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: When Stephen Herrick, a sedate, mild-mannered shipping magnate, loses his opera tickets, Mrs. Grange, the aggressive mother of his fiancée Cecilia, insists upon being seated in the Herrick box anyway. Upon finding the Duncan family ensconced in their box, Mrs. Grange incites an argument that culminates with Dot Duncan hitting Stephen with her handbag.
After the Herrick party surrenders their seats to the Duncans, Dot realizes that her brother Pigeon found Stephen's lost tickets, and the embarrassed Duncans flee the theater.
The next day, at the offices of Herrick and Martin, Stephen is introduced to his new secretary, Dot Duncan. Recognizing Dot as his assailant from the previous evening, he dismisses her, but after she explains the confusion over the tickets, Stephen relents.
Soon after, Dot's beau, wrestler Claudius J. "Coffee Cup" Cup, returns from the Navy, promising to settle down and not re-enlist. While Dot and Coffee Cup are strolling down the street one day, Coffee Cup spots his pal Eddie, who he boasts, can grow four inches just by stretching. Eddie's aptitude for elongation draws a crowd, and soon Coffee Cup is taking bets from the skeptical onlookers. Stephen is drawn into the group when Dot borrows five dollars from him, and when the contest ends in a brawl in which Stephen is knocked unconscious, Coffee Cup takes him to the Duncan house to recover. Stephen awakens to the chaos of the Duncan household as Coffee Cup practices his wrestling technique on Pigeon, Mrs. Duncan delivers a neighbor's baby and Ivory, a sailor, tinkles the piano keys. Stephen is so delighted by Dot's boisterous family and friends that he accompanies her and Coffee Cup to a dance hall and congas the night away, forgetting all about his date with the snobbish Cecilia.

SOLUTION: Who finds the shipping magnate's opera tickets?

PROBLEM: Passage: Canadian ex-serviceman Bob Regan returns to Oldchester, the English town where he was stationed during the war, hoping to find Pat Lane, the girl he fell in love with.  He meets up with Mike Collins, an old acquaintance who now manages Oldchester United, the local football club.  He also renews his friendship with Collins' daughter Jackie.
Mike tells Bob of an odd proviso surrounding the allocation of £25,000 from the estate of a recently deceased businessman and supporter of the football club – if Oldchester United win promotion to the next division of the Football League that season the money is theirs, if not it goes to the man's nephew.  He remembers Bob as a skilful footballer, and asks him to sign up for the team to boost the promotion quest.  Bob agrees.
The nephew Nick Hammond is determined that the money will be his, and is worried that Bob's football prowess may well propel the team to on-pitch success.  He is acquainted with Pat, now living in London, and persuades her to join him in a scheme to scupper Oldchester's chances.  Knowing of Bob's fondness for Pat, and that Pat cares nothing for Bob, he proposes that if Pat can tempt Bob away from Oldchester and the football team, and the team fails in its promotion bid, he will give her a share of the inheritance.  The mercenary Pat jumps at the prospect, begins to work her charms on Bob and soon lures him to London to be with her.  He is talent-spotted by scouts, and signed up by Arsenal F.C.

SOLUTION: What's the full name of the person the daughter of the football club manager befriends?

PROBLEM: Passage: A billion-dollar oil company, headed by Sumner Murdock, sets forth on an exploration project in the North Pole that is recommended and managed by Michael Baldwin.
The film opens with several dynamite blasts to break up the ice that's clogging up the deep-sea drilling rigs.  Disappointingly to the company, the drilling rig produces no oil. Baldwin is then picked up from work by an airplane flown by his wife Claudia. On the way home, Claudia tells Michael that she wants to move the kids back to Los Angeles where they can live in a more civilized environment. Michael argues that he cannot just walk away from the exploration since it was his idea. Upon arriving home, Michael and Claudia must deal with their three children arguing with each other about the existence of Santa Claus. To make matters worse for Michael, Murdock, portrayed as the stereotyped insensitive corporate boss, threatens to terminate his employment if the exploration does not produce results.
The next day, Michael returns to his office, where he is met by Santa Claus's chief elf Ed. Ed informs Baldwin that their dynamiting is causing damage to North Pole City, the home of Santa Claus and his elves.  He explains that while their activities at "Site A", their primary drilling area, are causing extensive damage, any blasts at their secondary site, known as "Site B", would destroy North Pole City due to the greater proximity of the dynamite blasts.  Assuming that Ed was just hired to pull off a practical joke, Baldwin bursts into uncontrollable laughter. The next day, Ed arrives at the Baldwins' house in a modified World War II-era snowcat, explaining that he intends to take Michael and his family to North Pole City to prove that Santa Claus is real and reveal the damage that is being done. Michael cannot go since he has a meeting at work, but Claudia and the kids agree to go along, continuing to assume that its just a practical joke.

SOLUTION:
What is the first name of the person who is picked up at work in an airplane?