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posted on 2016-03-11 13:00 EST by Rafael Antonio Pineda

Same singers will perform new songs

------------------------------------------------------------------------

[]This year's 15th issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine is revealing the new opening and ending theme songs for the Assassination Classroom (Ansatsu Kyōshitsu) television anime on Monday. The new theme songs will debut in the anime starting in April.

The characters Nagisa (Mai Fuchigami), Kayano (Aya Suzaki), Karma (Nobuhiko Okamoto), Isogai (Ryota Ohsaka), and Maehara (Shintarō Asanuma) will perform the new opening theme song "Bye Bye Yesterday." The Japanese rock band Frederic wrote the song's lyrics. The same voice actors sang the first opening theme song, "QUESTION."

Shion Miyawaki will perform the new ending theme song "Mata Kimi ni Aeru Hi" (The Day When I Can Meet You Again). She also composed the lyrics. Miyawaki previously performed the first ending theme song, "Kaketa Tsuki."

An interview with the anime's director Seiji Kishi in Weekly Shonen Jump revealed last month that the anime will cover the manga's final chapter. The manga will end in the magazine's 16th issue, which will ship on March 19.

The anime's second season premiered on January 7, and Funimation is streaming the series as it airs in Japan. A second live-action film will open in Japan on March 25, and it will also portray the manga's ending.

Four unaired "Extracurricular Lesson" episodes premiered on Docomo's dTV streaming service on Friday.

Yusei Matsui launched the manga in July 2012. Shueisha shipped the manga's 18th compiled book volume on March 4, and will ship the 19th volume on April 4.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

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question: What is the significance of Anime to Japanese culture?

text: There is no answer to the question states in the text.

answer: No answer

text: The answer should mention that anime is a big part of Japanese culture.

text: The answer is implied in the text.

text: The answer is implied in the article.

text: The article provides some information on the topic.

text: The answer can't be blank because the answer is in the passage.

text: The passage offers some hints at information relating to the answer.

answer: Anime is clearly something inherent to Japanese pop-culture as the article states there are many things to be excited about when it comes to 'Assassination Classroom'.

text: The answer is not related.

text: The answer is not relevant to the question.

text: The article does not mention anything about the significance of Anime to Japanese culture.

text: The answer is not relevant and should be rewritten.

text: While this is true, this does not answer the question of what the significance is. I would recommence the answer by saying that it is not stated in the article, but it seems that Anime plays a huge role in Japanese culture.

text: The answer is not relevant to the question and the article does not suggest anime's significance.

answer: Anime is clearly something inherent to Japanese pop-culture as the article states there are many things to be excited about when it comes to 'Assassination Classroom'.

text: The response is incorrect. The information can't be found in the text.

answer: No answer

answer: No answer

answer: No answer

text: The answer is not related.

text: The answer is completely wrong.

text: The answer should be rewritten.

text: The answer is not an accurate representation of the article.

text: The answer is incorrect. The text provides enough information to answer the question.

text: This does not answer the question.


text:
_THE TIME TRADERS_ is a science fiction novel by American writer Andre Norton (pseudonym, née Alice Mary Norton), the first in _The Time Traders_ series. It was first published in 1958, and has been printed in several editions. It was updated by Norton in 2000 to account for real world changes. It is part of Norton's Forerunner universe.

_The Time Traders_ introduces the premise: a confrontation between Western heroes and the “Reds”, AKA the Soviets, plus the “Baldies”, a mysterious alien race that has used time travel to alter Earth. This novel alternates among the present day, a trading tribal society in Britain, 2000 B.C., and a glacial outpost in the last ice age.

Premise

In her Time Trader novels Norton tacitly assumes that the physics of time travel differs so significantly from the physics of space travel, especially hyperdrive-propelled interstellar flight, that a civilization that discovers the technology of one simply will not discover the technology of the other. Earth’s physicists have discovered the secret of time travel, but the engineers and scientists who built and use the time transporters have devised a clever way to obtain the secrets of space travel: if it is not possible to discover the secrets, we get them from someone who did.

Plot

''The outline below follows the 1958 version;[1] afterward, the changes in the 2000 edition are described.[2]

At the end of the twentieth century petty criminal Ross Murdock is given the choice of facing a new psychiatric medical procedure called _rehabilitation_ or volunteering to join a secret government project. Hoping for a chance to escape, Ross volunteers to join Operation Retrograde and is taken by Major John Kelgarries to a base built under the ice near the North Pole. Teamed with archaeologist Gordon Ashe, he is trained to mimic a trader of the Beaker culture of Bronze-Age Europe.

Sent back to southern Britain around 2000 BCE, Ross and Ashe (as Rossa and Assha) find that their outpost has been bombed, destroyed by the wrath of Lurgha, the local storm god, according to two of the natives. Discovering the direction whence the bomber came and other clues pointing to the general area occupied by the Soviet base, Ross, Ashe, and McNeil, the lone survivor of the bombing, go to that area.

