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{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Ferenc Gyurcsány ( ; born 4 June 1961 ) is a Hungarian entrepreneur and politician . He was the sixth Prime Minister of Republic of Hungary from 2004 to 2009 . Prior to that , he served as Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports between 2003 and 2004 . \n \n He was nominated to take that position on 25 August 2004 by the Hungarian Socialist Party ( MSZP ) , after Péter Medgyessy resigned due to a conflict with the Socialist Party 's coalition partner . Gyurcsány was elected Prime Minister on 29 September 2004 in a parliamentary vote ( 197 yes votes , 12 no votes , with most of the opposition in Parliament not voting ) . He led his coalition to victory in the parliamentary elections in 2006 , securing another term as Prime Minister . His first rise to power was the result of a coalition conflict . His legitimacy was permanently questioned by opposition parties based on the fact that he withheld information about the actual budget deficit in his 2006 re-election campaign . He was also criticised for using derogatory terms for his own country in his speech in Balatonőszöd . After that speech leaked out , demonstrations started on the streets of Budapest where many people were injured , both demonstrators and policemen . \n \n On 24 February 2007 , he was elected as the leader of the MSZP , taking 89 % of the vote . On 21 March 2009 Gyurcsány announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister . He stated that he is a hindrance to further economic and social reforms . President László Sólyom stated that instead of a short term transactional government ruling only until the 2010 elections , early elections should be held . On 28 March Gyurcsány resigned from his position as party chairman , he was the leader of MSZP between 2007–2009 . A minister under Gyurcsány , Gordon Bajnai became the nominee of MSZP for the post of prime minister in March 2009 and he became Prime Minister on 14 April . In October 2011 , Gyurcsány and other party members quit MSZP to establish Democratic Coalition ( DK ) under his leadership . \n \n Early years \n \n Ferenc Gyurcsány was born in Pápa , Hungary into an impoverished middle-class family as the only son of Ferenc Gyurcsány , Sr. and Katalin Varga . He has a sister , Éva . According to contemporary police documents , Gyurcsány 's father was condemned on charges of minor crimes ( low value thefts and fraud ) multiple times . Due to the frequency of his father 's alcohol consumption , Gyurcsány spent his childhood in poor conditions , but his mother 's thrifty management has provided orderly and healthy living standards . \n \n He attended the Apáczai Csere János High School in Budapest for two years ; he then returned to Pápa to graduate . Ferenc Gyurcsány studied as a teacher and obtained his B.Sc . in 1984 from the University of Pécs . Then he studied economics at the same institution , getting his degree in 1990 . \n \n In 1981 he assumed function in the KISZ , the Organisation of Young Communists , where he mostly handled organizing student programs at the beginning . Between 1984 and 1988 he was the vice president of the organisation 's committee in Pécs . Then between 1988 and 1989 he was the president of the central KISZ committee of universities and colleges . After the political change in 1989 he became vice-president of the organisation 's short-lived quasi successor , the Hungarian Democratic Youth Association ( DEMISZ ) . \n \n From 1990 onwards , he transferred from the public to the private sector , working for CREDITUM Financial Consultant Ltd. until 1992 , serving as director of EUROCORP International Finance Inc. in 1992 . Gyurcsany then took the position of CEO at Altus Ltd. , a holding company of which he was owner , from 1992–2002 and thereafter as Chairman of the Board . [ http : //www.hungria.org.br/CV_Gyurcsany.htm Ferenc Gyurcsány ] Hungarian Embassy , Brasília By 2002 , he was listed as the fiftieth-richest person in Hungary . [ http : //www.origo.hu/uzletinegyed/hirek/2002111541tol.html 41-től 60-ig ] Origo \n \n Return to politics \n \n Ferenc Gyurcsány returned to politics in 2002 as the head strategic advisor of Péter Medgyessy , the previous Prime Minister of Hungary . From May 2003 until September 2004 Gyurcsány was a minister responsible for sports , youth and children . \n \n He became the president of the MSZP in Győr-Moson-Sopron county in January 2004 , serving until September 2004 . In the summer of that same year it seemed that there were larger problems in", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 132, "text": "hungary" } ], "id": "bb_8598--Ferenc_Gyurcsány.txt", "qid": "bb_8598", "question": "Ferenc Gyurcsany resigned as prime minister of which country in March 2009?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Science fiction film ( aka Sci-Fi movie ) is a film genre that uses science fiction : speculative , fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science , such as extraterrestrial lifeforms , alien worlds , extrasensory perception and time travel , along with futuristic elements such as spacecraft , robots , cyborgs , interstellar travel or other technologies . Science fiction films have often been used to focus on political or social issues , and to explore philosophical issues like the human condition . In many cases , tropes derived from written science fiction may be used by filmmakers ignorant of or at best indifferent to the standards of scientific plausibility and plot logic to which written science fiction is traditionally held . \n \n The genre has existed since the early years of silent cinema , when Georges Melies ' A Trip to the Moon ( 1902 ) employed trick photography effects . The next major example in the genre was the film Metropolis ( 1927 ) - being the first feature length science fiction movie . From the 1930s to the 1950s , the genre consisted mainly of low-budget B movies . After Stanley Kubrick 's landmark 2001 : A Space Odyssey ( 1968 ) , the science fiction film genre was taken more seriously . In the late 1970s , big-budget science fiction films filled with special effects became popular with audiences after the success of Star Wars and paved the way for the blockbuster hits of subsequent decades . \n \n Characteristics of the genre \n \n According to Vivian Sobchack , an American cinema and media theorist and cultural critic : \n Science fiction film is a film genre which emphasizes actual , extrapolative , or speculative science and the empirical method , interacting in a social context with the lesser emphasized , but still present , transcendentalism of magic and religion , in an attempt to reconcile man with the unknown ( Sobchack 63 ) . \n This definition suggests a continuum between ( real-world ) empiricism and ( supernatural ) transcendentalism , with science fiction film on the side of empiricism , and horror film and fantasy film on the side of transcendentalism . However , there are numerous well-known examples of science fiction horror films , epitomized by such pictures as Frankenstein and Alien . \n \n The visual style of science fiction film can be characterized by a clash between alien and familiar images . This clash is implemented when alien images become familiar , as in A Clockwork Orange , when the repetitions of the Korova Milkbar make the alien decor seem more familiar . As well , familiar images become alien , as in the films Repo Man and Liquid Sky . For example , in Dr. Strangelove , the distortion of the humans make the familiar images seem more alien . Finally , alien and familiar images are juxtaposed , as in The Deadly Mantis , when a giant praying mantis is shown climbing the Washington Monument . \n \n Cultural theorist Scott Bukatman has proposed that science fiction film allows contemporary culture to witness an expression of the sublime , be it through exaggerated scale , apocalypse or transcendence . \n \n History \n \n 1900–1920s \n \n Science fiction films appeared early in the silent film era , typically as short films shot in black and white , sometimes with colour tinting . They usually had a technological theme and were often intended to be humorous . In 1902 , Georges Méliès released Le Voyage dans la Lune , generally considered the first science fiction film , and a film that used early trick photography to depict a spacecraft 's journey to the moon . Several early films merged the science fiction and horror genres . Examples of this are Frankenstein ( 1910 ) , a film adaptation of Mary Shelley 's novel , and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ( 1920 ) , based on the psychological tale by Robert Louis Stevenson . Taking a more adventurous tack , 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ( 1916 ) is a film based on Jules Verne ’ s famous novel of a wondrous submarine and its vengeful captain . In the 1920s , European filmmakers tended to use science fiction for prediction and social commentary , as can be seen in German films such as Metropolis ( 1927 ) and Frau im Mond ( 1929 ) . Other notable science fiction films of the silent era include The Impossible Voyage ( 1904 ) , The Motorist ( 1906 ) , Conquest of the Pole ( 1912 ) , Himmelskibet ( 1918 ; which with its runtime of 97 minutes generally is", "qas": [ { "answers": [], "id": "odql_4275--Science_fiction_film.txt", "qid": "odql_4275", "question": "Which 1956 science fiction film was based on Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Sneakers ( also known as athletic shoes , tennis shoes , runners , takkies , or trainers ) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise . Sneakers have evolved to be used for casual everyday activities . The term generally describes a type of footwear with a flexible sole made of rubber or synthetic material and an upper part made of leather or synthetic materials . Examples of such shoes include athletic footwear such as : basketball shoes , tennis shoes , cross trainers and other shoes worn for specific sports . \n \n Names and etymology \n \n `` Sneakers '' is the more common used in the Northeastern United States and southern Florida . The term is also used in North Carolina . The British English equivalent of `` sneaker '' in its modern form is `` trainer '' . In some urban areas in the United States , the slang for sneakers is kicks . Other terms include training shoes or trainers ( British English ) , sandshoes , gym boots or joggers ( Geordie English in the UK ) , running shoes , runners or gutties ( Canadian English , Australian English , Scottish English and Hiberno-English ) , sneakers ( North American English ) , tennis shoes ( North American English and Australian English ) , gym shoes , tennies , sports shoes , sneaks , takkies ( South African English and Hiberno-English ) , rubber shoes ( Philippine English ) or canvers ( Nigerian English ) . \n \n Plimsolls ( British English ) are `` low tech '' athletic shoes , and are also called 'sneakers ' in American English and 'daps ' in Welsh English . The word `` sneaker '' is often attributed to American Henry Nelson McKinney who was an advertising agent for N. W. Ayer & Son . In 1917 , he used the term because the rubber sole made the shoe stealthy . The word was already in use at least as early as 1887 , as the Boston Journal made reference to `` sneakers '' as `` the name boys give to tennis shoes . '' The name `` sneakers '' originally referred to how quiet the rubber soles were on the ground , in contrast to noisy standard hard leather sole dress shoes . Someone wearing sneakers could `` sneak up '' on someone while someone wearing standards could not . \n \n Earlier the name `` sneaks '' had been used by prison inmates to refer to warders because of the rubber-soled shoes they wore . \n \n History \n \n These shoes acquired the nickname 'plimsoll ' in the 1870s , derived according to Nicholette Jones ' book The Plimsoll Sensation , from the coloured horizontal band joining the upper to the sole , which resembled the Plimsoll line on a ship 's hull . Alternatively , just like the Plimsoll line on a ship , if water got above the line of the rubber sole , the wearer would get wet . \n \n Plimsolls were widely worn by vacationers and also began to be worn by sportsmen on the tennis and croquet courts for their comfort . Special soles with engraved patterns to increase the surface grip of the shoe were developed , and these were ordered in bulk for the use of the British Army . Athletic shoes were increasingly used for leisure and outdoor activities at the turn of the 20th century - plimsolls were even found with the ill-fated Scott Antarctic expedition of 1911 . Plimsolls were made compulsory in schools ' physical education lessons in the UK . \n \n British company J.W . Foster and Sons designed and produced the first shoes designed for running in 1895 ; the shoes were spiked to allow for greater traction and speed . The company sold its high-quality handmade running shoes to athletes around the world , eventually receiving a contract for the manufacture of running shoes for Team GB in the 1924 Summer Olympics - Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell won the 100-m and 400-m events , kitted out with Foster 's running gear . \n \n This style of footwear also became prominent in America at the turn of the 20th century , where they were called 'sneakers ' . In 1892 , the U.S. Rubber Company introduced the first rubber-soled shoes in the country , sparking a surge in demand and production . The first basketball shoes were designed by the Spalding as early as 1907 . The market for sneakers grew after World War I , when sports and athletics increasingly became a way to demonstrate moral fiber and patriotism . The U.S. market for sneakers grew steadily as young boys", "qas": [ { "answers": [], "id": "qg_2630--Sneakers.txt", "qid": "qg_2630", "question": "What former basketball player and shoe salesman lends his signature to every pair of Converse All-Star sneakers?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "The modern Olympic Games or Olympics ( ) are the leading international sporting event featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions . The Olympic Games are considered to be the world 's foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating . The Olympic Games are held every four years , with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by occurring every four years but two years apart . \n \n Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games , which were held in Olympia , Greece , from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD . Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) in 1894 . The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement , with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority . \n \n The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in several changes to the Olympic Games . Some of these adjustments include the creation of the Winter Olympic Games for ice and winter sports , the Paralympic Games for athletes with a disability , and the Youth Olympic Games for teenage athletes . The IOC has had to adapt to a variety of economic , political , and technological advancements . As a result , the Olympics has shifted away from pure amateurism , as envisioned by Coubertin , to allowing participation of professional athletes . The growing importance of mass media created the issue of corporate sponsorship and commercialization of the Games . World wars led to the cancellation of the 1916 , 1940 , and 1944 Games . Large boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Games . \n \n The Olympic Movement consists of international sports federations ( IFs ) , National Olympic Committees ( NOCs ) , and organizing committees for each specific Olympic Games . As the decision-making body , the IOC is responsible for choosing the host city for each Games , and organizes and funds the Games according to the Olympic Charter . The IOC also determines the Olympic program , consisting of the sports to be contested at the Games . There are several Olympic rituals and symbols , such as the Olympic flag and torch , as well as the opening and closing ceremonies . Over 13,000 athletes compete at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in 33 different sports and nearly 400 events . The first , second , and third-place finishers in each event receive Olympic medals : gold , silver , and bronze , respectively . \n \n The Games have grown so much that nearly every nation is now represented . This growth has created numerous challenges and controversies , including boycotts , doping , bribery , and a terrorist attack in 1972 . Every two years the Olympics and its media exposure provide unknown athletes with the chance to attain national and sometimes international fame . The Games also constitute an opportunity for the host city and country to showcase themselves to the world . \n \n Ancient Olympics \n \n The Ancient Olympic Games were religious and athletic festivals held every four years at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia , Greece . Competition was among representatives of several city-states and kingdoms of Ancient Greece . These Games featured mainly athletic but also combat sports such as wrestling and the pankration , horse and chariot racing events . It has been widely written that during the Games , all conflicts among the participating city-states were postponed until the Games were finished . This cessation of hostilities was known as the Olympic peace or truce . This idea is a modern myth because the Greeks never suspended their wars . The truce did allow those religious pilgrims who were traveling to Olympia to pass through warring territories unmolested because they were protected by Zeus . The origin of the Olympics is shrouded in mystery and legend ; one of the most popular myths identifies Heracles and his father Zeus as the progenitors of the Games . According to legend , it was Heracles who first called the Games `` Olympic '' and established the custom of holding them every four years . The myth continues that after Heracles completed his twelve labors , he built the Olympic Stadium as an honor to Zeus . Following its completion , he walked in a straight line for 200 steps and called this distance a `` stadion '' ( , Latin : stadium , `` stage '' ) , which later became a unit of distance . The most widely accepted inception date for the Ancient Olympics is", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 588, "text": "greece" } ], "id": "qw_1624--Olympic_Games.txt", "qid": "qw_1624", "question": "Which country traditionally leads the opening parade of the Olympic Games?