Appearance
question:Q:Kadin loved the desert. Many creatures lived in the desert. Some learned to survive within her harsh burning grip. Some even learned to thrive in her, building stone monuments to themselves and living their lives surrounded in the lavish luxuries of Gods. How puny their monuments were compared to the desert herself. Where they had castles surrounded by dry moats, the desert had mountains surrounded by thousand year sandstorms. Where they had silks and the most beautiful slaves serving their every greatest desire, she had dunes that stretched for a thousand leagues and a sun that burned huge and deep crimson in the violet sky. Where desert kings, the Danken, dined on the finest food and drank the finest wine, the desert drank every drop of water from the air itself and feasted on men. Kadin knew the desert. He knew her voice whispering in the dark of night like a dangerous lover. The sound he heard now was not her voice but a cry from one trapped within the desert's teeth. It was the cry of a woman. Kadin rose from his makeshift bed in the dip of two dunes. He stood quickly, tying the leather straps of his knife belt around his waist. He pulled on his boots and silently mounted White Ash. THe mare felt his soft touch and made no sound. Kadin listened and heard the cry again. He studied the dunes in the darkness of night. THe blood moon painted the desert a deep red. He felt the echos and turned White Ash towards their origin. He rode quietly into the night. Kadin saw the glow of torchlight long before cresting the hill. He guessed four riders from the sound of their horses and confirmed it when he rose above them. Three men, now on foot, chased a woman in black across the dune. Their horses stood back, panting from a hard ride. The woman's own stallion lay dead, a black arrow buried in its flank. Question: Kadin must make a decision about: Options: A. Whether to build a castle in the desert. B. Whether or not to sell his horse White Ash. C. Whether or not to help the woman. D. not enough information === The correct answer is A:
answer:C. Whether or not to help the woman.
question:In this task, you are given a short story consisting of exactly 5 sentences where the second sentence is missing. You are given a candidate for the second sentence and you need to identify if the given sentence connects the first sentence with the rest of the story. Indicate your answer by "Yes" if it connects, otherwise "No". Do not generate anything else apart from "Yes" or "No". The given sentence is incorrect if it changes the subsequent storyline, so that at least one of the three subsequent sentences form a consistent story. Sentence 1: Neil was on a trip through Europe. Sentence 3: He was going to hike across the top of Spain Sentence 4: He prepared his supplies and set out Sentence 5: Neil was walking the Camino de Compostela! Given Sentence 2: They are stuffed rice balls.
answer:No
question:Please write a short summary for the following article: Watch: New video shows how the Islamic State destroyed an ancient city Over the weekend, the Islamic State released a new video that seemed to confirm the extremist organization's role in the destruction of antiquities in the ancient fortress city of Hatra, a UNESCO heritage site in northern Iraq. The video shows militants chipping away at Hatra's walls, attacking carvings and statues with pickaxes and sledgehammers. In one scene, a militant wildly fires his automatic weapon at the growing debris and ruin. According to the Islamic State's puritanical creed, the "idols" of pre-Islamic civilizations are heretical, false images of divinity that must be destroyed. Iraqi authorities in March confirmed that the extremists had set about smashing and vandalizing a number of key ancient sites in the Nineveh plain, a region around the Iraqi city of Mosul that is steeped in centuries upon centuries of rich history. The international condemnation even led U.S. military officials to ponder some sort of targeted response to protect these antiquities. The Islamic State appears undeterred. "Islamic State has sent us to these idols to destroy them," says one of the militants in the video, according to the Guardian. "Some of the infidel organizations say the destruction of these alleged artifacts is a war crime. We will destroy your artifacts and idols anywhere and Islamic State will rule your lands." "Praise to God, who enabled us and the soldiers of Islamic State to remove the signs of polytheism," says one Islamic State fighter toward the video's end. Until its ravaging at the hands of the extremists, Hatra was a remarkably well-preserved ancient site. It first rose to prominence in the 3rd century, probably as a garrison town for the Seleucid Empire, one of the quasi-Greek kingdoms that emerged after the death of Alexander the Great and the splintering of his short-lived empire in Asia. According to UNESCO's listing, Hatra bears the traces of a series of ancient cultures, including Roman influence as well as a succession of Persian empires. "The perfect condition of the double wall," details the United Nations' cultural agency, "in an untouched environment sets it aside as an outstanding example" of the architecture of this period, more than 2,000 years old. That is, until the Islamic State and its brutish zealots reached the site. Ishaan Tharoor writes about foreign affairs for The Washington Post. He previously was a senior editor at TIME, based first in Hong Kong and later in New York.
answer:The bad people from a group called Islamic State broke many old and special things in a very old city called Hatra in Iraq. Hatra had beautiful walls, carvings, and statues that were more than 2,000 years old. These bad people used big hammers and noisy guns to break everything because they think these old things go against their beliefs. Many people around the world are very sad and angry because these special things can never be made again.
question:Question: What topics of conversation would Ulam and Von Neumann typically share? Is "When von Neumann was dying in hospital, every time Ulam would visit he would come prepared with a new collection of jokes to cheer up his friend." the correct answer? Pick your answer from: - yes. - no.
answer:No, that answer refers to a particular event during von Neumann's illness and not the typical topics of conversation Ulam and von Neumann would share throughout their friendship and professional relationship. To better understand their usual conversations, it's important to know their backgrounds and contributions to science and mathematics. Stanislaw Ulam and John von Neumann were both prominent mathematicians and researchers, with a significant impact on areas such as computer science, game theory, nuclear physics, and cellular automata. Their conversations likely revolved around these and other related subjects as they collaborated on various projects and engaged in intellectual pursuits. Some of the key topics they would typically discuss include: 1. Mathematics: Both Ulam and von Neumann had strong backgrounds in mathematics, and they collaborated on mathematical projects throughout their lives. They might have discussed theoretical aspects and practical applications of mathematics, including developments in set theory, number theory, and functional analysis. 2. Nuclear physics: Ulam was involved in the Manhattan Project, while von Neumann worked extensively on the mathematical modeling of nuclear chain reactions. It is quite plausible that they would discuss advancements and discoveries related to nuclear physics. 3. Computing: Von Neumann is well-known for his development of the von Neumann architecture, which laid the foundation for digital computers. Ulam was also involved in early computer science research, so conversations about the future of computing and computational methods would have been common between them. 4. Game theory: Von Neumann was a pioneer of game theory, a field that uses mathematical models to study the decision-making process in strategic situations. Ulam and von Neumann would undoubtedly discuss the implications of game theory on real-world problems, like economics, politics, and military strategies. 5. Cellular automata: Von Neumann's work on self-reproducing cellular automata had a significant impact on the study of complex systems, artificial life, and pattern formation. Ulam may have been interested in discussing the potential applications of cellular automata in computer science and mathematical modeling of natural processes. Despite their shared professional interests, Ulam's gesture of bringing jokes to von Neumann when he was ill indeed demonstrated their personal bond and the lighter side of their friendship. However, their typical conversations would more likely center around the significant contributions they were making to mathematics, computer science, and other interdisciplinary fields.