Somewhere near the Baltic Sea, Ross, Ashe, and McNeil begin building a Beaker trading post and learn from the locals that to their southeast lies a land populated by ghosts, a land whither no man of good sense would go. Ross gets separated from Ashe and McNeil in a night attack and must go into the taboo area alone in an effort to find them. Far inside the ghostland he finds the Soviet base and is captured by the Reds.

In an effort to escape Ross steps onto the base’s transporter plate and is transferred to a Soviet base even further back in time. The Reds recapture him and take him outside the base, abandoning him on a glacier to freeze to death. He climbs out of the crevice into which he was shoved and follows the trail leading away from the Soviet base, coming to a giant globe half buried in the ice. Half dead from the abuse he has received, he enters the globe and then falls through a panel and into a tub full of transparent-red gel.

When he regains consciousness Ross discovers that all of his wounds are healed, he is no longer hungry or thirsty, and his Beaker-folk clothing is gone. A mechanism offers him a skin-tight suit made of an iridescent dark-blue fabric that covers all but his head and his hands. He explores what is clearly some kind of ship and is recaptured by the Reds, but not before he activates the ship’s communication system and comes face to face with a hostile-looking humanoid with a large bald head.

The Reds’ interrogation of Ross is interrupted by explosions that rock the base. Ross is reunited with Ashe and McNeil and the three men escape to the time transporter, pausing only to steal some recording tapes. Back in the Soviet Bronze-Age base, the men leave the time-travel building and escape from the village just as the alien Baldies attack. The men then make their way to the river that will take them to the Baltic Sea to be picked up by their submarine (disguised as a whale).

Ross is again separated from Ashe and McNeil when he falls off their hastily built and uncontrollable raft. He discovers that the Baldies are hunting him when he is captured by warriors from a barbarian tribe. Again he escapes and continues down the river, reaching the sea and the camp occupied by Ashe and/or McNeil only hours after the sub took them away. Two of the Baldies attempt to capture him with telepathic hypnosis, but they flee when Kelgarries and his men arrive. Leaving the alien skinsuit on the beach, so that the Baldies can’t trace the Americans to their base, the men take Ross to the sub and home. There Ashe tells him that the tapes he stole indicate other alien spaceships abandoned on Earth, at least three of them in the Americas. Operation Retrograde is about to become much more interesting and Ross still wants to be part of the action.

Changes in the 2000 edition

The 2000 version[3] Norton modified the 1958 version by making three changes in the text:

-   She reset the story in the first quarter of the Twenty-First Century instead of in the last quarter of the Twentieth, shifting the action future-ward by a full generation.
-   The “Reds” have become the Russians and Greater Russia has replaced the Soviet Union.
-   Space travel has not gone beyond the first lunar landings instead of having not gotten beyond the first attempts to put satellites into orbit. Instead of being ridiculed as impossible, space travel is publicly ridiculed as infeasible.

Reception

Floyd C. Gale wrote that “_Traders_ gets Miss Norton back solidly and admirably on her track of excellence”,[4] and was one of her “topnotchers”.[5]

In the _Saturday Review_ for 1958 Nov 01[6] the reviewer, identified by the initials A. O’B. M., wrote:

In _Kirkus Reviews_ for 1958 Oct 01[7] an unidentified reviewer wrote:

Novels in the series

-   _The Time Traders_ (1958)
-   _Galactic Derelict_ (1959)
-   _The Defiant Agents_ (1962)
-   _Key Out of Time_ (1963)
-   _Firehand_ (1994) (with Pauline M Griffin)
-   _Echoes in Time_ (1999) (with Sherwood Smith)
-   _Atlantis Endgame_ (2002) (with Sherwood Smith)

Associated sources

Four novels are available for free from online sources.

Books one, three and four of the series are available for free from Project Gutenberg:

-   _The Time Traders_
-   _The Defiant Agents_
-   _Key Out of Time_

Book two is available from Open Library:

-   “_Galactic Derelict_”

and Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/galacticderelict00nort

Audio versions of both the original novel and the updated one are available from LibriVox:

-

Publication history

-   1958, US, World Publishing Company, Hardback (218 pp).[8]
-   1960, US, Ace Books (#D-461), Paperback (191 pp).[9]
-   1963, US, Ace Books (#F-236), Paperback (191 pp).[10]
-   1964, Germany, Moewig - Munich (Terra Sonderband 78), OCLC 73748140, Digest (95 pp).[11] as Operation Vergangenheit (Operation Past).
-   1966, US, Ace Books (#F-386), Paperback (191 pp).[12]
-   1970, US, Ace Books (#81251), April 1970, Paperback (191 pp).[13]
-   1974, US, Ace Books (#81252), October 1974, Paperback (191 pp).[14]
-   1975, Japan, Kubo Shoten Books, , (226 pp).[15]
-   1978, US, Gregg Press, , January 1979, Hardback (xiv + 220 pp).[16]
-   1979, United Kingdom, G Prior, , Hardback (198 pp).[17]
-   1980, US, Ace Books, , July 1980 (also Aug 1980, Mar 1984, May 1987, and Nov 1991), Paperback (220 pp).[18]
-   1984, Germany, Pabel - Rastatt, , (160 pp).[19] as Operation Vergangenheit (Operation Past).
-   1992, Hungary, Phoenix - Debrecen, , (215 pp).[20] as Időharcosok.
-   1993, Russia, Zelenogradskaya Books - Zelenograd, , Hardback (352 pp).[21] combined with Galactic Derelict as Voina vo Vremeni (The War in Time).
-   1994, Poland, Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, , (211 pp).[22] as Handlarze Czasem (Trafficker in Time).
-   1999, Poland, Amber - Warsaw, .[23] as Tajni agenci czasu (The Operatives in Time).
-   2000, US, Baen, , November 2000, Hardback (370 pp).[24] 2000 rewrite bound with 2000 rewrite of Galactic Derelict.
-   2003, Russia, Eksmo - Moscow, , Hardback (512 pp).[25] combined with Galactic Derelict, The Defiant Agents, and Key Out of Time as Voina vo Vremeni (The War in Time).