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Montana is a state located in the Western United States . According to the 2010 United States Census , Montana is the 7th least populous state with inhabitants but the 4th largest by land area spanning of land . Montana is divided into 56 counties and contains 129 incorporated municipalities consisting of cities and towns . Montana 's incorporated municipalities cover only of the state 's land mass but are home to of its population . The Montana Code 7-1-4124 gives municipal governments in Montana powers to enact ordinances , borrow money , and enact eminent domain among other legal powers . \n \n In Montana , municipalities are divided into four classes by state statute based on the population of each municipality . Members of the three largest classes are deemed cities , while the members of the fourth class are called towns . Cities and towns are classified at the time of their organisation , and are reorganised when they change classification due to an increase or decrease in population . A place may incorporate as a town with the support of 300 electors or two-thirds of the registered electors . A municipality with a population between 1,000 and 5,000 people is a Third Class city . A municipality with a population between 5,000 and 10,000 people is a Second Class city . And a municipality with a population over 10,000 people is a First Class city . Under certain exceptions municipalities with a population of between 9,000 and 10,000 may elect , by resolution to be either a First or Second Class city . Under similar exceptions municipalities with a population of between 5,000 and 7,500 may elect , by resolution to be either a Second or Third Class city . And finally , municipalities with a population of between 1,000 and 2,500 may , by resolution be classified as either a town or Third Class city . Unincorporated places such as census-designated places fall outside of this scheme , and are subject to county governance , and thus are not towns or cities . \n \n The largest municipality by population in Montana is Billings with 104,170 residents , and the smallest municipality by population is Ismay with 19 residents . The largest municipality by land area is Anaconda , a consolidated city-county , which spans , while Rexford and Flaxville are the smallest at . \n \n Incorporated cities and towns \n \n Billings , Montana downtown.JPG|alt=Skyline of Billings|Downtown Billings , Montana 's largest municipality \n Camera A.J 583.jpg|alt=Downtownof Missoula|Missoula , Montana 's second largest municipality \n Panorama Great Falls.JPG|alt=Great Falls , Montana|Great Falls , Montana 's third largest municipality \n Bozeman MT Downtown.jpg|alt=Downtown Bozeman|Downtown Bozeman , Montana 's fourth largest municipality \n butte uptown.jpg|alt=Downtown Butte|Downtown Butte , Montana 's fifth largest municipality \n Helena capitol.jpg|alt=Montana State Capitol Helena |Montana State Capitol in Helena , Capital city of Montana \n Kalispell MT looking toward Glacier National Park from Lone Pine State Park January 27 2010.JPG|Kalispell , looking toward Glacier National Park \n Havre Montana RR Station.jpg|Havre railroad station and the sculpture `` U.S. − Canada Friendship '' \n Downtown Anaconda , Montana.JPG|alt=Downtown Anaconda|Downtown Anaconda , the largest city in Montana by land area \n Miles city 2008.jpg|alt=Downtown Miles City|Downtown Miles City \n LivingstonMontana.jpg|alt=Downtown Livingston|Downtown Livingston \n Polson2.JPG|alt=Polson and Flathead Lak|Polson and Flathead Lake \n Hardin Depot.JPG|alt=Former train depot in Hardin|Former train depot in Hardin \n Westyellowstone.jpg|alt=West Yellowstone in winter|West Yellowstone in winter \n Virginia City , Montana.jpg|alt=View of Virginia City|View of Virginia City", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 2048, "text": "billings" } ], "id": "jp_4281--List_of_cities_and_towns_in_Montana.txt", "qid": "jp_4281", "question": "What are the three biggest cities in Montana that start with the letter B?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Tungusic peoples are the peoples who speak Tungusic languages . They inhabit Eastern Siberia and are recognized as distinct from Mongols and Turkic peoples . The first European description of a Tungusic people was by the Dutch traveller Isaac Massa in 1612 . \n \n Etymology \n \n The word Tungus derives from `` Donki '' , which means `` men '' in Tungusic languages . [ http : //books.google.co.uk/books ? id \n KFFQAAAAcAAJ & pgPA95 ] The Languages of the Seat of War in the East , By Max Müller , 1855 It has also been suggested that the word derives from `` tungus '' , which means pig . Some scholars think it was derived from the Chinese word Donghu ( 東胡 , `` Eastern Barbarians '' , cf . Tonggu 通古 = Tungusic ) . This `` chance similarity in modern pronunciation led to the once widely held assumption that the Eastern Hu were Tungusic in language . However , there is little basis for this theory . '' \n \n Location \n \n The word originated in Tunguska , a region of eastern Siberia bounded on the west by the Tunguska rivers and on the east by the Pacific Ocean . \n \n The largest group of Tungusic peoples are the Manchu people , who number around 10 million . They are originally from Manchuria , which is now Northeast China , but following their conquest of China in the 17th century , they have been almost totally assimilated into the main Han Chinese population of China . This process accelerated especially during the 20th century . The Xibe people are a Manchu subgroup . \n \n Evenks live in the Evenk Autonomous Okrug of Russia . The Udege ( Удэгейцы in Russian ; ethnonym : удээ and удэхе , or udee and udehe correspondingly ) are a people who live in the Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai regions , also in Russia . \n \n 2–3 % of them are of Mitochondrial DNA haplogroup Y origin . \n \n Peoples \n \n Tungusic peoples are : \n * Evenks \n * Evens \n * Manchu people ( known earlier as the Jurchen people ) \n * Negidals \n * Nanai people \n * Oroch people \n * Orok people \n * Oroqen people \n * Udege people \n * Ulch people \n * Sibe people \n \n Gallery of Tungusic people and history \n \n Image : Foochow Manchu.jpg|The Manchu people in Fuzhou in 1915 \n File : Portrait of the Imperial Bodyguard Zhanyinbao.jpg| A Manchu guard \n Image : Evenkshome.jpg| An Evenks wooden home \n Image : Lansdell-1885-p211-Sibo-military-colonists.jpg| Sibo military colonists ( 1885 ) \n Image : Udege_Family.jpg| An Udege family \n Image : Tungus man at vorogovo.jpg| Tungus man in Vorogovo , Siberia ( 1914 ) \n File : A Manchu young man dressed in traditional clothes.jpg|A Manchu young man in traditional clothing", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 85, "text": "siberia" } ], "id": "qw_15231--Tungusic_peoples.txt", "qid": "qw_15231", "question": "Where do the Tungusic peoples live?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6 , 1882 . It was one of the most significant restrictions on free immigration in US history , prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers . The act followed the Angell Treaty of 1880 , a set of revisions to the US-China Burlingame Treaty of 1868 that allowed the US to suspend Chinese immigration . The act was initially intended to last for 10 years , but was renewed in 1892 with the Geary Act and made permanent in 1902 . The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first law implemented to prevent a specific ethnic group from immigrating to the United States . It was repealed by the Magnuson Act on December 17 , 1943 . \n \n Background \n \n The first significant Chinese immigration to North America began with the California Gold Rush of 1848–1855 and continued with subsequent large labor projects , such as the building of the First Transcontinental Railroad . During the early stages of the gold rush , when surface gold was plentiful , the Chinese were tolerated , if not well received . As gold became harder to find and competition increased , animosity toward the Chinese and other foreigners increased . After being forcibly driven from the mines , most Chinese settled in enclaves in cities , mainly San Francisco , and took up low-wage labor , such as restaurant and laundry work . With the post-Civil War economy in decline by the 1870s , anti-Chinese animosity became politicized by labor leader Denis Kearney and his Workingman 's Party as well as by California Governor John Bigler , both of whom blamed Chinese `` coolies '' for depressed wage levels . Another significant anti-Chinese group organized in California during this same era was the Supreme Order of Caucasians , with some 60 chapters statewide . \n \n In the early 1850s , there was resistance to the idea of excluding Chinese migrant workers from immigration , because they provided essential tax revenue which helped fill the fiscal gap of California . But toward the end of the decade , the financial situation improved and subsequently , attempts to legislate Chinese exclusion became successful on the state level . In 1858 , the California Legislature passed a law that made it illegal for any person `` of the Chinese or Mongolian races '' to enter the state ; however , this law was struck down by an unpublished opinion of the State Supreme Court in 1862 . \n The Chinese immigrant workers provided cheap labor and did not use any of the government infrastructure ( schools , hospitals , etc . ) because the Chinese migrant population was predominantly made up of healthy male adults.Kanazawa , Mark . `` Immigration , Exclusion , and Taxation : Anti-Chinese Legislation in Gold Rush California '' . The Journal of Economic History , Vol . 65 , No . 3 ( Sep. , 2005 ) , pp . 779–805 . Published by : Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Economic History Association . As time passed and more and more Chinese migrants arrived in California , violence would often break out in cities such as Los Angeles . By 1878 Congress decided to act and passed legislation excluding the Chinese , but this was vetoed by President Rutherford B. Hayes . In 1879 , California adopted a new Constitution , which explicitly authorized the state government to determine which individuals were allowed to reside in the state , and banned the Chinese from employment by corporations and state , county or municipal governments . Once the Chinese Exclusion Act was finally passed in 1882 , California went further by passing various laws that were later held to be unconstitutional . After the act was passed , most Chinese families were faced with a dilemma : stay in the United States alone or go back to China to reunite with their families . Although there was widespread dislike for the Chinese , some capitalists and entrepreneurs resisted their exclusion because they accepted lower wages . \n \n The Act \n \n For the first time , Federal law proscribed entry of an ethnic working group on the premise that it endangered the good order of certain localities . ( The earlier Page Act of 1875 had prohibited immigration of Asian forced laborers and prostitutes , and the Naturalization Act of 1790 prohibited naturalization of non-white subjects . ) The Act excluded Chinese laborers , meaning `` skilled and unskilled laborers and Chinese employed in mining , '' from entering the country for ten years under penalty of imprisonment and deportation . \n \n The Chinese Exclusion Act required", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 717, "text": "1943" } ], "id": "qw_11330--Chinese_Exclusion_Act.txt", "qid": "qw_11330", "question": "\"When was the repeal of the US federal law called the \"\"Chinese Exclusion Act\"\" (1882) which banned Chinese immigration?\"" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Cabinets of curiosities ( also known as Kunstkabinett , Kunstkammer , Wunderkammer , Cabinets of Wonder , and wonder-rooms ) were encyclopedic collections of objects whose categorical boundaries were , in Renaissance Europe , yet to be defined . Modern terminology would categorize the objects included as belonging to natural history ( sometimes faked ) , geology , ethnography , archaeology , religious or historical relics , works of art ( including cabinet paintings ) , and antiquities . `` The Kunstkammer was regarded as a microcosm or theater of the world , and a memory theater . The Kunstkammer conveyed symbolically the patron 's control of the world through its indoor , microscopic reproduction . '' Of Charles I of England 's collection , Peter Thomas states succinctly , `` The Kunstkabinett itself was a form of propaganda '' Besides the most famous , best documented cabinets of rulers and aristocrats , members of the merchant class and early practitioners of science in Europe formed collections that were precursors to museums . \n \n History \n \n The term cabinet originally described a room rather than a piece of furniture . The classic cabinet of curiosities emerged in the sixteenth century , although more rudimentary collections had existed earlier . The Kunstkammer of Rudolf II , Holy Roman Emperor ( ruled 1576–1612 ) , housed in the Hradschin at Prague , was unrivalled north of the Alps ; it provided a solace and retreat for contemplation that also served to demonstrate his imperial magnificence and power in symbolic arrangement of their display , ceremoniously presented to visiting diplomats and magnates.Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann , `` Remarks on the Collections of Rudolf II : The Kunstkammer as a Form of Representatio '' , Art Journal 38.1 ( Autumn 1978:22–28 ) . Rudolf 's uncle , Ferdinand II , Archduke of Austria , also had a collection , with a special emphasis on paintings of people with interesting deformities , which remains largely intact as the Chamber of Art and Curiosities at Ambras Castle in Austria . \n \n The earliest pictorial record of a natural history cabinet is the engraving in Ferrante Imperato 's Dell'Historia Naturale ( Naples 1599 ) ( illustration , left ) . It serves to authenticate its author 's credibility as a source of natural history information , in showing his open bookcases at the right , in which many volumes are stored lying down and stacked , in the medieval fashion , or with their spines upward , to protect the pages from dust . Some of the volumes doubtless represent his herbarium . Every surface of the vaulted ceiling is occupied with preserved fishes , stuffed mammals and curious shells , with a stuffed crocodile suspended in the centre . Examples of corals stand on the bookcases . At the left , the room is fitted out like a studiolo with a range of built-in cabinets whose fronts can be unlocked and let down to reveal intricately fitted nests of pigeonholes forming architectural units , filled with small mineral specimens . Above them , stuffed birds stand against panels inlaid with square polished stone samples , doubtless marbles and jaspers or fitted with pigeonhole compartments for specimens . Below them , a range of cupboards contain specimen boxes and covered jars . \n \n Two of the most famously described seventeenth-century cabinets were those of Ole Worm , known as Olaus Wormius ( 1588–1654 ) ( illustration , above right ) , and Athanasius Kircher ( 1602–1680 ) . These seventeenth-century cabinets were filled with preserved animals , horns , tusks , skeletons , minerals , as well as other interesting man-made objects : sculptures wondrously old , wondrously fine or wondrously small ; clockwork automata ; ethnographic specimens from exotic locations . Often they would contain a mix of fact and fiction , including apparently mythical creatures . Worm 's collection contained , for example , what he thought was a Scythian Lamb , a woolly fern thought to be a plant/sheep fabulous creature . However he was also responsible for identifying the narwhal 's tusk as coming from a whale rather than a unicorn , as most owners of these believed . The specimens displayed were often collected during exploring expeditions and trading voyages . \n \n In the second half of the 18th century , Belsazar Hacquet ( c. 1735–1815 ) operated in Ljubljana , then the capital of Carniola , a natural history cabinet ( ) that was appreciated throughout Europe and was visited by the highest nobility , including the Holy Roman Emperor , Joseph II , the Russian grand duke Paul and Pope Pius VI , as well as by famous naturalists , such as and . It included", "qas": [ { "answers": [], "id": "sfq_23120--Cabinet_of_curiosities.txt", "qid": "sfq_23120", "question": "To which university did Elias Ashmole donate his ‘cabinet of curiosities’ in 1677?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Russia can be divided into a European and an Asian part . The dividing line is generally considered to be the Ural Mountains and the Caspian Sea . The European part is drained into the Arctic Ocean , Baltic Sea , Black Sea , and Caspian Sea . The Asian part is drained into the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean . \n \n Notable rivers of Russia in Europe are the Volga , Don , Kama , Oka and the Northern Dvina , while several other rivers originate in Russia but flow into other countries , such as the Dniepr and the Western Dvina . \n \n In Asia , important rivers are the Ob , the Irtysh , the Yenisey , the Angara , the Lena , the Amur , the Yana , the Indigirka , and the Kolyma . \n \n In the list below , the rivers are grouped by the seas or oceans into which they flow . Rivers that flow into other rivers are ordered by the proximity of their point of confluence to the mouth of the main river , i.e. , the lower in the list , the more upstream . \n \n There is an alphabetical list of rivers at the end of this article . \n \n Barents Sea and White Sea ( Arctic Ocean ) \n \n The rivers in this section are sorted east to west . \n * Pechora ( north-east of Naryan-Mar ) \n * * Usa ( west of Usinsk ) \n * * * Kolva ( near Usinsk ) \n * Northern Dvina ( in Severodvinsk ) \n * * Pinega ( in Ust-Pinega ) \n * * Yomtsa ( near Bolshaya Gora ) \n * * Vaga ( near Bereznik ) \n * * Uftyuga ( near Krasnoborsk ) \n * * Vychegda ( in Kotlas ) \n * * * Vishera \n * * Yug ( in Veliki Ustyug ) \n * * Sukhona ( in Veliki Ustyug ) \n * * * Vologda ( near Vologda ) \n * Mezen ( near Mezen ) \n * Onega ( in Onega ) \n * Kem ( in Kem ) \n * Niva ( in Kandalaksha ) \n * Varzuga ( in Kuzomen ) \n * Ponoy ( in Ponoy ) \n * Iokanga ( in Iokanga ) \n * Voronya \n \n Baltic Sea \n \n The rivers in this section are sorted south-west to north-east . \n * Pregolya ( near Kaliningrad ) \n * * Alle/Lava ( in Znamensk ) \n * * Instruch/Inster ( in Chernyakhovsk ) \n * * Angrapa ( in Chernyakhovsk ) \n * * * Pissa ( near Chernyakhovsk ) \n * * * Krasnaya River ( in Gusev ) \n * Nemunas/Neman ( near Šilutė , Lithuania ) \n * * Šešupė ( near Neman ) \n * Daugava/Western Dvina ( near Riga , Latvia ) \n * * Polota ( in Polatsk , Belarus ) \n * * Kasplya ( in Surazh , Belarus ) \n * * Mezha ( near Velizh ) \n * * * Obsha ( near Bely ) \n * Narva ( near Narva ) \n * * Plyussa ( near Slantsy ) \n * * Lake Peipsi ( near Slantsy ) \n * * * Velikaya ( near Pskov ) \n * * * * Kukhva River ( near Ostrov ) \n * Luga ( in Ust-Luga ) \n * * Oredezh ( near Luga ) \n * Neva ( in Saint Petersburg ) \n * * Okhta ( in Saint Petersburg ) \n * * * Okkervil ( in Saint Petersburg ) \n * * Izhora ( in Ust-Izhora ) \n * * Tosna ( in Otradnoye ) \n * * Mga ( near Mga ) \n * * Lake Ladoga ( in Shlisselburg ) \n * * * Volkhov ( near Volkhov ) \n * * * * Tigoda ( near Kirishi ) \n * * * * * Ravan \n * * * * * Chagoda \n * * * * Vishera ( near Velikiy Novgorod ) \n * * * * Lake Ilmen ( in Velikiy Novgorod ) \n * * * * * Msta ( near Velikiy Novgorod ) \n * * * * * * Peretna ( in Toporok ) \n * * * * * * Uver ( near Berezovsky Ryadok ) \n * * * * * * Berezayka ( in Berezovsky Ryadok ) \n * * * * * * * Valdayka \n * * * * * * Lake Mstino ( near Vyshny Volochyok ) \n * * * * * * * Tsna ( near Vyshny Volochyok ) \n * * * * * Pola ( near", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 370, "text": "don" } ], "id": "dpql_1602--List_of_rivers_of_Russia.txt", "qid": "dpql_1602", "question": "A Scottish river, an English river and a Russian river all share which name ?