TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you're given passages that contain mentions of names of people, places, or things. Some of these mentions refer to the same person, place, or thing. Your job is to write questions that evaluate one's understanding of such references. Good questions are expected to link pronouns (she, her, him, his, their, etc.) or other mentions to people, places, or things to which they may refer. Do not ask questions that can be answered correctly without understanding the paragraph or having multiple answers. Avoid questions that do not link phrases referring to the same entity. For each of your questions, the answer should be one or more phrases in the paragraph, and it should be unambiguous.
PROBLEM: Passage: After the studio sessions, Bloc Party embarked on a tour of North American and European summer festivals. One of the recorded tracks, "Mercury", was released as a single on 11 August 2008 and peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart. At the time, the band confirmed the existence of further material, but noted that a record release date was scheduled for the end of 2008 at the earliest. Bloc Party unexpectedly announced the completion of Intimacy on 18 August 2008 via a webcast and confirmed a release within 60 hours. The band members wanted to revive the importance of a new album's release in an era in which the excitement has dissipated because of extensive Internet coverage. They were inspired by Radiohead's marketing of In Rainbows in 2007, but did not consider a "free" sale option. Little press was undertaken in the UK to promote the record because of Okereke's reluctance to discuss personal aspects of his life.
Intimacy was made available for download on Bloc Party's website on 21 August 2008. Ten MP3 tracks were sold with a plain black JPEG cover for £5, and a £10 option for the online songs and the future expanded CD was also available. The album title was picked as a "double bluff" with regard to people's expectations; Okereke has explained, "You'd think of wet balladeering. You don't think it's gonna be ugly or harsh. But that's what relationships are really like. It's not just about good times." The release was called "rushed" by publications such as Billboard and The Independent. Tong disagreed with the label and stated that Bloc Party wanted to make a statement that was surprising to anyone interested in their work.The band showcased tracks from Intimacy at Reading Festival at the end of August 2008 and embarked on a North American tour during September. UK appearances on the MTV2 Gonzo Tour and the release of the second single, "Talons", preceded the physical release of the album in October, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number eight. In the U.S, the record sold 24,000 copies during the first week of release and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard 200. By August 2012 it had sold 85,000 copies in the United States. Comprehensive sales figures have not been published because the digital download data has not been publicly reported by Bloc Party. The chosen cover art is a stylised shot of a couple kissing, taken by freelance photographer Perry Curties. It was ranked at number 23 on Gigwise's list of The Best Album Covers of 2008, in which the publication called it "intimate and rather ambiguous".

SOLUTION: Which record sold 24,000 copies during the first week of release and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard 200??

PROBLEM: Passage: On New Year's Eve, Trotty, a poor elderly "ticket-porter" or casual messenger, is filled with gloom at the reports of crime and immorality in the newspapers, and wonders whether the working classes are simply wicked by nature. His daughter Meg and her long-time fiancé Richard arrive and announce their decision to marry next day. Trotty hides his misgivings, but their happiness is dispelled by an encounter with the pompous Alderman Cute, plus a political economist and a young gentleman with a nostalgia, all of whom make Trotty, Meg and Richard feel they hardly have a right to exist, let alone marry.
Trotty carries a note for Cute to Sir Joseph Bowley MP, who dispenses charity to the poor in the manner of a paternal dictator. Bowley is ostentatiously settling his debts to ensure a clean start to the new year, and berates Trotty because he owes a little rent and ten or twelve shillings to his local shop which he cannot pay off. Returning home, convinced that he and his fellow poor are naturally ungrateful and have no place in society, Trotty encounters Will Fern, a poor countryman, and his orphaned niece, Lilian. Fern has been accused of vagrancy and wants to visit Cute to set matters straight, but from a conversation overheard at Bowley's house, Trotty is able to warn him that Cute plans to have him arrested and imprisoned. He takes the pair home with him and he and Meg share their meagre food and poor lodging with the visitors. Meg tries to hide her distress, but it seems she has been dissuaded from marrying Richard by her encounter with Cute and the others.

SOLUTION: What is the last name of the man who gives the note to Trotty?

PROBLEM: Passage: Brian, the head drilling engineer of an un-named company, sabotages the drilling operation as he is concerned that Alan the CEO is drilling too deep without taking necessary precautions.
Alan restarts the drilling operation on an island off the coast of China and while drilling using a mole like machine, the drilling team hits a magma flow which kills them. This then causes a large volcanic eruption and earthquake.
Alan and Brian start investigating the effects of the drilling, with help from Allison Saunders, head of research and development at the company. They realize that they have affected the stability of the Earth's core, which is going to cause natural disasters all over the world. They figure the only way to stop the magma flow and earthquakes is to use a series of nuclear explosions to reset the spinning of the Earth's core. They plan to drop these bombs using a new drilling machine.
The earthquakes start to spread all over the world, affecting major cities. Quito, Ecuador is hit and many important buildings are destroyed.
Darryl obtains the nuclear bombs from the Chinese government. However, they want their own team to do the drilling. Brian disagrees and assembles his own team including Allison and his drilling engineer colleges Brian and Rodney. Alan also volunteers to be part of the team.
They prepare to drill down into the earth to position the nuclear bombs at strategic positions ready for a coordinated sequence of explosions. They start drilling down into the ground, and successfully drop the first 2 nuclear bombs. They have an issue with the cabin pressure, but after running diagnostics they realize the sensors malfunctioned and they manage to reset them.

SOLUTION:
What are the first names of the people who realize they have affected the stability of the Earth's core?