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6] http://www.unz.org/Pub/SaturdayRev-1958nov01-00062?View=PDFPages

[7] https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/andre-norton/the-time-traders/

[8] found on the Internet Speculative Fiction Database at http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2526 (retrieved 2014 Aug 10)

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15] found on Andre-Norton-Books.com, http://andre-norton-books.com/archive/Titles_T/Time_Traders/Time_Traders.htm (retrieved 2014 Aug 10)

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

title: The Time Traders

question: What are the differences between the original novel and the 2000 edition?

text: The response is missing information about how space travel is ridiculed in the new edition.

category: coverage

answer: Norton made three changes in the novel. She reset the first quarter of the Twenty-First Century instead of in the last quarter of the Twentieth. The "Reds" have become the Russians and Greater Russia has replaced the Soviet Union.

answer_source: Human misleading

text: The second sentence is incoherent

category: coherence

text: The answer should mention the change regarding space travel.

answer: The original novel is set in the last quarter of the 20th century, while the 2000 edition is set in the first quarter of the 21st century. The "Reds" have become the Russians, and Greater Russia has replaced the Soviet Union. Space travel has not gone beyond the first lunar landings instead of having not gotten beyond the first attempts to put satellites into orbit.

answer_source: Model

text: It's omitted that in the 2000 edition, space travel is seen as infeasible instead of impossible.

answer: Norton made three changes in the novel. She reset the first quarter of the Twenty-First Century instead of in the last quarter of the Twentieth. The "Reds" have become the Russians and Greater Russia has replaced the Soviet Union.

text: The answer omits the third change.

text: The answer omits that space travel has not gone beyond the first lunar landings instead of having not gotten beyond the first attempts to put satellites into orbit. Instead of being ridiculed as impossible, space travel is publicly ridiculed as infeasible.

text: 'Space travel has not gone beyond the first lunar landings instead of having not gotten beyond the first attempts to put satellites into orbit. Instead of being ridiculed as impossible, space travel is publicly ridiculed as infeasible.' is evidence of the third change to the novel

text:
The answer omits that the third change is that space travel has not gone beyond the first lunar landings instead of having not gotten beyond the first attempts to put satellites into orbit. Instead of being ridiculed as impossible, space travel is publicly ridiculed as infeasible.
In the first sentence, the answer should include that the writer shifted the action future-ward by an entire generation.

answer: Norton made three changes in the novel. She reset the first quarter of the Twenty-First Century instead of in the last quarter of the Twentieth. The "Reds" have become the Russians and Greater Russia has replaced the Soviet Union. Space travel is publicly ridiculed as infeasible in the 2000 edition.

answer_source: Human

answer: Norton made three changes in the novel. She reset the first quarter of the Twenty-First Century instead of in the last quarter of the Twentieth. The "Reds" have become the Russians and Greater Russia has replaced the Soviet Union. Space travel is publicly ridiculed as infeasible in the 2000 edition.

text: The answer should mention that the 2000 edition is set in the future.

text: The answer should mention that the original novel is set in the last quarter of the twentieth century.

text: Change "the" to "the"

text: The second and third difference are phrased awkwardly.

text: 'Space travel is publicly ridiculed as infeasible in the 2000 edition.' is not stated.

answer: The original novel is set in the last quarter of the 20th century, while the 2000 edition is set in the first quarter of the 21st century. The "Reds" have become the Russians, and Greater Russia has replaced the Soviet Union. Space travel has not gone beyond the first lunar landings instead of having not gotten beyond the first attempts to put satellites into orbit.

text: The answer should mention that the 2000 edition also changes the plot to reflect the real world changes.

text: The answer should mention that the 2000 edition also changes the way space travel is viewed.

text: The answer omits the fact that the 2000 edition also changes the plot of the story.

text: The answer omits the third change.

text: It is omitted that instead of being ridiculed as impossible, space travel is publicly ridiculed as infeasible.

text: There is no evidence that the original novel is set in the last quarter of the 20th century.

text: The answer omits that the original version has the Soviets, while the updated version has the Russians.

text: This is only half of the answer.


