1999 Question Answering Competition: 10 Submitted Questions

1. FT911-2688
   Q: Are Reuters contracts expensive?
   A: Critics counter that Reuters contracts are pricy and almost impossible to terminate.
   • 'expensive' has 'pricy' as a hypernym
   • no documents contain 'Reuters' AND 'contracts' AND 'expensive'
   
   
2. FT934-11725
   Q. Does the ANA anticipate financial gains this year?
   A. ANA does not expect to make after-tax profits for the year, but said it will maintain its annual dividend of Y4 per share.
   • 'anticipate' is in a synset with 'expect'
   • 'gain' is in a synset with 'profit'
   
   
3. FT944-6437
   Q. What is the duration of the trip from Bristol to London by rail?
   A. Bristol also has two mainline railway stations, Parkway and Temple Meads, with a journey time to London of an hour and 20 minutes
   • 'duration' has 'time' as a hypernym
   • 'trip' has 'journey' as a hypernym
   • 'rail' has 'railway' as a hypernym
   
   
4. LA021189-0149
   Q. Who was in contention for contracts to produce anti-tank weapons?
   A. Ford Aerospace and two other Southern California defense contractors have lost out on a multibillion-dollar competition to develop a new generation of portable anti-tank weaponry for the Army.
   • 'contention' is in a synset with 'competition'
   • 'produce' is in a synset with 'develop'
   • 'weapon' has 'weaponry' as a hypernym
   
   
5. FBIS3-1022
   Q. What stipulations were unionists concerned with in Ouagadougou?
   A. The workers were demanding better living conditions, a substantial salary increase and maintaining prices at a reasonable level.
   • 'stipulation' is in a synset with 'condition'
   • 'unionist' has 'worker' as a hypernym
   • 'Ouagadougou' should narrow it down to a text
   
   
6. FR941110-2-00005
   Q. What amends must Exxon make to the authorities?
   A. ... a federal court approved settlement between the State and Federal governments and Exxon under which Exxon will pay $1 billion in criminal restitution and civil damages to the governments.
   • 'amends' is in a synset with both 'restitution' and 'damages'
   • 'authorities' is in a synset with 'government'
   
   
7. FR940607-1-00027
   Q. Can individuals and ships go into the regulated area?
   A. Except for persons or vessels authorized by the Coast Guard Patrol Commander, no person or vessel may enter or remain in the regulated area.
   • 'individual' is in a synset with 'person'
   • 'ship' has 'vessel' as a hypernym
   • although 'go into' is in a synset with 'enter', we're unlikely to look up 'go into' in WN
   
   
8. FR940110-0-00004
   Q. What is the fundamental component in rating whipped butter?
   A. Flavor is the basic quality factor in grading whipped butter and is determined organoleptically by smell and taste.
   • 'fundamental' is in a synset with 'basic'
   • 'component' is in synset with 'factor'
   • 'rate' is in a synset with 'grade'
   
   
9. FT924-7002
   Q. Why do many industries in Turkey generate enthusiasm abroad?
   A. Cement, like so many of the industries attracting foreign interest in Turkey, is booming for one simple reason - the country's vast underdeveloped home market.
   • 'enthusiasm' has 'interest' as a hypernym
   • 'abroad' has 'foreign' as a hypernym
   
   
10. LA113090-0174
    Q. What harm was done by the blaze at the Brussels stock exchange?
    A. Fire swept through the Brussels stock exchange early today, causing extensive damage to the ornate 19th-Century building but no injuries, police said.
    • 'harm' is in a synset with both 'damage' and 'injury'
    • 'blaze' has 'fire' as a hypernym