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Ra ( ; , Rˤ ) or Re ( ; , Rē ) is the ancient Egyptian sun god . By the Fifth Dynasty in the 25th and 24th centuries , he had become a major god in ancient Egyptian religion , identified primarily with the noon sun . \n \n In later Egyptian dynastic times , Ra was merged with the god Horus , as Ra-Horakhty ( `` Ra , who is Horus of the Two Horizons '' ) . He was believed to rule in all parts of the created world : the sky , the earth , and the underworld . He was associated with the falcon or hawk . When in the New Kingdom the god Amun rose to prominence he was fused with Ra as Amun-Ra . During the Amarna Period , Akhenaten suppressed the cult of Ra in favor of another solar deity , the Aten , the deified solar disc , but after the death of Akhenaten the cult of Ra was restored . \n \n The cult of the Mnevis bull , an embodiment of Ra , had its center in Heliopolis and there was a formal burial ground for the sacrificed bulls north of the city . \n \n All forms of life were believed to have been created by Ra , who called each of them into existence by speaking their secret names . Alternatively man was created from Ra 's tears and sweat , hence the Egyptians call themselves the `` Cattle of Ra . '' In the myth of the Celestial Cow it is recounted how mankind plotted against Ra and how he sent his eye as the goddess Sekhmet to punish them . When she became bloodthirsty she was pacified by drinking beer mixed with red dye . \n \n Role \n \n Ra and the sun \n \n To the Egyptians , the sun represented light , warmth , and growth . This made the sun deity very important , as the sun was seen as the ruler of all that he created . The sun disk was either seen as the body or eye of Ra . Ra was the father of Shu and Tefnut , whom he created . Shu was the god of the wind , and Tefnut was the goddess of the rain . Sekhmet was the Eye of Ra and was created by the fire in Ra 's eye . She was a violent lioness . \n \n Ra in the underworld \n \n Ra was thought to travel on two solar boats called the Mandjet ( the Boat of Millions of Years ) , or morning boat , and the Mesektet , or evening/night boat . These boats took him on his journey through the sky and the Duat , the literal underworld of Egypt . While Ra was on the Mesektet , he was in his ram-headed form . When Ra traveled in his sun boat , he was accompanied by various other deities including Sia ( perception ) and Hu ( command ) , as well as Heka ( magic power ) . Sometimes , members of the Ennead helped him on his journey , including Set , who overcame the serpent Apophis , and Mehen , who defended against the monsters of the underworld . When Ra was in the underworld , he would visit all of his various forms . \n \n Apophis , the god of chaos , was an enormous serpent who attempted to stop the sun boat 's journey every night by consuming it or by stopping it in its tracks with a hypnotic stare . During the evening , the Egyptians believed that Ra set as Atum or in the form of a ram . The night boat would carry him through the underworld and back towards the east in preparation for his rebirth . These myths of Ra represented the sun rising as the rebirth of the sun by the sky goddess Nut ; thus attributing the concept of rebirth and renewal to Ra and strengthening his role as a creator god as well . \n \n When Ra was in the underworld , he merged with Osiris , the god of the dead , and through it became the god of the dead as well . \n \n Ra as creator \n \n Ra was worshipped as the Creator god among some Ancient Egyptians , specifically followers of his cult at Heliopolis . It was believed that Ra wept , and from his tears came man . These cult-followers believed that Ra was self-created , while followers of Ptah believed that Ra was created by Ptah . In a passage of the Book of the Dead , Ra cuts himself", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 0, "text": "ra" } ], "id": "jp_4180--Ra.txt", "qid": "jp_4180", "question": "Who was the Egyptian sun god? (Hint: his name is only two letters long)" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Short Circuit is a 1986 American comic science fiction film directed by John Badham , and written by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock . The film 's plot centers upon an experimental military robot that is struck by lightning and gains a more humanlike intelligence , with which it embarks to explore its new state . Short Circuit stars Ally Sheedy , Steve Guttenberg , Fisher Stevens , Austin Pendleton , and G. W. Bailey , with Tim Blaney as the voice of the robot , Number Five . \n \n A sequel , Short Circuit 2 , was released in 1988 . \n \n Plot \n \n Number 5 is part of a series of prototype U.S. military S.A.I.N.T . ( Strategic Artificially Intelligent Nuclear Transport ) robots built for the Cold War by NOVA Laboratories . The series ' inventors , Newton Graham Crosby and Ben Jabituya , are more interested in peaceful applications including music and social aid . After a demonstration of the robots ' capabilities , Number 5 is hit by a lightning-induced power surge , scrambling its programming and giving it a sense of free will . Several incidents allow the robot to escape the facility accidentally , barely able to communicate and uncertain of its directive . In Astoria , Oregon , Stephanie Speck ( who cares for animals and mistakes Number 5 for an extraterrestrial visitor ) grants Number 5 access to books , television , and other stimuli , to satisfy his hunger for 'input ' ; whereupon Number 5 develops a whimsical and curious childlike personality . When Stephanie realizes Number 5 is a military invention , she contacts NOVA who send out a team to recover him , bringing one of the other robots along to help . When Number 5 accidentally crushes a grasshopper and gains an understanding of mortality , he concludes that if NOVA disassembles him he too will cease to be alive . Horrified , Number 5 steals Stephanie 's van and flees , but the pair are cornered by NOVA , including Newton and Ben . Although Stephanie attempts to reveal his newly discovered sentience , Number 5 is deactivated and captured . Being taken on the way to NOVA , he manages to turn himself back on and escapes despite a tracker that had been placed on him . Returning to Stephanie for protection , Number 5 's unusual actions catch the attention of his creators , but NOVA 's CEO Dr. Howard Marner turns a deaf ear to their wild hypothesis . \n \n From this follow several adventurous escapes from the soldiers , led by NOVA 's security chief Captain Skroeder ( G. W. Bailey ) . Having humiliated Stephanie 's boyfriend Frank and three of the remaining prototypes ( that have been reprogrammed to imitate The Three Stooges by Number 5 ) , Stephanie and the robot convince Newton of the robot 's sentience . Shortly after , the trio are cornered by Skroeder , who has secretly taken over NOVA 's security , and the Army , both of whom chase after Number 5 , whose only concern is Newton and Stephanie 's safety . Number 5 flees across the fields until a US Army helicopter sweeps over a nearby rise and its missiles blow the helpless robot to pieces . Newton and Stephanie are devastated over the loss , Newton quits NOVA . Marner is also disappointed at the destruction of years of research , and seeing the security team celebrate , quickly dismisses Skroeder for insubordination . Stephanie leaves with Newton , who plans to head to his father 's estate in Montana and start over . During their drive , Number 5 reveals himself to them , surprising his friends by revealing the warmongers actually blew up a duplicate he made out of spare parts . Elated in their reunion , Number 5 renames himself `` Johnny Five '' after a song `` Who 's Johnny '' that he heard when he escaped from NOVA 's van . He accompanies her and Newton to their new home . \n \n Cast \n \n * Ally Sheedy as Stephanie Speck , who befriends Johnny Five \n * Steve Guttenberg as Newton Crosby , Ph.D. , the designer of the prototypes \n * Fisher Stevens as Ben Jabituya , Newton 's assistant ( in Short Circuit 2 his name is Benjamin Jahrvi ) \n * Austin Pendleton as Dr. Howard Marner , President of Nova Robotics \n * G. W. Bailey as Captain Skroeder \n * Tim Blaney as Number 5 / Johnny Five / Number Johnny 5 ( voice ) \n * Brian McNamara as Frank , Stephanie 's abusive ex-boyfriend \n * Marvin J. McIntyre", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 4166, "text": "johnny 5" } ], "id": "qz_5789--Short_Circuit_(1986_film).txt", "qid": "qz_5789", "question": "What was the name of the robot in 1986 smash 'Short Circuit'?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "An operating system ( OS ) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources and provides common services for computer programs . The operating system is a component of the system software in a computer system . Application programs usually require an operating system to function . \n \n Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also include accounting software for cost allocation of processor time , mass storage , printing , and other resources . \n \n For hardware functions such as input and output and memory allocation , the operating system acts as an intermediary between programs and the computer hardware , although the application code is usually executed directly by the hardware and frequently makes system calls to an OS function or is interrupted by it . Operating systems are found on many devices that contain a computer from cellular phones and video game consoles to web servers and supercomputers . \n \n Examples of popular desktop operating systems include Apple OS X , Linux and its variants , and Microsoft Windows . So-called mobile operating systems include Android and iOS . Other classes of operating systems , such as real-time ( RTOS ) , also exist . \n \n Types of operating systems \n \n Single- and multi-tasking \n \n A single-tasking system can only run one program at a time , while a multi-tasking operating system allows more than one program to be running in concurrency . This is achieved by time-sharing , dividing the available processor time between multiple processes that are each interrupted repeatedly in time slices by a task-scheduling subsystem of the operating system . Multi-tasking may be characterized in preemptive and co-operative types . In preemptive multitasking , the operating system slices the CPU time and dedicates a slot to each of the programs . Unix-like operating systems , e.g. , Solaris , Linux , as well as AmigaOS support preemptive multitasking . Cooperative multitasking is achieved by relying on each process to provide time to the other processes in a defined manner . 16-bit versions of Microsoft Windows used cooperative multi-tasking . 32-bit versions of both Windows NT and Win9x , used preemptive multi-tasking . \n \n Single- and multi-user \n \n Single-user operating systems have no facilities to distinguish users , but may allow multiple programs to run in tandem . A multi-user operating system extends the basic concept of multi-tasking with facilities that identify processes and resources , such as disk space , belonging to multiple users , and the system permits multiple users to interact with the system at the same time . Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also include accounting software for cost allocation of processor time , mass storage , printing , and other resources to multiple users . \n \n Distributed \n \n A distributed operating system manages a group of distinct computers and makes them appear to be a single computer . The development of networked computers that could be linked and communicate with each other gave rise to distributed computing . Distributed computations are carried out on more than one machine . When computers in a group work in cooperation , they form a distributed system . \n \n Templated \n \n In an OS , distributed and cloud computing context , templating refers to creating a single virtual machine image as a guest operating system , then saving it as a tool for multiple running virtual machines . The technique is used both in virtualization and cloud computing management , and is common in large server warehouses . \n \n Embedded \n \n Embedded operating systems are designed to be used in embedded computer systems . They are designed to operate on small machines like PDAs with less autonomy . They are able to operate with a limited number of resources . They are very compact and extremely efficient by design . Windows CE and Minix 3 are some examples of embedded operating systems . \n \n Real-time \n \n A real-time operating system is an operating system that guarantees to process events or data by a specific moment in time . A real-time operating system may be single- or multi-tasking , but when multitasking , it uses specialized scheduling algorithms so that a deterministic nature of behavior is achieved . An event-driven system switches between tasks based on their priorities or external events while time-sharing operating systems switch tasks based on clock interrupts . \n \n Library \n \n A library operating system is one in which the services that a typical operating system provides , such as networking , are provided in the form of libraries . These libraries are composed with the", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 1056, "text": "linux" } ], "id": "qw_12140--Operating_system.txt", "qid": "qw_12140", "question": "What computer operating system that can be installed on a wide variety of computer hardware (including mobile phones, smartphones, wristwatches, mainframes & supercomputers) is an example of free and open source software collaboration?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "XTC were an English rock band from Swindon , active between 1976 and 2005 . Led by songwriters Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding , the band enjoyed some chart success with the singles `` Making Plans for Nigel '' ( 1979 ) , `` Sgt . Rock ( Is Going to Help Me ) '' ( 1980 ) and `` Senses Working Overtime '' ( 1982 ) , all of which placed in the UK top 20 . Initially a touring and performing group , in 1982 they became a studio-based project centred on Partridge , Moulding , and guitarist Dave Gregory with various session musicians . \n \n History \n \n 1972–76 : early days \n \n First coming together in 1972 , Colin Moulding ( bass & vocals ) and Terry Chambers ( drums ) asked Andy Partridge ( guitars & vocals ) to join their new band and went through many band names ( including The Helium Kidz and Star Park ) over the next five years . As the Helium Kidz , they were featured in a small NME article as an up-and-coming band from Swindon . Drawing influence from the New York Dolls , particularly the `` Jetboy '' single , and the emerging New York punk scene , they played glam rock with homemade costumes and slowly built up a following . The band recorded a set at the Swindon Viewpoint studio in 1975 . Keyboard player Barry Andrews joined in 1976 , and the band finally settled on a name : XTC . \n \n 1977–82 : touring years \n \n In 1977 , XTC were signed by Virgin Records . They recorded the 3D - EP that summer , and followed it up with their debut LP White Music in January 1978 . These and future XTC releases found Partridge writing and singing about two-thirds of the material , while Colin Moulding would write and sing approximately one-third . ( White Music also featured a version of Bob Dylan 's `` All Along the Watchtower '' , sung by Partridge . ) White Music received favourable reviews and entered the British top 40 , but lead single `` Statue of Liberty '' was banned by the BBC because of its supposedly \n `` lewd '' reference to the famous statue ( `` in my fantasy I sail beneath your skirt '' ) . The group also picked up a cult following in Australia thanks to the support of community radio ( 4ZZZ , 3RRR ) , the Sydney rock radio station 2JJ ( now Triple-J ) and the nationally broadcast weekly music TV show Countdown , which screened all of the band 's early videos ( beginning with their first Australian single release - `` This Is Pop '' ) ; thanks to this interest , the group made two well-received tours there in 1979 and 1980 . Their second album Go 2 , released later in 1978 , featured a typewriter-text cover ( designed by Hipgnosis ) and early pressings were accompanied by a bonus disc Go + , a collection of dub mixes of songs from the album . \n \n Following the release of Go 2 , in January 1979 Barry Andrews left the group ( joining Robert Fripp 's League of Gentlemen and subsequently co-founding Shriekback ) . XTC initially sought a new keyboard player - Thomas Dolby was among those considered - but Dave Gregory , guitarist and long-time friend of Partridge 's , was eventually selected as Andrews ' replacement . Gregory 's 1960s-influenced guitar style steered the band on a path towards a more traditional rock sound ; he would also contribute occasional keyboards ( and later , string arrangements ) . \n \n Coinciding with Gregory 's arrival , XTC scored their first charting single in the UK with `` Life Begins at the Hop '' , which was also the first XTC single penned by Colin Moulding . Their third album Drums and Wires contained the band 's first major hit single `` Making Plans for Nigel '' ( another Moulding composition ) . Drums and Wires also marked their first sessions at London 's Townhouse Studios . The studio was at the time much sought after for its highly reverberant `` live '' drum room , and it was greatly favoured by their producer Steve Lillywhite and his engineer Hugh Padgham , who were at that time also creating influential recordings with Peter Gabriel and Genesis . The Lillywhite-Padgham connection also led to Dave Gregory contributing to Gabriel 's third solo album . \n \n During this period , Partridge released an LP of dub in 1980 under the name 'Mr Partridge ' . The album , Take Away / The Lure", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 0, "text": "xtc" } ], "id": "odql_13594--XTC.txt", "qid": "odql_13594", "question": "Which Swindon pop group were 'Making Plans for Nigel' in 1979?