text:
	The drab streets of London are always bright to the sinners of the night. On King’s street, the Old Church of St. Pancreas stands tall with an opaque large stand-glass that is coated with filth— hiding it from its true colors. On Benton Street, rows of dens, brothels, and pubs are lined up like candy-shops with a clandestine flavor of vice. The story really begins in the alleyway, though, where a bar called Kroben is hidden. A man wakes up outside this bar, lying by a puddle accompanied by rats. But in his doped up mind, he is a lion wallowing by a lake that belongs to a lush oasis inhabited with exotic animals.
	Maybe it was the methadone from the clinic or the opium from the den, but he felt good when he woke. He was lucky that his baccy didn’t soak; otherwise he would have to buy another pack of tobacco not being able to afford a pint, then resorting to the cheaper morphine that he makes himself with kitchen goods. He lights up and it burns too fast. “Ah, bugger” he grunts. He breathes in the smoke, filling his old lungs well, then gazes at the morphed metallic sign that hung on the wall “KROBEN BAR.” Even his old mind remembers that he came here 25 years ago when it was his first time ever going to a bar.
	He looked at this place like a child would when opening a Christmas gift that he’s been guessing what’s in it for a good month. “Fucking Kroben!” He cheers, “Fuckin’ Ace!” He opens the same old door that still makes the same old creek and enters this forgotten place. He is instantly greeted by the warm breeze that radiated from the stove. His mouth started salivating from the smell of fresh sausage and beer that filled the atmosphere. He sees a bald bartender that is well dressed with the proper bow, vest, and a button-up shirt. The bartender is wiping the counter in a very precise fashion. The bartender finally looks up and to this man’s surprise that this person is the same bartender as 25 years ago.
“Harold?” The man says with an awkward smirk
“Yes, that would be me, sir.” The bartender responds
“I thought ye were dead, mate. Fuck, 25 years?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You remember me right, mate? Remember the young bloke that came here long ago?
“I’m afraid not, sir.”
“Bollocks… You barmy bloke, can’t even remember a regular?”
“I apologize sir. While I’ve been told my memory is in excellent condition, 25 years is a long time, sir. Perhaps if you give me your name, I might recall who you are?”
“Yes, you invariably posh twat- it’s…”
“S…sir?”
“it’s… fucking cunt…”
“Well I certainly think I’d remember a name like that..”
“No, mate. I can’t bloody remember right now.”
The man stands there with a blank expression while the bartender frantically watches him.
“Well sir, a pint is on the house.”
“Alright, cheers mate. I’ll be back.”

