" asked an astonished sprinting world, before concluding that she must be one of those one-hit wonders that spring up from time to time, only to disappear again without signs. But Shelly Ann was to prove that she was anything but a one-hit wonder. At the Beijing Olympic she swept away any doubts about her ability to perform consistently by becoming the first Jamaican woman ever to win the 100 meters Olympic gold. She did it again one year on at the World Championship in Briton, becoming world champion with a time of 10.73--- the fourth record ever.
Shelly-Ann is a little woman with a big smile. She has a mental toughness that did not come about by chance. Her journey to becoming the fastest woman on earth has been anything but smooth and effortless. She grew up in one of Jamaica's toughest inner-city communities known as Waterhouse, where she lived in a one-room apartment, sleeping four in a bed with her mother and two brothers. Waterhouse, one of the poorest communities in Jamaica, is a really violent and overpopulated place. Several of Shelly-Ann's friends and family were caught up in the killings; one of her cousins was shot dead only a few streets away from where she lived. Sometimes her family didn't have enough to eat. She ran at the school championships barefooted because she couldn't afford shoes. Her mother Maxime, one of a family of fourteen, had been an athlete herself as a young girl but, like so many other girls in Waterhouse, had to stop after she had her first baby. Maxime's early entry into the adult world with its responsibilities gave her the determination to ensure that her kids would not end up in Waterhouse's roundabout of poverty. One of the first things Maxime used to do with Shelly-Ann was taking her to the track, and she was ready to sacrifice everything.
It didn't take long for Shelly-Ann to realize that sports could be her way out of Waterhouse. On a summer evening in Beijing in 2008, all those long, hard hours of work and commitment finally bore fruit. The barefoot kid who just a few years previously had been living in poverty, surrounded by criminals and violence, had written a new chapter in the history of sports.
But Shelly-Ann's victory was far greater than that. The night she won Olympic gold in Beijing, the routine murders in Waterhouse and the drug wars in the neighbouring streets stopped. The dark cloud above one of the world's toughest criminal neighbourhoods simply disappeared for a few days. " I have so much fire burning for my country,"Shelly said. She plans to start a foundation for homeless children and wants to build a community centre in Waterhouse. She hopes to inspire the Jamaicans to lay down their weapons. She intends to fight to make it a woman's as well as a man's world.
As Muhammad Ali puts it, " Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them. A desire, a dream, a vision." One of the things Shelly-Ann can be proud of is her understanding of this truth. | false |
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