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Thought can refer to the ideas or arrangements of ideas that result from thinking , the act of producing thoughts , or the process of producing thoughts . Although thought is a fundamental human activity familiar to everyone , there is no generally accepted agreement as to what thought is or how it is created . Thoughts may or may not arise in the mind from the product of subconscious brain processing . \n \n Because thought underlies many human actions and interactions , understanding its physical and metaphysical origins , processes , and effects has been a longstanding goal of many academic disciplines including psychology , neuroscience , philosophy , artificial intelligence , biology , sociology and \n cognitive science . \n \n Thinking allows humans to make sense of , interpret , represent or model the world they experience , and to make predictions about that world . It is therefore helpful to an organism with needs , objectives , and desires as it makes plans or otherwise attempts to accomplish those goals . \n \n Etymology and usage \n \n The word thought comes from Old English þoht , or geþoht , from stem of þencan `` to conceive of in the mind , consider '' . \n \n The word `` thought '' may mean , : \n \n * a single product of thinking or a single idea ( `` My first thought was ‘ no . ’ '' ) \n * the product of mental activity ( `` Mathematics is a large body of thought . '' ) \n * the act or process of thinking ( `` I was frazzled from too much thought . '' ) \n * the capacity to think , reason , imagine , etcetera ( `` All her thought was applied to her work . '' ) \n * the consideration of or reflection on an idea ( `` The thought of death terrifies me . '' ) \n * recollection or contemplation ( `` I thought about my childhood . '' ) \n * half-formed or imperfect intention ( `` I had some thought of going . '' ) \n * anticipation or expectation ( `` She had no thought of seeing him again . '' ) \n * consideration , attention , care , or regard ( `` He took no thought of his appearance '' and `` I did it without thinking . '' ) \n * judgment , opinion , or belief ( `` According to his thought , honesty is the best policy . '' ) \n * the ideas characteristic of a particular place , class , or time ( `` Greek thought '' ) \n * the state of being conscious of something ( `` It made me think of my grandmother . '' ) \n * tending to believe in something , especially with less than full confidence ( `` I think that it will rain , but I am not sure . '' ) \n \n Definitions may or may not require that thought \n * take place within a human brain ( see anthropomorphism ) , \n * take place as part of a living biological system ( see Alan Turing and Computing Machinery and Intelligence ) , \n * take place only at a conscious level of awareness ( see Unconscious Thought Theory ) , \n * require language , \n * is principally or even only conceptual , abstract ( `` formal '' ) , \n * involve other concepts such as drawing analogies , interpreting , evaluating , imagining , planning , and remembering . \n \n Definitions of thought may also be derived directly or indirectly from theories of thought . \n \n Theories \n \n * `` Outline of a theory of thought-processes and thinking machines '' ( Caianiello ) – thought processes and mental phenomena modeled by sets of mathematical equations \n * Surfaces and Essences : Analogy as the Fuel and Fire of Thinking ( Hofstadter and Sander ) – a theory built on analogies \n * The Neural Theory of Language and Thought ( Feldman and Lakoff ) – neural modeling of language and spatial relations \n * ThoughtForms—The Structure , Power , and Limitations of Thought ( Baum ) – a theory built on mental models \n * Unconscious Thought Theory , – thought that is not conscious \n * Linguistics theories - The Stuff of Thought ( Steven Pinker , Noam Chomsky ) – A linguistic and cognitive theory that thought is based on syntactic and linguistic recursion processes \n \n Philosophy \n \n The phenomenology movement in philosophy saw a radical change in the way in which we understand thought . Martin Heidegger 's phenomenological analyses of", "qas": [ { "answers": [], "id": "bb_6843--Thought.txt", "qid": "bb_6843", "question": "When a person moves his/her eyes right, this generally indicates what sort of thinking/communication?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "A telephone keypad is a keypad that appears on a `` Touch Tone '' telephone . It was standardised when the dual-tone multi-frequency system in the new push-button telephone was introduced in the 1960s , which gradually replaced the rotary dial . The invention of the keypad is attributed to John E. Karlin , an industrial psychologist at Bell Labs . The contemporary keypad is laid out in a 4×3 grid , although the original DTMF system in the new keypad had an additional column for four now-defunct menu selector keys ( see Autovon ) . Most keypads have a star key or asterisk key on the bottom left and a hash key on the bottom right . \n \n Key frequency \n \n When used to dial a telephone number , pressing a single key will produce a dual-tone multi-frequency signaling pitch consisting of two simultaneous pure tone sinusoidal frequencies . The row in which the key appears determines the low frequency , and the column determines the high frequency . For example , pressing the ' 1 ' key will result in a sound composed of both a 697 and a 1209 hertz ( Hz ) tone . \n \n Layout and characters \n \n The layout of the digits is different from that commonly appearing on calculators and numeric keypads . This layout was chosen after extensive human factors testing from Bell Labs . At the time ( late 1950s ) , mechanical calculators were not widespread , and few people had experience with them . ( Indeed , calculators were only just starting to settle on a common layout ; a 1955 paper says `` Of the several calculating devices we have been able to look at ... Two other calculators have keysets resembling [ the layout that would become the most common layout ] .... Most other calculators have their keys reading upward in vertical rows of ten , '' while a 1960 paper just five years later refers to today 's common layout as `` the arrangement frequently found in ten-key adding machines '' . ) In any case , Bell Labs ' testing found that the layout used today , with 1-3 on the top , was slightly faster than the calculator layout with 1-3 on the bottom ; however , it 's not apparent whether the two layouts were ever compared directly against each other . One advantage to the layout is that the same letter associations from rotary dial phones appears in alphabetic ordering , although it 's not clear whether this was considered as a factor in choosing the now-standard layout . \n \n The `` * `` is called the `` star key '' or `` asterisk key '' . `` # '' is called the `` number sign '' , `` pound key '' , `` hash key '' , hex key , `` octothorpe '' , `` gate '' or `` square '' , depending on one 's nationality or personal preference . ( The Greek symbols alpha and omega had been planned originally . ) These can be used for special functions . For example , in the UK , users can order a 7.30am alarm call from a British Telecom telephone exchange by dialling : * 55 * 0730 # . \n \n Most of the keys also bear letters according to the following system : \n \n 0 = none ( in some telephones , `` OPERATOR '' or `` OPER '' ) \n 1 = none ( in some older telephones , QZ ) \n 2 = ABC \n 3 = DEF \n 4 = GHI \n 5 = JKL \n 6 = MNO \n 7 = PQRS ( in older telephones , PRS ) \n 8 = TUV \n 9 = WXYZ ( in older telephones , WXY ) \n \n These letters have had several auxiliary uses . Originally , they referred to exchanges . In the mid-20th century United States , before the advent of All-Number Calling , numbers were seven digits long including a two-digit prefix which was expressed as the letters rather than numbers e.g . ; KL5-5445 . The UK telephone numbering system used a similar two-letter code after the initial zero to form the first part of the subscriber trunk dialling code for that region – for example , Aylesbury was assigned 0AY6 which translated into 0296 . ( The majority of these original numbers have remained , particularly in the rural areas , and are currently still in service . The modern equivalent of 0AY6 , namely 01296 , still refers to Aylesbury . ) \n \n The letters have also been used , mainly in the United States , as a way of remembering", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 1778, "text": "five" } ], "id": "qb_3555--Telephone_keypad.txt", "qid": "qb_3555", "question": "On a mobile phone keypad, the letters ‘jkl’ are on which number button?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "The Russian Empire ( also All-Russian Empire or Russia ) was a state that existed from 1721 until it was overthrown by the short-lived liberal February Revolution in 1917 . One of the largest empires in world history , stretching over three continents , the Russian Empire was surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires . The rise of the Russian Empire happened in association with the decline of neighboring rival powers : the Swedish Empire , the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , Persia and the Ottoman Empire . It played a major role in 1812–14 in defeating Napoleon 's ambitions to control Europe , and expanded to the west and south . \n \n House of Romanov ruled the Russian Empire in 1721-1762 and its German-descended cadet branch House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov ruled after 1762 . \n \n At the beginning of the 19th century , the Russian Empire extended from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea on the south , from the Baltic Sea on the west to the Pacific Ocean , and ( until 1867 ) into Alaska in North America on the east . With 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census , it had the third largest population in the world at the time , after Qing China and the British Empire . Like all empires , it included a large disparity in terms of economics , ethnicity , and religion . There were numerous dissident elements , who launched numerous rebellions and assassination attempts ; they were closely watched by the secret police , with thousands exiled to Siberia . \n \n Economically , the empire was heavily rural , with low productivity on large estates worked by serfs , until they were freed in 1861 . The economy slowly industrialized with the help of foreign investments in railways and factories . The land was ruled by a nobility called Boyars from the 10th through the 17th centuries , and then was ruled by an emperor . Tsar Ivan III ( 1462–1505 ) laid the groundwork for the empire that later emerged . He tripled the territory of his state , ended the dominance of the Golden Horde , renovated the Moscow Kremlin , and laid the foundations of the Russian state . Tsar Peter the Great ( 1682–1725 ) fought numerous wars and built a huge empire that became a major European power . He moved the capital from Moscow to the new model city of St. Petersburg , and led a cultural revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political system with a modern , scientific , Europe-oriented , and rationalist system . \n \n Catherine the Great ( 1761–1796 ) presided over a golden age . She expanded the nation rapidly by conquest , colonization and diplomacy . She continued Peter the Great 's policy of modernisation along West European lines . Tsar Alexander II ( 1855–1881 ) promoted numerous reforms , most dramatically the emancipation of all 23 million serfs in 1861 . His policy in Eastern Europe was to protect the Orthodox Christians under the rule of the Ottoman Empire . That involvement by 1914 led to Russia 's entry into the First World War on the side of France , Britain , and Serbia , against the German , Austrian and Ottoman empires . Russia was an absolute monarchy until the Revolution of 1905 and then became a constitutional monarchy . The empire collapsed during the February Revolution of 1917 , largely the result of massive failures in its participation in the First World War . \n \n History \n \n Though the Empire was only officially proclaimed by Tsar Peter I , following the Treaty of Nystad ( 1721 ) , some historians would argue that it was truly born either when Ivan III of Russia conquered Veliky Novgorod or when Ivan the Terrible conquered Khanate of Kazan . According to another point of view , the term Tsardom , which was used after the coronation of Ivan IV in 1547 , was already a contemporary Russian word for empire , while Peter the Great just replaced it with a Latinized synonym . Perhaps the latter was done to make Europe recognize Russia as more of a European country . \n \n Much of Russia 's expansion occurred in the 17th century , culminating in the first Russian colonisation of the Pacific in the mid-17th century , the Russo-Polish War ( 1654–67 ) that incorporated left-bank Ukraine , and the Russian conquest of Siberia . \n \n Eighteenth century \n \n Peter the Great ( 1672–1725 ) \n \n Peter I the Great ( 1672–1725 ) introduced autocracy in Russia and played a major role in introducing his", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 1025, "text": "alaska" } ], "id": "qw_7432--Russian_Empire.txt", "qid": "qw_7432", "question": "What territory was sold by Russia under Tsar Alexander II in 1867, for about 1.9 per acre ($4.74/km2), a total of US$7.2 million?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Suriname ( , or , also spelled Surinam ) , officially known as the Republic of Suriname ( , ) , is a sovereign state on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America . It is bordered by French Guiana to the east , Guyana to the west and Brazil to the south . At just under 165000 km2 , it is the smallest country in South America . Suriname has a population of approximately 566,000 , most of whom live on the country 's north coast , in and around the capital and largest city , Paramaribo . \n \n Originally inhabited by a number of indigenous tribes , Suriname was explored and contested by European powers before coming under Dutch rule in the late 17th century . In 1954 the country became one of the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands . On 25 November 1975 , the country of Suriname left the Kingdom of the Netherlands to become an independent state , nonetheless maintaining close economic , diplomatic , and cultural ties to its former colonizer . \n \n Suriname is considered to be a culturally Caribbean country , and is a member of the Caribbean Community ( CARICOM ) . While Dutch is the official language of government , business , media and education , Sranan , an English-based creole language , is a widely used lingua franca . Suriname is the only territory outside Europe where Dutch is spoken by a majority of the population . The people of Suriname are among the most diverse in the world , spanning a multitude of ethnic , religious , and linguistic groups . \n \n Etymology \n \n This area was occupied by various cultures of indigenous peoples long before European contact , remnants of which can be found in petroglyph sites at Werehpai and other places in Suriname . The name Suriname may derive from a Taino ( Arawak-speaking ) indigenous people called Surinen , who inhabited the area at the time of European contact . `` Suriname '' , The New Encyclopædia Britannica , Encyclopædia Britannica , Volume 5 . Edition 15 , Encyclopædia Britannica , 2002 , p. 547 \n \n British settlers , who founded the first European colony at Marshall 's Creek along the Suriname River , spelled the name as `` Surinam '' . \n \n When the territory was taken over by the Dutch , it became part of a group of colonies known as Dutch Guiana . The official spelling of the country 's English name was changed from `` Surinam '' to `` Suriname '' in January 1978 , but `` Surinam '' can still be found in English . A notable example is Suriname 's national airline , Surinam Airways . The older English name is reflected in the English pronunciation , or . In Dutch , the official language of Suriname , the pronunciation is , with the main stress on the third syllable and a schwa terminal vowel . \n \n History \n \n Settlement of Suriname dates back to 3,000 BC . The largest tribes were the Arawaks , a nomadic coastal tribe that lived from hunting and fishing . They were the first inhabitants in the area . The Caribs also settled in the area and conquered the Arawaks using their sailing ships . They settled in Galibi ( Kupali Yumï , meaning `` tree of the forefathers '' ) on the mouth of the Marowijne River . While the larger Arawak and Carib tribes lived off the coast and savanna , smaller groups of indigenous peoples lived in the inland rainforest , such as the Akurio , Trió , Warrau , and Wayana . \n \n Colonial period \n \n Beginning in the 16th century , French , Spanish , and English explorers visited the area . A century later , plantation colonies were established by the Dutch and English along the many rivers in the fertile Guiana plains . The earliest documented colony in Guiana was an English settlement named Marshall 's Creek along the Suriname River . Disputes arose between the Dutch and the English . In 1667 , during negotiations leading to the Treaty of Breda , the Dutch decided to keep the nascent plantation colony of Suriname they had conquered from the English . The English got to keep New Amsterdam , the main city of the former colony of New Netherland . Already a cultural and economic hub in those days , they renamed it after the Duke of York : New York . \n \n In 1683 , the Society of Suriname was founded by the city of Amsterdam , the Van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck family , and the Dutch West India Company .", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 0, "text": "suriname" } ], "id": "sfq_8607--Suriname.txt", "qid": "sfq_8607", "question": "What is the modern name of Dutch Guiana?