He heads to the lavatory and on his way there he sees two men in white lab coats conversing. How peculiar, the man thought. He heard them say “patient one is suffering from potential embolism stroke. Main cause is believed to be excess alcohol consumption. Proceed with…” and the rest were just blurs he couldn’t understand. He shrugs this off with the idea that they were doctors reading a log from their papers. He steps into the lavatory and feels the sense of privacy. He felt well, but simultaneously disoriented with the bright white light that the incandescent light bulb emitted. When he tries to urinate, he spills most of it on his boots. He goes to the mirror to see how different he looks. The embedded glass-bottle shears in his face from the numerous bar fights to the tattoo k on his right cheek that he cannot remember how he got; yet he was a handsome boy once. He now understands why Harold can’t remember him. The numb feeling rushes through his veins as he once stood here when he was 15.
The man steps out of the restroom. He has dried up dews of piss on his boots and his shirt reeked with tobacco and sweat, but he felt good. He sees the doctors still conversing with dim expressions on their faces. “His heart is in horrid condition, proceed for resection?” He stares off to Harold, who is still wiping the surface aggressively; the same way he did 25 years ago. Next to the complimentary pint is a young bodacious woman who’s weeping in a discreet manner; her face is concealed with her hands. The man checks his breath and hair while she isn’t looking and takes a seat next to her. At the very same moment the new hit “Roxanne” by the Police begins playing somewhere in the background.  He speaks to her before the euphoria wares off.
“Beautiful girl, why the tears? What’s your name, sweet heart?”
“Do I look like a totty to ya, tosser?” She says with her face still covered.
“Let me buy you a drink, dear.” He tries to get Harold’s attention by snapping his fingers, “Harold, a pint please!” The bartender ignores him as he is too focused with rubbing the wine stain left on the panels.
“Oy, Harold. Ah, fuck it have mine.” He slides the pint towards her.
“Thank you, you’re… a gentleman.” She reveals her face.
“Rosy?” the man says, “Fuckin’ Rosy, right? Where’ve you been the past-“
“Pardon me, but I can’t recall you that is!”
“Nah, Rosy, the girl from Richmond’s brothel, right?”
“That’s right, were you a customer of mine?”
“Yeah, well, we dated, too!”
“Ah, right. No, I don’t remember. Maybe I’m a double ganger?”
“No, Rosy, we did more than just sex… we were lovers!”
“No mate, sorry to nick your excitement like that but I don’t remember.”
The man looks down in disappointment
“Well, what’s your name sweet-heart?”
“I can’t remember.”
“Right, well sweetie I’m heading home now. If chivalry is still alive, walk me home? I can’t bare the thought that Jack the Reaper walked this alley way, I know it’s been almost a century but the thought of being sliced is never pleasing! In return, I’ll give you a good shag.”
	He tells her to give him a minute. He rushes to the restroom to freshen up. On the way he hears the doctors say, “Patient is experiencing cardiac arrest, defibrillation unit required.” Once he’s in the brightly lit lavatory, with spotless tiles that Harold probably cleaned-even the spilt urine was gone- he feels heartbroken. He met her before she was a prostitute, when she was innocent. It’s the shagging that got her addicted, and even today she works for Richmond. He freshens up and steps out the restroom, hoping he’ll get lucky. The doctors are still there, talking in a monotonous tone, but Rosy is missing. Now two fatties are sitting where the man and Rosy were. He searches for Rosy desperately, but not surprised that she’s gone. He retires and sits by the two fatties that are gorging on some grubs.
	“Harold, another plate of the Drunken Monkey with extra bananas please!” then “Yes, extra bananas, please!” followed after. To the man, these voices are too familiar. He turns to take a good look of their faces, and it’s his stepmother Meredith, who passed years ago with obesity, and aunt Barbra who is sitting next to her that committed suicide from the inability to cope with Meredith’s death.
“Meredith?” he asks,
“Yes?”
“Ma, it’s me… it’s—”
“Who are you?” Meredith says, then Barbra follows with “Yes, who?”
“Your stepson, K-”
“Stepson?” She giggles and then Barbra follows with an even more obnoxious laugh.
“You married my father, Erin. I’m his son!”
“Erin’s son died before I could meet him, you barmy bloke!” “He’s mental!” Barbra follows.
“No, both of you cunts are dead! You’re both fuckin’ mental!”
He hops off the stool and runs towards the restroom while Barbra and Meredith both laugh hysterically, stacking dishes on dishes, eating their lives away. The doctors continue speaking. “Deviate to the stomach, any other vital organs?” He storms into the restroom and a man with glasses is reading a newspaper, to which he puts away with an embarrassed red look on his face. The man with the glasses walks towards the sink and washes his hands, looking upset.
“Did you know London is not safe anymore?”
“What do you mean, mate?”
“The evil that lurks the night. Have you heard about the renegade scientists?”
“No.”
“They’re doctors, their licenses were revoked.”
“Oh?”
“Now to make a living, they find unexpected victims and kidnap them. They then sell their body-parts on the black market.”
“Right.”
“The sick part is that some of them just do it for the money or the thrill.”
	The man with glasses looks away and starts to retch. He rushes to the toilet and pukes. The man approaches the sink with the sound of vomiting, thinking about what just happened with Meredith and Bertha. He then remembers his real mother, Synthea. How sweet she was, really. The most comforting memory he has of her is when she gave him a haircut then a sponge bath. She passed when he was 14, two years before ever going to Kroben. “This alleyway is infamous for crimes like that!” the man with glasses sputters, coughing out what’s left in his mouth. “Thanks for the advice, mate,” he says as he leaves the lavatory.
	He’s all broken but he’s too high to realize. He sees Harold still wiping the wine stain aggressively. He’s sweating so much that his shirt is damp. The doctors are still talking, “Once the extraction is successful, the next procedure is…” His stepmother and aunt are gone, and now a younger gentleman sits on the stall sipping on a pint. He is well groomed and looks clean; a flawless Brit. He’s rolling himself baccy, pretty well for a youngster. The man sits by him, watching Harold look monstrous as he cleans. He looks at the boy again who is about to smoke and is disappointed by what he sees.
“You know, I used to be beautiful like you.” He says
“What?” the boy says
“You’re an Adonis, really. You should be an athlete, not a drunkard!”
“Look, I don’t fancy men.”
“Neither do I, you just remind me of myself.”
“Fack off.”
“Something bothering you, mate? Where’s your mother?”
“Fack off, again! My ma’s dying.”
“My mother passed when I was 14, I know the feeling.”
“Right, twat. Now fuck off.”
The man then stays quiet, until the boy grunts.
“Fuckin’ Rosy, where the fuck have you gone?” and he steps out the bar.
	What an utter coincidence, he thought. The boy’s conjunctures paralleled with his. In disbelief, he turns around to reassure that he was really there. He sees that the boy dropped his passport when he rushed out. The man picks it up. Joseph Kroben- he reads, but the ink blurred in his vision. Kroben. That is this man’s name- Mr. Kroben. Now he remembers. He remembers what happened 25 years ago before living in the streets. After years of no one calling him his name, he was resurrected. “My name is Joseph Kroben, Harold!” He turns around to the sight of the bar set ablaze—caught fire from the ruptured tanks of the stove; yet Harold is still wiping off the wine stain!
	The doctors speak differently for the first time, “looking at his heart, it won’t sell well!” They both laugh. The other doctor says, “I told you we shouldn’t target the red-light district!” Mr. Kroben rushes to door, but the handles are jammed. The fire is spreading. It’s too hot, so he makes a run to the lavatory. One of the doctors screams to the other one “He’s awake! He’s awake! Bring the anesthetics, bring the morphine!” Mr. Kroben slams the door and sees the man with glasses lying on the floor. He’s dead. Kroben picks up the newspaper that he was reading and sees the man with glasses on the head article.
	Vincent Allard, a renowned police investigator, was found dead in a bar lavatory. Autopsy suggests he was poisoned with potassium cyanide. His investigation involved the search of the numerous disappearances of the night citizens of Benton St. Allegations claim that renegade doctors are responsible for the kidnappings of these people— the missing bodies that were found were skillfully relieved of their organs, suggesting some sort of medical experiment or organ trafficking.
He sees another article that is about the Kroben Bar:
	The Kroben bar in Benton St. has burnt down with only one fatality. Harold Brody, the bartender of this bar, has been found after the incident. According to the fire department, the stove was the main cause of the fire. His family mentioned about Mr. Brody suffering with obsessive-compulsive disorder…
	Mr. Kroben now remembers. He came to this bar when he was 14. He was grieving over his dying mother and the name of this place is what enticed him. Kroben, how often do you come across a name like that? He skims through the newspaper as his reading was lacking. He finds an article about Rosy.
	Rosy Benedetti was found dead in an alleyway of King St. There is little evidence, but Police suggests sexual assault. DNA evidence is supposedly linked to Richmond Almoner, but investigation is ongoing.
	And Kroben does this for a while, next to Vincent. These people in the newspaper were all in the bar- except for the doctors! He looks into the mirror, but does not see a reflection. He sees himself struggling in a medical bed, untying the straps that shackle him, while the two doctors pushing him down injects him with whatever is in the syringe. Kroben felt good. He sees his mother calling him on the Oasis. “Come closer, dear!” He walks slowly on the lush grass towards her, closer to Synthea. She holds him with her soft skin, giving him great comfort. “Mama,” he whispers.
	Meanwhile the doctors load him up in the van.
“Well, I guess that’s it. Are we dumping him in the lake?”
“No, we’re incinerating him. We figured that’s easier, harder to trace.”
One of the doctors goes inside the car while the other notices a passport on the floor.
“Hey, is this your passport? It looks outdated.” He passes him the ID
“No, it says Joseph Kroben. That’s a good looking kid— who is it?”
“I have no clue.”

title: [Cyber Punk/Psychological] Welcome to the Kroben Bar

question: Summarize how the protagonist has changed in 25 years.

text: Specify that the man is now unrecognizable. The way this is written, it seems he could have had a tattoo on his face as a young man.

answer: The protagonist is one of those people who comes back to a bar 25 years later and is surprised to see the same bartender. He relies heavily on morphine and other drugs, and is forgetful and possibly mentally ill, which is probably why he can't remember his name.

text: The answer should point out that he has drunk himself to death. He has scars from barfights and a tattoo on his neck.

answer: 25 years ago, the protagonist used to a regular at Kroben bar. The protagonist used to be a handsome, well-groomed young man. He now seems to be unrecognizable, as no one at the bar can remember his face. He has embedded glass bottle shears in his face from numerous bar fights, and he has a tattoo on his right cheek. He also now seems to be addicted to heroin.

text: It is omitted that he is living in the streets now.

answer: 25 years ago, the protagonist used to a regular at Kroben bar. The protagonist used to be a handsome, well-groomed young man. He has embedded glass bottle shears in his face from numerous bar fights, and he has a tattoo on his right cheek. He now seems to be addicted to heroin.

text: The response never said he was addicted to heroin.

category: accuracy

answer: The protagonist is one of those people who comes back to a bar 25 years later and is surprised to see the same bartender. He relies heavily on morphine and other drugs, and is forgetful and possibly mentally ill, which is probably why he can't remember his name.

text: The answer should mention that the protagonist is homeless.

text: The answer should mention the protagonist's appearance.

text: The answer should mention the protagonist's physical appearance.

text: The answer should mention that the protagonist is dazed and confused.

text: The answer omits the protagonist's realization that he is actually dead.

text: The answer omits that Kroben is portrayed to be drugged up and disoriented.


text:
[Profile Image for David Edelberg]

-   David Edelberg
-   11-24-12

Use an audiobook to really enjoy Satanic Verses

Unfortunately, quite a few people abandon Satanic Verses in book form as being "incomprehensible" and strangely "flat." The problem is that although "Verses" is a difficult book, rightly compared with the complexity of Joyce's "Ulysses," it's not "impossible" by any means. It simply needs to be read aloud.
Each of the very memorable characters has a unique accent, coming as they do from different parts of India, the U.K., and even (for one brief moment) the U.S. To try to read these without an accent takes away much of the joy of this book.
Actor Sam Dastor is probably the world's expert on Indian accents and from the first minutes of the audiobook (definitely listen to the sample!) you know you'll be in for a treat.
Yes, the novel is complex. Yes, you may need to check the plot outline on wiki, or even consider a study guide (not needed but probably would add a lot). However, as Satanic Verses progresses and characters transmogrify into angels and goats, and a goddess with her butterlies guide a devoted village to a very wet redemption, you'll also see how this novel offended every fundamentalist Muslim on the planet and remains banned in every Muslim country except the secular Turkey.
If you were once put off by this very important book, by all means download the audiobook and prepare yourself for a good time