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "The 2010 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les XXIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) and commonly known as Vancouver 2010 , informally the 21st Winter Olympics , were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28 , 2010 , in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada , with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond , West Vancouver and the University Endowment Lands , and in the resort town of Whistler . Approximately 2,600 athletes from 82 nations participated in 86 events in fifteen disciplines . Both the Olympic and Paralympic Games were organized by the Vancouver Organizing Committee ( VANOC ) , headed by John Furlong . The 2010 Winter Olympics were the third Olympics hosted by Canada and the first by the province of British Columbia . Previously , Canada hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal , Quebec , and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary , Alberta . \n \n Following Olympic tradition , then-Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan received the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin , Italy . The flag was raised on February 28 , 2006 , in a special ceremony and was on display at Vancouver City Hall until the Olympic opening ceremony . The event was officially opened by Governor General Michaëlle Jean , who was accompanied by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge . \n \n For the first time , Canada won gold in an `` official '' sport at an Olympic Games hosted at home , having failed to do so at both the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary ( although Canada won a gold medal in the demonstration sport of curling in Calgary ) . Canada clinched their first gold medal on the second day of the competition and first topped the gold medal tally on the second to last day of competition and went on to become the first host nation since Norway in 1952 to lead the gold medal count . With 14 , Canada broke the record for the most gold medals won at a single Winter Olympics , which was 13 , set by the former Soviet Union in 1976 and Norway in 2002 . The United States won the most medals in total , their second time doing so at the Winter Olympics , and broke the record for the most medals won at a single Winter Olympics with 37 , a record held up to then by Germany in 2002 with 36 medals . Athletes from Slovakia and Belarus won the first Winter Olympic gold medals for their nations . \n \n Bid and preparations \n \n The Canadian Olympic Association chose Vancouver as the Canadian candidate city over Calgary , which sought to re-host the Games and Quebec City , which had lost the 2002 Olympic bid in 1995 . On the first round of voting on November 21 , 1998 , Vancouver-Whistler had 26 votes , Quebec City had 25 and Calgary had 21 . On December 3 , 1998 , the second and final round of voting occurred between the two leading contenders , which saw Vancouver win with 40 votes compared to Quebec City 's 32 votes . Vancouver had also previously bid for the 1976 and 1980 games . \n \n After the bribery scandal over the candidacy of the Salt Lake City bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics ( which resulted in Quebec City asking for compensation ( C $ 8 million ) for its unsuccessful bid ) , many of the rules of the bidding process were changed in 1999 . The International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) created the Evaluation Commission , which was appointed on October 24 , 2002 . Prior to the bidding for the 2008 Summer Olympics , host cities would often fly members of the IOC to their city where they toured the city and were provided with gifts . The lack of oversight and transparency often led to allegations of money for votes . Afterward , changes brought forth by the IOC bidding rules were tightened , and more focused on technical aspects of candidate cities . The team analyzed the candidate city features and provided its input back to the IOC . \n \n Vancouver won the bid to host the Olympics by a vote of the International Olympic Committee on July 2 , 2003 , at the 115th IOC Session held in Prague , Czech Republic . The result was announced by IOC President Jacques Rogge . Vancouver faced two other finalists shortlisted that same February : Pyeongchang , South Korea , and Salzburg , Austria", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 454, "text": "whistler" } ], "id": "sfq_12666--2010_Winter_Olympics.txt", "qid": "sfq_12666", "question": "What is the name of British Columbia's most popular ski resort, which was home to the alpine skiing events in the 2010 Winter Olympics?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Stingray is a British children 's Supermarionation television series , created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and produced by AP Films for ATV and ITC Entertainment between 1964 and 1965 . Its 39 half-hour episodes were originally screened on ITV in the United Kingdom and in syndication in Canada and the United States . The scriptwriters included the Andersons , Alan Fennell , and Dennis Spooner . Barry Gray composed the music , and Derek Meddings served as special effects director . \n \n Stingray was the first Supermarionation production in which the marionette characters had interchangeable heads featuring a variety of expressions . It was also the first British television series to be filmed entirely in colour over its production run . \n \n Plot \n \n Stingray , a highly sophisticated combat submarine built for speed and manoeuvrability , is the flag vessel of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol ( WASP ) , a security organisation based at Marineville in the year 2065 . It is capable of speeds of up to 600 kn , while advanced pressure compensators allow it to submerge to depths of over 36000 ft , enabling cruising to the bottom of any part of any of the Earth 's oceans . Marineville is located somewhere in California , on the West Coast of the United States . In the case of it being under attack , battle stations is sounded and all the buildings and vehicles are sent down on hydraulic jacks into the safety of underground bunkers , protected by enormous steel and concrete shutters whilst missiles are deployed from underground silos and fighter jets are launched . The base lies 10 mi inland , and Stingray is launched from `` Pen 3 '' through a tunnel leading to the Pacific Ocean . The alerts `` action stations '' , `` launch stations '' , and `` battle stations '' are sounded by a rapid drum-beat ( composed and recorded by series composer Barry Gray ) that is played over Marineville 's public address system . Commands given by radio are acknowledged with the acronym : P.W.O.R . which stands for , `` Proceeding With Orders Received '' . \n \n The pilot of Stingray is the square-jawed Captain Troy Tempest ( whose Supermarionation puppet was modelled on actor James Garner ) . He is paired with Dixie navigator Lieutenant George Lee Sheridan , nicknamed `` Phones '' for his role as Stingray 's hydrophone operator . ( Phones ' real name , George Sheridan , is referred to in the series ' publicity material but is not mentioned on-screen . ) Troy and Phones board Stingray by sitting on twin injector seats in Marineville 's stand-by lounge , which are sent down rapidly into the vessel through injector tubes and clamped down into place . They answer to the crusty `` hoverchair '' -bound Commander Samuel Shore , whose daughter , Lieutenant Atlanta Shore , is enamoured of Troy . The reason for Shore 's disability is revealed in the episode `` The Ghost of the Sea '' : as a security agent for a deep-sea mining platform , he was injured when a hostile submersible attacked the facility and damaged his patrol craft . He managed to ram the enemy in return , and then escape to the surface , but in so doing lost the use of his legs . Sub-Lieutenant John Horatio Fisher also regularly takes shifts in the Marineville control room . \n \n During the course of the series , Stingray encounters a number of undersea races , both friendly and hostile . The Aquaphibians , an aquatic warrior race , appear regularly—usually under the command of King Titan ( modelled on Laurence Olivier ) , who is the tyrannical ruler of the underwater city of Titanica . In the pilot episode , Stingray is attacked by Titan 's forces and Troy and Phones are captured . They are rescued by Titan 's slave girl , Marina ( modelled on Brigitte Bardot ) , a mute young woman who can breathe underwater . Troy immediately becomes infatuated with Marina , causing Atlanta to become jealous . Titan , meanwhile , swears revenge for Marina 's betrayal . Marina becomes a regular member of Stingray 's crew , and later acquires a pet seal pup named Oink , who appears in a number of episodes . \n \n Many later episodes revolve around Titan 's schemes to destroy Stingray and Marineville . These often fail due to the incompetence of his spy on land , Surface Agent X20 who lives on the Island of Lemoy ( whose likeness is modelled on Claude Rains but whose voice is imitative of Peter Lorre ) . Most of the characters", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 907, "text": "wasp" } ], "id": "qz_3215--Stingray_(TV_series).txt", "qid": "qz_3215", "question": "Gerry Anderson's Stingray told about the adventures of Troy Tempest. Which organisation did Troy Tempest work for?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Greenmantle is the second of five novels by John Buchan featuring the character of Richard Hannay , first published in 1916 by Hodder & Stoughton , London . It is one of two Hannay novels set during the First World War , the other being Mr Standfast ( 1919 ) ; Hannay 's first and best-known adventure , The Thirty-Nine Steps ( 1915 ) , is set in the period immediately preceding the war . \n \n Plot introduction \n \n Hannay is called in to investigate rumours of an uprising in the Muslim world , and undertakes a perilous journey through enemy territory to meet his friend Sandy in Constantinople . Once there , he and his friends must thwart the Germans ' plans to use religion to help them win the war , climaxing at the battle of Erzurum . \n \n Plot summary \n \n The book opens in November 1915 , with Hannay and his friend Sandy convalescing from wounds received at the Battle of Loos . Sir Walter Bullivant , a senior intelligence officer , summons Hannay to the Foreign Office . Bullivant briefs Hannay on the political situation in the Middle East , suggesting that the Germans and their Turkish allies are plotting to create a Muslim uprising , that will throw the Middle East , India and North Africa into turmoil . Bullivant proposes that Hannay investigate the rumours , following a clue left on a slip of paper with the words `` Kasredin '' , `` cancer '' and `` v.I '' written by Bullivant 's son a spy , who was recently killed in the region . \n \n Despite misgivings , Hannay accepts the challenge , and picks Sandy to help him . Bullivant says that American John Blenkiron will also be useful . The three meet , ponder their clues , and head to Constantinople . Starting on 17 November , they plan to meet at a hostelry exactly two months later , going each by his own route - Blenkiron travelling through Germany as an observer , Sandy travelling through Asia Minor , using his Arab contacts , and Hannay entering enemy territory via Lisbon under a Boer guise . \n \n Hannay meets by chance an old comrade , Boer Peter Pienaar , and the two enter Germany via the Netherlands , posing as anti-British exiles itching to fight for the Germans . They meet the powerful and sinister Colonel Ulric von Stumm , and persuade him they can help persuade the Muslims to join the Germany 's side . Hannay has several more adventures , meeting famed mining engineer Herr Gaudian ( who later reappears in The Three Hostages ) , hears of the mysterious Hilda von Einem , and meets the Kaiser . \n \n Finding Stumm plans to send him to Egypt via London , Hannay flees into the snowbound countryside , tracked by the vengeful Colonel . He falls ill with malaria and is sheltered over Christmas by a poor woman in a lonely cottage . On his sickbed , he realises that the clue `` v.I '' on the piece of paper may refer to the name he overheard , von Einem . \n \n Recuperated , he carries on , travelling by barge carrying armaments down the Danube , picking up with Peter Pienaar , who has escaped from a German prison , along the way . They pass through Vienna , Budapest and Belgrade , and as they travel , Hannay connects the phrase `` der grüne Mantel '' with something else he overheard earlier . They reach Rustchuk on 10 January , with a week to go before the rendezvous in Constantinople . \n \n On arrival there , Hannay has a run-in with Rasta Bey , an important Young Turk , and intercepts a telegram showing his trail has been picked up . They carry on by train , fending off an attempt to stop them by the angry Rasta Bey , and reach Constantinople with half a day to spare . \n \n They seek out the meeting place , and are attacked by Bey and an angry mob , but rescued by a band of mysterious , wild dancing men , whom they then antagonise . Next day they return to the rendezvous , an illicit dance-room , where they find the main entertainment is none other than the wild men of the previous day . At the climax of the performance , Enver 's soldiers arrive and drag Hannay and Peter away , apparently to prison , but they are instead delivered to a cosy room containing Blenkiron and the leader of the dancers - none other than the miraculous Sandy Arbuthnot . \n \n They", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 83, "text": "richard hannay" } ], "id": "dpql_5073--Greenmantle.txt", "qid": "dpql_5073", "question": "Which character made his second appearance in the 1916 novel Greenmantle?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Prince William Sound is a sound of the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska . It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula . Its largest port is Valdez , at the southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System . Other settlements on the sound , which contains numerous small islands , include Cordova and Whittier plus the Alaska native villages of Chenega and Tatitlek . \n \n James Cook entered Prince William Sound in 1778 and named it Sandwich Sound , after his patron the Earl of Sandwich . The Sound was named in 1778 to honour George III 's third son Prince William Henry , then aged 13 and serving as a midshipman in the Royal Navy . \n \n In 1793 , Alexander Andreyevich Baranov founded port Voskresensk in the sound , which he called Chugach Bay . The first three-masted ship , Phoenix , was the first ship built by the Russians in America.Khlebnikov , K.T. , 1973 , Baranov , Chief Manager of the Russian Colonies in America , Kingston : The Limestone Press , ISBN 0919642500 \n \n Most of the land surrounding Prince William Sound is part of the Chugach National Forest , the second largest national forest in the U.S . Prince William Sound is ringed by the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains . The coastline is convoluted , with many islands and fjords , several of which contain tidewater glaciers . The principal barrier islands forming the sound are Montague Island , Hinchinbrook Island , and Hawkins Island . \n \n A 1964 tsunami , a result of the Good Friday earthquake , killed a number of Chugach villagers in the coastal village of Chenega and destroyed the town of Valdez . \n \n In 1989 , the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef after leaving Valdez , causing a large oil spill , which resulted in massive damage to the environment , including the killing of around 250,000 seabirds , nearly 3,000 sea otters , 300 harbour seals , 250 bald eagles and up to 22 killer whales .", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 1660, "text": "exxon valdez" } ], "id": "qg_773--Prince_William_Sound.txt", "qid": "qg_773", "question": "Now known as the Dong Fang Ocean, what ship ran aground in Prince William Sound, dumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into the gulf of Alaska, the 54th largest spill in history?