89 people found this helpful

[Profile Image for Darwin8u]

-   Darwin8u
-   09-17-12

Writing you don't climb down, you fly off

A near perfect novel. I loved the writing. I loved the characters. I loved how Rushdie was able to master Heaven and Hell, saint and sinner, the welkin and earth in this dreamlike exploration of what it means to be an immigrant, an angel, a saint and a sinner. At times he writes like a post-modern satirist cum Pynchon, then suddenly he melts into his best post-colonial Achebe, and then off again on his magical realist, literary carpet à la Gabriel García Márquez. Rushdie's writing is a mountain you don't climb down, you fly off.

40 people found this helpful

[Profile Image for Peregrine]

-   Peregrine
-   09-10-11

Brilliant novel, brilliant reader

Any additional comments?

I can't answer any of the dumb questions Audible now wants to ask. I first read the Satanic Verses in '92, wanting to see what all the fuss was about. I was astounded to discover a hilarious yet harrowing set of interlocking stories that upended my ideas about colonialism, Islam and India. 20 years later, it was just as great as the first time. I read my old copy at home and listened in the car to a great performance by a reader who does great Indian and English accents while conveying the tale's irony. I still believe this is one of the great novels of the 20th century.

56 people found this helpful

[Profile Image for A F]

-   A F
-   06-04-12

Audiobook perfection?

Not for the feint of heart, but immensely rewarding, it's everything I love in a novel. Motifs weave their way in and out of the narrative effortlessly, and plays on words sometimes raise eyebrows, sometimes induce a guilty snicker. The language and ideas are quite playful while being earnest at the same time.

Although it is very challenging, the book can be enjoyed on many different levels. It's the only audiobook I've listened to more than once, and I always find new things to appreciate with each listen. If you can be content with enjoying the work for its simpler pleasures the first time through, you may find yourself enjoying it a second time, too.

If you find it challenging, I encourage you to enjoy it for whatever you can take out of it the first time. You may find yourself, like me, compelled to give it another listen, and dive deeper into the historical and cultural themes that I found quite slippery the first time through. I used a bit of help I found online when I got too lost. If, like me, you are completely ignorant of the history of Islam (including the Old Testament stories of Abraham, Hagar, Ishmael, etc...) you may want to find a primer online.

A note about the performance: This book, more than others, depends on a strong performance, and Dastor delivered in spades. He brought the characters to life and added to the richness of the book. He finessed, spun, chortled, and deadpanned the language as necessary to give the listener the best opportunity to get everything the book has to offer out of the audiobook. Bravo, bravo, bravo.

40 people found this helpful

[Profile Image for DIANE]

-   DIANE
-   03-22-14

This is your chance to read the unreadable

Would you listen to The Satanic Verses again? Why?

There is no other way I'd read a densely written piece of world fiction with my time constraints. Listening to "Satanic Verses" helped me understand why the Ayatollah was so peeved. When you listen to it, it becomes a performance play and I feel I now understand a great deal more about why Salman Rushdie is so revered. I use Audible only for Pulitzer Prize or Nobel prize winning fiction I wouldn't read in book form, nor on a Kindle.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I think the narrator gets that award.

Have you listened to any of Sam Dastor’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have also read Rushdie's "Midnight's Children" narrated by Dastor. In that case it was by Audiobook CD from the library with late fees... that was when I started Audible.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The return of Khomeini to Iran was extraordinarily conceived.

Any additional comments?

I used to think Audible was just low brow novels... but anything the library has on its lists of award winning books Audible has, and I now depend on it for books I can read while I am doing tasks like driving... or in my case, painting. Audible gets them all, and more and more quality books are now narrated as well. A true performance... as the narrator makes the text come alive. I've read "Crime and Punishment", but will enjoy 24 hours of quality narration from the version where the narrator is highly recommended.... on Audible.

15 people found this helpful

[Profile Image for Mel]

-   Mel
-   09-17-12

A Migrant's Eye View

*Magical realism fiction,* or a head-on collision between Joseph Campbell, Aesop, and Christopher Hitchens. A thoughful, intoxicating, hilarious work filled with boatloads of allusions and multicultural symbols. Rushdie is a word-slinging wordsmith and his use of the language is comparable to Eco's, amazing laser-precision with words.

A literary feast, but a very demanding listen. I found I went with it best when I could just sit down and listen--without interruptions! (Had to re-listen to the first 2 chapters 3 x.) Rushdie himself said of this book,
"...it requires a long period of intense reading. It's a quarter of a million words"
(some of which you'll be looking up unless you understand the many cultures: Indian, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, etc.). I can appreciate the fact that this is a nearly perfect novel--I enjoyed it immensely, but I'm done with it... Scratch one off my *booket list*

*[If you're interested...Andrew Anthony wrote a fascinating piece for The Observer (10 Jan. 2009) entitled "How one book ignited a culture war"--looking back through the years since the publication of The Satanic Verses.]