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "The Gulag Archipelago ( ) is a book by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn about the Soviet forced labor camp system . The three-volume book is a narrative relying on eyewitness testimony and primary research material , as well as the author 's own experiences as a prisoner in a gulag labor camp . Written between 1958 and 1968 , it was published in the West in 1973 and , thereafter , circulated in samizdat ( underground publication ) form in the Soviet Union until its appearance in the Russian literary journal , Novy Mir , in 1989 , in which a third of the work was published over three issues . \n \n GULag or Gulág is an acronym for the Russian term Glavnoye Upravleniye ispravitelno-trudovyh Lagerey ( Главное Управление Исправительно-трудовых Лагерей ) , or `` Chief Administration of Corrective Labour Camps '' , the bureaucratic name of the governing board of the Soviet labour camp system , and by metonymy , the camp system itself . The original Russian title of the book is Arkhipelag GuLag , the rhyme supporting the underlying metaphor deployed throughout the work . The word archipelago compares the system of labor camps spread across the Soviet Union with a vast `` chain of islands '' , known only to those who were fated to visit them . \n \n Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of the Russian Federation , The Gulag Archipelago has been officially published , and it has been included in the high school program in Russia as mandatory reading since 2009 . \n \n Structure and factual basis \n \n Structurally , the text comprises seven sections divided ( in most printed editions ) into three volumes : parts 1–2 , parts 3–4 , and parts 5–7 . At one level , the Gulag Archipelago traces the history of the system of forced labor camps that existed in the Soviet Union from 1918 to 1956 , starting with V.I . Lenin 's original decrees shortly after the October Revolution establishing the legal and practical framework for a series of camps where political prisoners and ordinary criminals would be sentenced to forced labor . It describes and discusses the waves of purges , assembling the show trials in context of the development of the greater Gulag system with particular attention to the legal and bureaucratic development . \n \n The legal and historical narrative ends in 1956 , the time of Nikita Khrushchev 's Secret Speech at the 20th Party Congress of 1956 denouncing Stalin 's personality cult , his autocratic power , and the surveillance that pervaded the Stalin era . Though the speech was not published in the USSR for a long time , it was a break with the most atrocious practices of the Gulag system ; Solzhenitsyn was aware , however , that the outlines of the system had survived and could be revived and expanded by future leaders . \n \n Despite the efforts by Solzhenitsyn and others to confront the legacy of the Gulag , the realities of the camps remained taboo into the 1980s . While Khrushchev , the Communist Party , and the Soviet Union 's supporters in the West viewed the Gulag as a deviation of Stalin , Solzhenitsyn and many among the opposition tended to view it as a systemic fault of Soviet political culture — an inevitable outcome of the Bolshevik political project . \n \n Parallel to this historical and legal narrative , Solzhenitsyn follows the typical course of a zek ( a slang term for inmate ) , derived from the widely used abbreviation `` z/k '' for `` zakliuchennyi '' ( prisoner ) through the Gulag , starting with arrest , show trial , and initial internment ; transport to the `` archipelago '' ; treatment of prisoners and general living conditions ; slave labor gangs and the technical prison camp system ; camp rebellions and strikes ( see Kengir uprising ) ; the practice of internal exile following completion of the original prison sentence ; and the ultimate ( but not guaranteed ) release of the prisoner . Along the way , Solzhenitsyn 's examination details the trivial and commonplace events of an average prisoner 's life , as well as specific and noteworthy events during the history of the Gulag system , including revolts and uprisings . \n \n Solzhenitsyn also waxes philosophical : \n \n Aside from using his experiences as an inmate at a scientific prison ( a sharashka ) , the basis of the novel The First Circle ( 1968 ) , Solzhenitsyn draws from the testimony of 227 fellow prisoners , the firsthand accounts which base the work . One chapter of the third volume of the book is", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 49, "text": "solzhenitsyn" } ], "id": "odql_1602--The_Gulag_Archipelago.txt", "qid": "odql_1602", "question": "The novels 'The Gulag Archipelago' and 'One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich' are two of the best known works of which Russian author?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "The Balkan Peninsula , or the Balkans , is a peninsula and a cultural area in Southeast Europe with different and disputed borders . The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch from the eastern border of Serbia to the Black Sea at the east of Bulgaria . \n \n The Balkans are bordered by the Adriatic Sea on the northwest , the Ionian Sea on the southwest , the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea on the south and southeast , and the Black Sea on the east and northeast . The highest point of the Balkans is Mount Musala 2925 m on the Rila mountain range in Bulgaria . \n \n Name \n \n Antiquity and early Middle Ages \n \n From Antiquity through the Middle Ages , the Balkan Mountains had been called by the local Thracian name Haemus . According to Greek mythology , the Thracian king Haemus was turned into a mountain by Zeus as a punishment and the mountain has remained with his name . A reverse name scheme has also been suggested . D. Dechev considers that Haemus ( Αἷμος ) is derived from a Thracian word * saimon , 'mountain ridge ' . A third possibility is that `` Haemus '' ( ) derives from the Greek word `` haema '' ( ) meaning 'blood ' . The myth relates to a fight between Zeus and the monster/titan Typhon . Zeus injured Typhon with a thunder bolt and Typhon 's blood fell on the mountains from which they got their name . \n \n Late Middle Ages and Ottoman period \n \n The earliest mention of the name appears in an early 14th-century Arab map , in which the Haemus mountains are referred to as Balkan . The first attested time the name `` Balkan '' was used in the West for the mountain range in Bulgaria was in a letter sent in 1490 to Pope Innocent VIII by Buonaccorsi Callimaco , an Italian humanist , writer and diplomat . The Ottomans first mention it in a document dated from 1565 . There has been no other documented usage of the word to refer to the region before that , despite the fact that other Turkic tribes had already settled earlier or were passing through the Peninsula . There exists also a claim about an earlier Bulgar Turkic origin of the word popular in Bulgaria , however it is only an unscholary assertion . The word was used by the Ottomans in Rumelia in its general meaning of mountain , as in Kod̲j̲a-Balkan , Čatal-Balkan , and Ungurus-Balkani̊ , but especially it was applied to the Haemus mountain . In Turkish Balkan means `` a chain of wooded mountains '' ( ' ) , while in Bulgarian language the word balkan ( балкан ) means `` mountain '' . Another possibility to its etymology is related to Persian bālk meaning `` mud '' , and the Turkish suffix an , i.e . swampy forest . The name is still preserved in Central Asia with the Balkan Daglary ( Balkan Mountains ) and the Balkan Province of Turkmenistan . A less popular hypothesis regarding its etymology is that it derived from the Persian Balā-Khāna meaning big , high , house . English traveler John Morritt introduced this term into the English literature at the end of the 18th-century , and other authors started applying the name to the wider area between the Adriatic and the Black Sea . The concept of the `` Balkans '' was created by the German geographer August Zeune in 1808 . During the 1820s , `` Balkan became the preferred although not yet exclusive term alongside Haemus among British travelers ... Among Russian travelers not so burdened by classical toponymy , Balkan was the preferred term . '' \n \n Evolution of meaning \n \n As time passed , the term gradually acquired political connotations far from its initial geographic meaning , arising from political changes from the late 19th-century to the creation of post–World War I Yugoslavia ( initially the Kingdom of Serbs , Croats and Slovenes ) . Zeune 's goal was to have a geographical parallel term to the Italic and Iberian Peninsula , and seemingly nothing more . The gradually acquired political connotations are newer and , to a large extent , due to oscillating political circumstances . \n \n After the dissolution of Yugoslavia beginning in June 1991 , the term `` Balkans '' again received a negative meaning , especially in Croatia and Slovenia , even in casual usage ( see Balkanization ) . \n \n Southeast Europe \n \n In part due to the historical and political connotations of the term `` Balkans '' , especially since the military conflicts", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 311, "text": "adriatic sea" } ], "id": "qw_887--Balkans.txt", "qid": "qw_887", "question": "What is the branch of the Mediterranean Sea between Italy and the Balkans, with ports such as Bari, Venice, and Trieste?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "United States customary units are a system of measurements commonly used in the United States . The United States customary system ( USCS or USC ) developed from English units which were in use in the British Empire before American independence . However , the British system of measures was overhauled in 1824 to create the imperial system , changing the definitions of some units . Therefore , while many U.S. units are essentially similar to their Imperial counterparts , there are significant differences between the systems . \n \n The majority of U.S. customary units were redefined in terms of the meter and the kilogram with the Mendenhall Order of 1893 and , in practice , for many years before . These definitions were refined by the international yard and pound agreement of 1959 . Americans primarily use customary units in commercial activities , as well as for personal and social use . In science , medicine , many sectors of industry and some of government , metric units are used . The International System of Units ( SI ) , the modern form of the metric system , is preferred for many uses by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST ) . \n \n History \n \n The United States system of units is similar to the British imperial system . Both systems are derived from English units , a system which had evolved over the millennia before American independence , and which had its roots in Roman and Anglo-Saxon units . \n \n The customary system was championed by the U.S.-based International Institute for Preserving and Perfecting Weights and Measures in the late 19th century . Advocates of the customary system saw the French Revolutionary , or metric , system as atheistic . An auxiliary of the Institute in Ohio published a poem with wording such as `` down with every 'metric ' scheme '' and `` A perfect inch , a perfect pint '' . One adherent of the customary system called it `` a just weight and a just measure , which alone are acceptable to the Lord . '' \n \n The U.S. government passed Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 , which made the metric system `` the preferred system of weights and measures for U.S. trade and commerce . '' The legislation states that the federal government has a responsibility to assist industry as it voluntarily converts to the metric system , i.e. , metrification . This is most evident in U.S. labeling requirements on food products , where SI units are almost always presented alongside customary units . According to the CIA Factbook , the United States is one of three nations ( the others being Liberia and Burma ) that have not adopted the metric system as their official system of weights and measures . \n \n U.S. customary units are widely used on consumer products and in industrial manufacturing . Metric units are standard in science , medicine , as well as many sectors of industry and government , including the military . There are anecdotal objections to the use of metric units in carpentry and the building trades , on the basis that it is easier to remember an integer number of inches plus a fraction than a measurement in millimeters , or that foot-inch measurements are more suitable when distances are frequently divided into halves , thirds and quarters , often in parallel . The metric system also lacks a parallel to the foot . \n \n Other nations had , or still have unofficially , customary units of their own , sometimes very similar in name and measure to U.S. customary units , since they often share the same Germanic or Roman origins . Frequently , however , these units designate quite different sizes . For example , the mile ranged by country from one-half to five U.S. miles ; foot and pound also had varying definitions . Historically , a wide range of non-SI units were used in the U.S. and in Britain , but many have fallen into disuse . This article deals only with the units commonly used or officially defined in the U.S . \n \n Units of length \n \n For measuring length , the U.S. customary system uses the inch , foot , yard , and mile , which are the only four customary length measurements in everyday use . Since July 1 , 1959 , these have been defined on the basis of 1 yard 0.9144 meters except for some applications in surveying . The U.S. , the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries agreed on this definition , and so it is often termed international measure . \n \n When international measure was", "qas": [ { "answers": [], "id": "qg_2250--United_States_customary_units.txt", "qid": "qg_2250", "question": "How many cups are in a gallon?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Call Me Madam is a musical with a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin . \n \n A satire on politics and foreign policy that spoofs America 's penchant for lending billions of dollars to needy countries , it centers on Sally Adams , a well-meaning but ill-informed socialite widow who is appointed United States Ambassador to the fictional European country of Lichtenburg . While there , she charms the local gentry , especially Cosmo Constantine , while her press attaché Kenneth Gibson falls in love with Princess Maria . \n \n Background \n \n The lead character is based on Washington , D.C. hostess and Democratic Party fundraiser Perle Mesta , who was appointed Ambassador to Luxembourg in 1949 . The Playbill distributed at each performance humorously noted that `` neither the character of Mrs. Sally Adams nor Miss Ethel Merman resemble any person living or dead . '' \n \n In 1949 , Merman and her family were vacationing at the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs with Howard Lindsay and his wife Dorothy Stickney . Watching Merman poolside while reading a magazine article about Mesta , Lindsay was struck by how typically `` American '' she was and immediately envisioned her portraying a colorful character similar to the newly appointed ambassador . When he proposed the idea to Merman , who had little interest in either society or political news , she responded , `` Who 's Perle Mesta ? `` Kellow , Brian , Ethel Merman : A Life . New York : Viking Press 2007 . ISBN 0-670-01829-5 , pp . 121-142 \n \n Although Merman had announced she was interested in playing a dramatic role in her next project , Lindsay and Russel Crouse approached Irving Berlin and began working on the book for Call Me Madam when he expressed interest in composing the score . Berlin 's last production , Miss Liberty , had failed to recoup its investment , and he was determined to repeat the success he had had with Annie Get Your Gun . The three collaborators agreed they needed to treat their subject with care to avoid any legal action by Mesta . As the work progressed , Merman conceded she would be willing to sing two or three songs , but eventually accepted the fact she was going to star in a full-scale musical comedy instead of the drama she preferred . \n \n Producer Leland Hayward budgeted the production at $ 250,000 . In exchange for the original cast recording and television broadcast rights , he arranged to have it financed 100 % by RCA Records and NBC , with the two sharing 35 % of the net earnings . In order to increase the profits , Hayward decided to charge an all-time high of $ 7.20 for orchestra seats . \n \n Hayward hired George Abbott to direct , and Abbott and casting director Harold Prince auditioned thousands of actors for the twenty speaking roles and twenty-nine chorus members . Raoul Pene du Bois was hired to design sets and costumes , although the wardrobe worn by Merman was the responsibility of Mainbocher . \n \n Once the script was completed , everyone agreed that , while it was little more than standard situation comedy material , it was a perfect vehicle for Merman , and that Berlin 's score , although far from his best , was tuneful and memorable . It included the comic song `` Mr. Monotony '' , which originally was written for and dropped from the film Easter Parade . Berlin had then included it in Miss Liberty , but it was dropped from that as well . In this instance , the third time was not the charm : during out-of-town tryouts , Merman insisted it be dropped . ( In 1988 , Sarah Brightman recorded it for her CD The Songs That Got Away . ) To fill the hole its omission left in the second act , Berlin wrote `` Something to Dance About '' to give the second act a lively opening . When the star requested a duet with Russell Nype playing her lovestruck press attaché , Berlin responded by writing the counterpoint tune `` You 're Just in Love '' and it ultimately became a showstopper at every performance . \n \n Productions \n \n Directed by George Abbott and choreographed by Jerome Robbins , the musical premiered at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven , Connecticut on September 11 , 1950 . Reviews were mixed - Variety said it `` inspires warm applause rather than cheer '' —and Berlin wrote two new songs to bolster the sagging second act . It opened in Boston on September 19", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 99, "text": "irving berlin" } ], "id": "sfq_8792--Call_Me_Madam.txt", "qid": "sfq_8792", "question": "\"Who wrote the musicals \"\"Annie get your Gun\"\" and \"\"Call Me Madam\"\"?\"" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "The Tracey Ullman Show is an American television variety show starring Tracey Ullman . It debuted on April 5 , 1987 , as the Fox network 's second prime-time series after Married ... with Children , and ran until May 26 , 1990 . The show is produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television . The show blended sketch comedy shorts with many musical numbers , featuring choreography by Paula Abdul . \n \n The Tracey Ullman Show is known for producing a series of shorts featuring the Simpson family , which was adapted into the TV series The Simpsons , which is also produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television ( now 20th Television ) . \n \n Background \n \n By the 1980s , acclaimed television producer James L. Brooks ( producer of The Mary Tyler Moore Show , Taxi , and Rhoda ) , had left the television industry for the big screen . At the time that he won the Oscar for his film , Terms of Endearment , Brooks began receiving videotapes from Ullman 's Los Angeles agent , hoping to get his attention . Ullman , who was already famous in her homeland , England , was already landing a variety of television deals and proposals in America , but none had panned out . These projects did not suit Ullman 's interests . `` [ They were ] shows with morals , where everyone learns something at the end of the show '' , related Ullman to a television critic for TV Guide in 1989 , describing the television show ideas that were offered to her . Brooks was so taken by what he saw in Ullman that he decided to take the young actress under his wing and return to television . Brooks was determined to develop the right vehicle to showcase Ullman 's talents — acting , dancing , and singing — and decided to create a sketch comedy show . Ullman had already had a successful music career in the early 1980s in the UK , and had a top 10 hit on the American charts with a cover of Kirsty MacColl 's `` They Do n't Know '' and her You Broke My Heart in 17 Places . \n \n Format \n \n A typical episode would begin with Ullman giving a brief introduction , ostensibly from her dressing room , leading into the opening titles ( the show 's theme , `` You 're Thinking Right '' , was written by George Clinton ) . Then two or three comedy sketches would be presented in each episode , most designed to showcase Ullman 's ability to skillfully mimic various accents . One popular recurring character was timid , slow-talking Kay ( `` Iiit 's ... Kaaaaaaaayyy ... '' ) \n \n Typically , the final sketch of the night would include a musical and/or dance number featuring Ullman solo or other members of the cast . The final segment saw Ullman , clad in a robe , deliver a closing monologue to the studio audience before ending the show with her catchphrase `` Go Home ! Go Home ! '' and dancing as the credits rolled . Ullman often talked about her husband , Allan McKeown , and her daughter , Mabel . Ullman chose the phrase , `` Go home '' , during the show 's pilot episode because she could not think of anything clever to end with . `` Oh , you got sore bums ... go home ! '' \n \n Characters \n \n Ullman performed an array of characters . Most only appeared once , as the sketches concentrated on plot , with characters created to best tell that particular storyline . A handful of characters did however return for subsequent sketches . These include : \n \n Ginny Tillman , the ex-wife of a Beverly Hills proctologist ; Francesca McDowell , a 14-year-old New York City girl being raised by her father Dave ( portrayed by Castellaneta ) and his partner William ( McMurray ) ; Tina , a Brooklyn postal employee who is best friends with her co-worker Meg ( Kavner ) ; Sarah Downey , a quintessential yuppie married to attorney Greg ( Castellaneta ) ; Kay Clark , an English office worker and caregiver to her sick mother ( Kay also appeared frequently in Tracey Takes On ... ) ; Sandra Decker , an aged Hollywood movie actress ; Kiki Howard-Smith , an Australian professional golfer ; Summer Storm , a Los Angeles disc jockey ; and Angel Tish , a singer who appeared with her husband Marty ( Castellaneta ) . \n \n Among the recurring characters portrayed by other cast members , besides", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 547, "text": "simpsons" } ], "id": "qg_1073--The_Tracey_Ullman_Show.txt", "qid": "qg_1073", "question": "What TV staple had its debut on April 19, 1987 as a short on The Tracy Ullman Show?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "The Commonwealth of Nations , or the Commonwealth ( formerly the British Commonwealth ) , is an intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that were mostly territories of the former British Empire . The Commonwealth operates by intergovernmental consensus of the member states , organised through the Commonwealth Secretariat , and non-governmental organisations , organised through the Commonwealth Foundation . \n \n The Commonwealth dates back to the mid-20th century with the decolonisation of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its territories . It was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949 , which established the member states as `` free and equal '' . The symbol of this free association is Queen Elizabeth II who is the Head of the Commonwealth . The Queen is also the monarch of 16 members of the Commonwealth , known as Commonwealth realms . The other Commonwealth members have different heads of state : 32 members are republics and five are monarchies with a different monarch . \n \n Member states have no legal obligation to one another . Instead , they are united by language , history , culture and their shared values of democracy , human rights , and the rule of law . These values are enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter and promoted by the quadrennial Commonwealth Games . On 3 October 2013 , after 48 years of membership , The Gambia became the most recent nation to withdraw from the Commonwealth . \n \n The Commonwealth covers more than 29958050 km2 , almost a quarter of the world 's land area , and spans all six inhabited continents . With an estimated population of 2.328 billion , nearly a third of the world population , the Commonwealth in 2014 produced a nominal gross domestic product ( GDP ) of $ 10.45 trillion , representing 17 % of the gross world product when measured in purchasing power parity ( PPP ) and 14 % of the gross world product when measured nominally . \n \n History \n \n Origin \n \n Queen Elizabeth II , in her address to Canada on Dominion Day in 1959 , pointed out that the confederation of Canada on 1 July 1867 had been the birth of the `` first independent country within the British Empire '' . She declared : `` So , it also marks the beginning of that free association of independent states which is now known as the Commonwealth of Nations . '' As long ago as 1884 , however , Lord Rosebery , while visiting Australia , had described the changing British Empire—as some of its colonies became more independent—as a `` Commonwealth of Nations '' . Conferences of British and colonial prime ministers occurred periodically from the first one in 1887 , leading to the creation of the Imperial Conferences in 1911 . \n \n The Commonwealth developed from the imperial conferences . A specific proposal was presented by Jan Smuts in 1917 when he coined the term `` the British Commonwealth of Nations '' and envisioned the `` future constitutional relations and readjustments in essence '' at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 by delegates from the Dominions as well as Britain . The term first received imperial statutory recognition in the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 , when the term British Commonwealth of Nations was substituted for British Empire in the wording of the oath taken by members of parliament of the Irish Free State . \n \n Dominions \n \n In the Balfour Declaration at the 1926 Imperial Conference , Britain and its dominions agreed they were `` equal in status , in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs , though united by common allegiance to the Crown , and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations . '' These aspects to the relationship were formalised by the Statute of Westminster in 1931 , which applied to Canada without the need for ratification , but Australia , New Zealand , and Newfoundland had to ratify the statute for it to take effect . Newfoundland never did , as on 16 February 1934 , with the consent of its parliament , the government of Newfoundland voluntarily ended and governance reverted to direct control from London . Newfoundland later joined Canada as its 10th province in 1949 . Australia and New Zealand ratified the Statute in 1942 and 1947 respectively . \n \n Although the Union of South Africa was not among the Dominions that needed to adopt the Statute of Westminster for it to take effect , two laws—the Status of the Union Act , 1934 , and the Royal Executive Functions and Seals Act of 1934—were passed to confirm South Africa 's status", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 3856, "text": "new zealand" } ], "id": "sfq_4969--Commonwealth_of_Nations.txt", "qid": "sfq_4969", "question": "\"Which Commonwealth country is known as \"\"The Land of the Long White Cloud\"\"?\"" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Chinese culture ( ) is one of the world 's oldest cultures , traces back to thousands and thousands of years ago . The area in which the culture is dominant covers a large geographical region in eastern Asia with customs and traditions varying greatly between provinces , cities , and even towns as well . Important components of Chinese culture includes ceramics , architecture , music , literature , martial arts , cuisine , visual arts , philosophy and religion . \n \n Identity \n \n There are 56 officially recognized ethnic groups in China . In terms of numbers however , Han Chinese is by far the largest group . Throughout history , many groups have merged into neighboring ethnicities or disappeared . At the same time , many within the Han identity have maintained distinct linguistic and regional cultural traditions . The term Zhonghua Minzu has been used to describe the notion of Chinese nationalism in general . Much of the traditional identity within the community has to do with distinguishing the family name . \n \n Regional \n \n Traditional Chinese Culture covers large geographical territories , where each region is usually divided into distinct sub-cultures . Each region is often represented by three ancestral items . For example , Guangdong is represented by chenpi , aged ginger and hay . Others include ancient cities like Lin'an ( Hangzhou ) , which include tea leaf , bamboo shoot trunk , and hickory nut . Such distinctions give rise to the old Chinese proverb : `` '' ( Shí lǐ bù tóng fēng , bǎi lǐ bù tóng sú ) , literally `` the praxis vary within ten li , customs vary within a hundred li . '' '' \n \n Society \n \n Structure \n \n Since the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors period , some form of Chinese monarch has been the main ruler above all . Different periods of history have different names for the various positions within society . Conceptually each imperial or feudal period is similar , with the government and military officials ranking high in the hierarchy , and the rest of the population under regular Chinese law . From the late Zhou Dynasty ( 1046–256 BCE ) onwards , traditional Chinese society was organized into a hierarchic system of socio-economic classes known as the four occupations . \n \n However , this system did not cover all social groups while the distinctions between all groups became blurred ever since the commercialization of Chinese culture in the Song Dynasty ( 960–1279 CE ) . Ancient Chinese education also has a long history ; ever since the Sui Dynasty ( 581–618 CE ) educated candidates prepared for the Imperial examinations which drafted exam graduates into government as scholar-bureaucrats . \n \n This led to the creation of a meritocracy , although success was available only to males who could afford test preparation . Imperial examinations required applicants to write essays and demonstrate mastery of the Confucian classics . Those who passed the highest level of the exam became elite scholar-officials known as jinshi , a highly esteemed socio-economic position . A major mythological structure developed around the topic of the mythology of the imperial exams . Trades and crafts were usually taught by a shifu . The female historian Ban Zhao wrote the Lessons for Women in the Han Dynasty and outlined the four virtues women must abide to , while scholars such as Zhu Xi and Cheng Yi would expand upon this . Chinese marriage and Taoist sexual practices are some of the rituals and customs found in society . \n \n Values \n \n Most social values are derived from Confucianism and Taoism . The subject of which school was the most influential is always debated as many concepts such as Neo-Confucianism , Buddhism and many others have come about . Reincarnation and other rebirth concept is a reminder of the connection between real-life and the after-life . In Chinese business culture , the concept of guanxi , indicating the primacy of relations over rules , has been well documented . \n \n Confucianism was the official philosophy throughout most of Imperial China 's history , and mastery of Confucian texts was the primary criterion for entry into the imperial bureaucracy . A number of more authoritarian strains of thought have also been influential , such as Legalism . \n \n There was often conflict between the philosophies , e.g . the Song Dynasty Neo-Confucians believed Legalism departed from the original spirit of Confucianism . Examinations and a culture of merit remain greatly valued in China today . In recent years , a number of New Confucians ( not to be confused with Neo-Confucianism ) have advocated that democratic ideals", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 2092, "text": "2" } ], "id": "bb_493--Chinese_culture.txt", "qid": "bb_493", "question": "Basic parts of the Chinese Taijitu symbol (related to Taoism philosphy and popular interpretations of yin and yang)?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "World War I ( WWI or WW1 ) , also known as the First World War , or the Great War , was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918 . More than 70 million military personnel , including 60 million Europeans , were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history . Over 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians died as a result of the war ( including the victims of a number of genocides ) , a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents ' technological and industrial sophistication , and the tactical stalemate caused by gruelling trench warfare . It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history , and paved the way for major political changes , including revolutions in many of the nations involved . \n \n The war drew in all the world 's economic great powers , assembled in two opposing alliances : the Allies ( based on the Triple Entente of the British Empire , France and the Russian Empire ) versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary . Although Italy was a member of the Triple Alliance alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary , it did not join the Central Powers , as Austria-Hungary had taken the offensive , against the terms of the alliance . These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war : Italy , Japan and the United States joined the Allies , while the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers . \n \n The trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria , heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary , by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 . This set off a diplomatic crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia , and entangled international alliances formed over the previous decades were invoked . Within weeks , the major powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world . \n \n On 28 July , the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia . As Russia mobilised in support of Serbia , Germany invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France , leading the United Kingdom to declare war on Germany . After the German march on Paris was halted , what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition , with a trench line that changed little until 1917 . On the Eastern Front , the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians , but the Germans stopped its invasion of East Prussia . In November 1914 , the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers , opening fronts in the Caucasus , Mesopotamia and the Sinai . In 1915 , Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Power ; Romania joined the Allies in 1916 , as did the United States in 1917 . \n \n The Russian government collapsed in March 1917 , and a revolution in November brought the Russians to terms with the Central Powers via the Treaty of Brest Litovsk , which was a massive German victory . After a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918 , the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives . On 4 November 1918 , the Austro-Hungarian empire agreed to an armistice , and Germany , which had its own trouble with revolutionaries , agreed to an armistice on 11 November 1918 , ending the war in victory for the Allies . \n \n By the end of the war , the German Empire , Russian Empire , Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist . National borders were redrawn , with several independent nations restored or created , and Germany 's colonies were parceled out among the winners . During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 , the Big Four ( Britain , France , the United States and Italy ) imposed their terms in a series of treaties . The League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict . This effort failed , and economic depression , renewed European nationalism , weakened member states , and the German feeling of humiliation contributed to the rise of Nazism . These conditions eventually contributed to World War II . \n \n Names \n \n From the time of its start until the approach of World War II , the First World War was called simply the World War or the Great War and thereafter the First World War or World War I . At the time , it was also sometimes called `` the war to end war ''", "qas": [ { "answers": [], "id": "tc_2603--World_War_I.txt", "qid": "tc_2603", "question": "Which treaty after World War I established the League of Nations?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music that began in the mid-1960s , with the garage , psychedelic and blues rock movements . It is typified by a heavy use of aggressive vocals , distorted electric guitars , bass guitar , drums , and often accompanied with pianos and keyboards . \n \n Hard rock developed into a major form of popular music in the 1970s , with bands such as Led Zeppelin , The Who , Deep Purple , Aerosmith , AC/DC and Van Halen . During the 1980s , some hard rock bands moved away from their hard rock roots and more towards pop rock , V . Bogdanov , C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine , All Music Guide to Rock : the Definitive Guide to Rock , Pop , and Soul ( Milwaukee , WI : Backbeat Books , 3rd edn. , 2002 ) , ISBN 0-87930-653-X , pp . 903–5 . while others began to return to a hard rock sound . Established bands made a comeback in the mid-1980s and it reached a commercial peak in the 1980s , with glam metal bands like Bon Jovi and Def Leppard and the rawer sounds of Guns N ' Roses , which followed up with great success in the later part of that decade . Hard rock began losing popularity with the commercial success of grunge and later Britpop in the 1990s . \n \n Despite this , many post-grunge bands adopted a hard rock sound and in the 2000s there came a renewed interest in established bands , attempts at a revival , and new hard rock bands that emerged from the garage rock and post-punk revival scenes . In the 2000s , only a few hard rock bands from the 1970s and 1980s managed to sustain highly successful recording careers . \n \n Definitions \n \n Hard rock is a form of loud , aggressive rock music . The electric guitar is often emphasised , used with distortion and other effects , both as a rhythm instrument using repetitive riffs with a varying degree of complexity , and as a solo lead instrument . Drumming characteristically focuses on driving rhythms , strong bass drum and a backbeat on snare , sometimes using cymbals for emphasis.R . Shuker , Popular Music : the Key Concepts , ( Abingdon : Routledge , 2nd end. , 2005 ) , ISBN 0-415-34770-X , pp . 130–1 . The bass guitar works in conjunction with the drums , occasionally playing riffs , but usually providing a backing for the rhythm and lead guitars . Vocals are often growling , raspy , or involve screaming or wailing , sometimes in a high range , or even falsetto voice . \n \n Hard rock has sometimes been labelled cock rock for its emphasis on overt masculinity and sexuality and because it has historically been predominantly performed and consumed by men : in the case of its audience , particularly white , working-class adolescents . \n \n In the late 1960s , the term heavy metal was used interchangeably with hard rock , but gradually began to be used to describe music played with even more volume and intensity . While hard rock maintained a bluesy rock and roll identity , including some swing in the back beat and riffs that tended to outline chord progressions in their hooks , heavy metal 's riffs often functioned as stand-alone melodies and had no swing in them .. Heavy metal took on `` darker '' characteristics after Black Sabbath 's breakthrough at the beginning of the 1970s . In the 1980s it developed a number of subgenres , often termed extreme metal , some of which were influenced by hardcore punk , and which further differentiated the two styles.V . Bogdanov , C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine , All Music Guide to Rock : the Definitive Guide to Rock , Pop , and Soul ( Milwaukee , WI : Backbeat Books , 3rd edn. , 2002 ) , ISBN 0-87930-653-X , pp . 1332–3 . Despite this differentiation , hard rock and heavy metal have existed side by side , with bands frequently standing on the boundary of , or crossing between , the genres . \n \n History \n \n The roots of hard rock can be traced back to the 1950s , particularly electric blues , which laid the foundations for key elements such as a rough declamatory vocal style , heavy guitar riffs , string-bending blues-scale guitar solos , strong beat , thick riff-laden texture , and posturing performances.Michael Campbell & James Brody ( 2007 ) , Rock and Roll : An Introduction , [ https : //books.google.co.uk/books ? idXTo8AAAAQBAJ & pg \n PA201", "qas": [ { "answers": [], "id": "sfq_19857--Hard_rock.txt", "qid": "sfq_19857", "question": "Brian Johnson is the singer with which 'hard-rock' band founded in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "`` Georgia on My Mind '' is a song by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell , now often associated with the version by Ray Charles , a native of Georgia , who recorded it for his 1960 album The Genius Hits the Road . It became the official state song of Georgia in 1979 . \n \n Original version \n \n The song was written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael ( music ) and Stuart Gorrell ( lyrics ) . Although it is frequently asserted that the lyrics were written not about the state of Georgia , but rather for Carmichael 's sister , Georgia Carmichael , Hoagy Carmichael himself contradicted this view with his recounting of the origin of the song in his second autobiography Sometimes I Wonder . Carmichael wrote that the song was composed when bandleader Frankie Trumbauer suggested that he write about the state of Georgia . According to Carmichael , Trumbauer also suggested the opening lyrics should be `` Georgia , Georgia ... '' , with the remaining lyrics coming from Gorrell . Carmichael made no mention at all of his sister in his telling of the song 's genesis . \n \n The song was first recorded on September 15 , 1930 , in New York by Hoagy Carmichael and His Orchestra with Bix Beiderbecke on muted cornet and Hoagy Carmichael on vocals . It featured Eddie Lang on guitar . The recording was part of Beiderbecke 's last recording session . The recording was released as Victor 23013 with `` One Night in Havana '' . In 2014 , the recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame . \n \n Recordings \n \n The song has been recorded by many artists , significant among them : Ailee , Richard Manuel , Billie Holiday , Louis Armstrong , Ethel Waters , Frankie Laine , Dean Martin , Jerry Reed , Glenn Miller , Eddy Arnold , The Anita Kerr Singers , Brenda Lee , Zac Brown Band , Michael Bublé , Michael Bolton , Dave Brubeck , Anita O'Day , Mildred Bailey , Leon Russell , George Roberts , Ella Fitzgerald , Rebecca Parris , Gerald Albright , Jo Stafford , Gladys Knight , Gene Krupa , Grover Washington , Jr. , James Brown , Usher , Fats Waller , Billie Holiday , Nat Gonella and The Georgians , Django Reinhardt , Khalil Fong , Wes Montgomery , Jerry Garcia , John Scofield , John Mayer , Jerry Lee Lewis , Little Willie Littlefield , The Righteous Brothers , Deep Purple , Tom Jones , Jackie Wilson , Maceo Parker , Crystal Gayle , Van Morrison , Willie Nelson , The Hi-Lo 's , Ray Bryant , Coldplay , Annie Lennox ( from Nostalgia 2014 ) , the Spencer Davis Group ( with Steve Winwood on vocals ) , Tony Rice , Lou Rawls , Arturo Sandoval , instrumental version by Oscar Peterson , and Al Hirt . Bing Crosby recorded this song twice : in 1956 with Buddy Cole and his trio and in 1975 with Paul Smith and Band for the LP A Southern Memoir . \n \n Frankie Trumbauer had the first major hit recording in 1931 , when his recording made the top ten on the charts . Trumbauer had suggested that Carmichael compose the song . Another 1931 hit version was Mildred Bailey 's vocal made with members of Paul Whiteman 's Orchestra ( Victor 22880 ) . \n \n Instrumental version was recorded on March 20 , 1962 , for the LP There Is Nothing Like a Dame with Pete Candoli and Conte Candoli on trumpets , Shelly Manne on drums , Jimmy Rowles on piano , Howard Roberts on guitar and Gary Peacock on bass . \n \n The song was a standard at performances by Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks in the late 1950s and early 1960s , where it was sung by pianist Richard Manuel . When The Hawks split off on their own and became The Band , they kept the song as part of their repertoire . They recorded a studio version of the song for Jimmy Carter 's presidential bid in 1976 , which was released as a single that year as well as on their 1977 album Islands . \n \n Cold Chisel 's version of the song appeared on the album Barking Spiders Live : 1983 and has become a staple of their live shows . Guitarist Ian Moss still performs the song and a live version is included in his Let 's All Get Together album . \n \n The song is also associated with the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps . `` Georgia '' was originally featured in their 1979 show and the corps", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 38, "text": "hoagy carmichael" } ], "id": "sfq_7610--Georgia_on_My_Mind.txt", "qid": "sfq_7610", "question": "Which American composer wrote the music for the songs Stardust and Georgia on my Mind?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "for the Marina Prior album of the same name , see All I Ask of You ( album ) \n \n `` All I Ask of You '' is a song from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical version of The Phantom of the Opera . It was released as a single by Cliff Richard and Sarah Brightman in 1986 . In the UK it reached No . 3 on the Singles Chart and was certified Silver . It reached No . 1 in both Ireland and South Africa . \n \n Background \n \n The song occurs at the end of Act I of the musical . Christine Daaé , terrified of the Phantom after a stagehand is found murdered during an opera performance , flees to the roof of the Paris Opera House with her childhood friend , Raoul , Vicomte de Chagny . He promises to love her and keep her safe from the Phantom , who is listening in on the exchange without their knowledge . Heartbroken and furious at being spurned , he swears revenge against Raoul and causes the Opera 's giant chandelier to crash to the floor . \n \n Track listing \n \n 7-inch vinyl \n \n # `` All I Ask of You '' duet with Cliff Richard \n # `` Phantom Overture Act II '' \n \n 12-inch vinyl \n \n # `` All I Ask of You '' duet with Cliff Richard \n # `` Only You '' with Cliff Richard ( from Starlight Express ) \n # `` Phantom Overture Act II '' \n \n Chart performance \n \n ; Cliff Richard and Sarah Brightman version \n \n ; Josh Groban and Kelly Clarkson version \n \n Covers \n \n * Barbra Streisand for her album Till I Loved You ( 1988 ) \n * The Shadows recorded an instrumental version for their album Steppin ' to the Shadows ( 1989 ) \n * Stephanie Lawrence and Carl Wayne recorded a version for the album The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection ( 1991 ) \n * The King 's Singers included a choral arrangement on their album , Chanson D'Amour ( 1993 ) \n * Elaine Paige performed a solo version of the track on her album , Essential Musicals ( 2006 ) \n * Julian Lloyd Webber recorded the song in a special arrangement for cello by its original orchestrator , David Cullen , on the album Lloyd Webber Plays Lloyd Webber ( 2001 ) \n * Susan Boyle recorded the song with Donny Osmond on her album Standing Ovation : The Greatest Songs from the Stage ( 2012 ) \n * Tim Callicrate covered the song on his album Serenade From Tahoe II \n * Trisha Crowe and Michael Falzon for the Australian compilation album I Dreamed a Dream : Hit Songs of Broadway for ABC Classics \n * Filipina Singer , Jolina Magdangal and her brother , Gabby David Magdangal covered the song on her 2014 album , via GMA Records \n * Josh Groban recorded the song as a duet with Kelly Clarkson for his album Stages ( 2015 ) \n * Marina Prior and Mark Vincent covered the song on their 2016 album Together", "qas": [ { "answers": [], "id": "sfq_650--All_I_Ask_of_You.txt", "qid": "sfq_650", "question": "\"\"\"Music of the Night\"\" and \"\"All I Ask of You\"\" are songs from which stage musical?\"" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Mrs. Lovett is a fictional character appearing in many adaptations of the story Sweeney Todd . She is most commonly referred to as Nellie , although Margery , Maggie , Sarah , Shirley , Wilhemina and Claudetta are other names she has been given . First appearing in the penny dreadful serial The String of Pearls , it is debated if she was based on an actual person or not . The character also appears in modern media related to Sweeney Todd including the Stephen Sondheim musical and its 2007 film adaptation . \n \n Character overview \n \n In every version of the story in which she appears , Mrs. Lovett is the business partner and accomplice of barber/serial killer Sweeney Todd ; in some versions , she is also his lover . She makes and sells meat pies made from Todd 's victims . \n \n Usually , Mrs. Lovett is depicted as a childless widow , although in some depictions ( but very rarely ) Mr. Albert Lovett is shown . Before she goes into business with Todd , she is on the verge of poverty , with her premises being filthy and infested with vermin . In the musical , she has resorted to using a rather revolting substitute for meat , and laments her pies are the worst ones in London . While she feels no remorse about killing people and serving them as pies , she is sometimes shown to have a softer side to those in need ; for example , she informally adopts the young orphan Tobias Ragg as her own , and considers taking in Todd 's daughter Johanna as well . \n \n Various interpretations \n \n Although Mrs. Lovett 's character and role in the story are similar in each version , certain details vary according to the story 's interpretation . In some versions , for example , Mrs. Lovett commits suicide when their crimes are discovered , while in others , Todd kills her himself or she is arrested and escapes execution by turning King 's Evidence against Todd . Her physical appearance varies from a slim and alluring beauty , to a plump , homely lunatic . Her age is also differing in many adaptaions ; though it is never specifically stated in any versions , there are some ( most noticeably in Sondheim 's musical ) where she is older than Todd , often by a difference of over fifteen years and others where she is around his age . Whether their relationship is platonic , romantic or merely sexual also varies according to interpretation . \n \n Role in the musical \n \n In Stephen Sondheim 's 1979 stage musical Sweeney Todd , the Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Tim Burton 's 2007 film adaptation , Todd pays a visit to Mrs. Lovett 's pie shop below his old home after 15 years in exile , seeking information about his lost family . Mrs. Lovett recognizes him as her former tenant , Benjamin Barker , with whom she was ( and is ) secretly in love . She informs him that his wife , Lucy , was raped by Judge Turpin—who exiled Todd on a false charge—and informs Todd that Lucy was so distraught that she poisoned herself with arsenic . Seeking vengeance , Todd reopens his shaving parlour above the shop , and slits the throats of his customers . Mrs. Lovett initiates a plan for Todd to send the corpses of his victims down a chute that leads to her bakehouse . She then uses the flesh to bake meat pies , which makes her business very successful . \n \n She and Todd take in an orphan , Tobias Ragg , to whom she becomes like a mother . She also dreams of marrying Todd , who is completely uninterested in her . \n \n In the story 's climactic `` Final Sequence '' , Todd murders Beadle Bamford , Turpin and a beggar woman , and discovers that the latter is actually Lucy . Todd confronts Mrs. Lovett , who confesses that Lucy survived drinking the poison but was driven insane , reduced to begging . Todd then demands why Mrs. Lovett lied to him , to which Mrs. Lovett then confesses her love to Todd , and promises she would be a better wife than Lucy ever was . Todd pretends to forgive her , but later throws her into the furnace , burning her alive as retribution for her lies . However , killing Lovett proves to be Todd 's fatal mistake ; Tobias , who loved her like a mother , emerges from hiding and kills Todd by slitting his throat with his own razor .", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 80, "text": "sweeney todd" } ], "id": "qz_2883--Mrs._Lovett.txt", "qid": "qz_2883", "question": "Which killer lived at 186 Fleet Street and gave the bodies of his victims to Mrs Lovett for her to make meat pies with?" } ] } ] }

{ "paragraphs": [ { "context": "Timothy James `` Tim '' Curry ( born 19 April 1946 ) is an English actor , voice actor and singer , known for his work in a diverse range of theatre , film and television productions , often portraying villainous roles or character parts . Curry first rose to prominence with his portrayal of Dr Frank-N-Furter in the 1975 cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show , reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London and 1974 Los Angeles stage productions of The Rocky Horror Show . \n \n His other stage roles include Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the 1980 Broadway production of Amadeus , The Pirate King in the 1982 West End production of The Pirates of Penzance , Alan Swann in the Broadway production of My Favourite Year and King Arthur in Broadway and West End productions of Spamalot from 2005 to 2007 . \n \n Curry garnered further acclaim for his film and television roles ; as Rooster Hannigan in the 1982 film adaptation of Annie , as Darkness in the fantasy film Legend , as Wadsworth in the mystery comedy film Clue , as Pennywise in the horror miniseries It and as Nigel Thornberry on the animated television series The Wild Thornberrys . \n \n Early life \n \n Curry was born in Grappenhall , Cheshire . His father , James Curry , a chaplain in the Royal Navy , died when Curry was twelve . Curry 's mother Patricia , a school secretary , died in June 1999 after living with cancer for two years . His older sister , Judith `` Judy '' , was a concert pianist . \n \n Curry spent most of his childhood in Plymouth , Devon ; but , after his father 's death from pneumonia in 1958 , his family moved to South London . Curry then went to boarding school and attended Kingswood School in Bath , Somerset . He developed into a talented boy soprano ( treble ) . Deciding to concentrate on acting , Curry graduated from the University of Birmingham with a combined degree in English and Drama ( BA Drama & Theatre Studies , 1968 ) . \n \n Acting career \n \n Rocky Horror \n \n Curry 's first full-time role was as part of the original London cast of the musical Hair in 1968 , where he first met Richard O'Brien who went on to write Curry 's next full-time role , that of Dr Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show ( 1975 ) . Curry recalled his first encounter with the project : \n \n Originally , Curry rehearsed the character with a German accent and peroxide blond hair , and later , with an American accent . In March 2005 , in an interview with Terry Gross of NPR 's Fresh Air , he explains that he decided to play Dr Frank N. Furter with an English accent after listening to an English woman say , `` Do you have a house in town or a house in the country , '' and decided , `` Yes , ( Dr Frank N. Furter ) should sound like the Queen . '' \n \n Curry originally thought the character was merely a laboratory doctor dressed in a white lab coat . However , at the suggestion of director Sharman , the character evolved into the diabolical mad scientist and transvestite with an upper class Belgravia accent that carried over to the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show and made Curry both a star and a cult figure . He continued to play the character in London , Los Angeles and New York City until 1975 . \n \n In an interview with NPR , Curry called Rocky Horror a `` rite of passage , '' and added that the film is `` a guaranteed weekend party to which you can go with or without a date and probably find one if you do n't have one and it 's also a chance for people to try on a few roles for size , you know ? Figure out , help them maybe figure out their own sexuality . '' \n \n Theatre \n \n Shortly after the end of Rocky Horrors run on Broadway , Curry returned to the stage with Tom Stoppard 's Travesties , which ran in London and New York from 1975 to 1976 . Travesties was a Broadway hit which won two Tony Awards ( Best Performance by an Actor for John Wood and Best Comedy ) , as well as the New York Drama Critics Circle Award ( Best Play ) , and Curry 's performance as the famous dadaist Tristan Tzara received good reviews . \n \n In 1981 ,", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_start": 337, "text": "rocky horror picture show" } ], "id": "sfq_19068--Tim_Curry.txt", "qid": "sfq_19068", "question": "Tim Curry played Dr Frank-N-Furter in which 1978 musical film?" } ] } ] }