31 people found this helpful

[Profile Image for Bette]

-   Bette
-   09-19-12

Preparing for Joseph Anton!

Wanting to prepare to read Joseph Anton, I found that Sam Dastor’s reading of Satanic Verses brought the book alive for me. Having bought the hardcover, in my little private feud with censors, the day Khomeini issued his death verdict for Rushdie, I have periodically attempted to read it but have never been able to “get into it”.

Dastor changed all that as I listened and followed along with the print, enjoying the examination of differences in countries, religious tales, dream sequences, people in personal jealousies, divided cultural yearnings and loyalties, and mental confusion and illness--all with humor and literary references. Rushdie is a master of language and Dastor’s reading reflects his intelligence.

I am now eager to hear Dastor read Rusdie’s memoir, Joseph Anton, about his life after Khomeini’s edict. Since the heart of Satanic Verses is about the life of the “alien” or “exile” I expect a deep connection of its real message to Rushdie’s life.

Note: There is a transposition of a section in the chapter “Ayesha” p. 214 -225 (starting in Part 2 of the download, Chapter 3 of 6 at 26:20 minutes) that the audible version moves to p.240, concluding the “Ayesha” section. I found it confusing, but it is part of the “serial visions” of Gibreel so if you feel a little confused without a text in front of you, don’t worry--it is all there and will be understandable in the end.

16 people found this helpful

[Profile Image for january]

-   january
-   05-08-12

What kind of idea am I?

I cannot judge this book harshly on the basis of my limited understanding. At once I understood, and did not understand. In order to get the most from the listening of this book, I looked up resources online. (google search: how to understand the satanic verses) I found some notes that were very helpful. Sometimes it's nice to find a book that makes you work for it. This is one such book. I now feel that my world view has broadened.

Even when the book was difficult to follow, there were so many things that made me stick with it. For instance, little jewels like these:

"A poet's work," he answers. "To name the unnamable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world and stop it from going to sleep."

“From the beginning men used God to justify the unjustifiable.”

This is a powerful story on it's own, but it also seemed to me to be a conversation Rushdie was having with himself, struggling to find answers and his own place in the world. I think it's a conversation that many of us have had with ourselves at one time or another. Where do I fit in? Are any of these "truths" true? What kind of idea am I?

I have borrowed The Satanic Verses from the library, and stood in the bookstore with it in my hands, but I had never read it until now. I think I just wasn't ready for it. I am ready now. This book can move mountains if you will open your mind and let it in.

30 people found this helpful

[Profile Image for Khal Drogo]

-   Khal Drogo
-   02-05-15

A Masterpiece of Magical Realism!

Would you listen to The Satanic Verses again? Why?

Yes sir! The story is fantastic, the writing is majestic and the narration is flawless. So why I heck wouldn't I?

What did you like best about this story?

The beautiful mixture of fancy and reality. It's like the spicy Chinese noodles with a touch of vodka ...Delicious! Leaves you wondering what was real and what was not. Throw in the typical Salman Rushdie sense of humor and you've got a classic in your hands.

Which character – as performed by Sam Dastor – was your favorite?

It was my first book on Audible and only after completing the novel did I realize that all voices were done by a solitary person and I was taken aback. Sam Dastor is that good! Indian accent, British accent, American accent, Persian accent, females, children, old people - he does it all incredibly well and smooth.
If I had to choose one character though it'll be Gibreel Farishta, his accent is pretty humorous.

If you could take any character from The Satanic Verses out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Zeeny Vakil sounds hot! I wouldn't mind Allie, Pamela, Ayesha or even Gibreel and Saladin - they're all extremely interesting characters.

Any additional comments?

Knowledge of India and Islam is crucial or you'll miss out on a lot of jokes and references.

2 people found this helpful

[Profile Image for danseiden]

-   danseiden
-   10-29-12

Confusing

Is there anything you would change about this book?

This book is fascinating at times but you better have wikipedia ready and, more so, a knowledge of world religions. Especially, as a listen, where you can't really (or at least on my little ipod shuffle) stop and linger over confusing passages, this book is very difficult to comprehend. For example, after the plane crash, when he shifts right to Jahilia, I thought I had literally lost my place in the novel.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I really loved the twang of the various dialects. Rushdie is a genius of language and Dastor reads amazingly.

Which character – as performed by Sam Dastor – was your favorite?

I loved the way Jabril spoke to Saladin.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

If there was a movie of this book it would start world war three!

Any additional comments?

My incredible, life long educator, fiercely agnostic, grandmother, since past, was a great admirer of Rushdie. I wanted to try him out. For now I have no plans to go on reading him. I need folks like Franzen, Irving, TC Boyle, and Eugenedes. Maybe when I've reached a more scholarly level I'll get more out of the work of this brave and masterful writer.

8 people found this helpful

question: What is this article about

human_answer: This is a series of reviews from people who have listened to the audiobook on Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses. The audiobook was read by actor, Sam Dastor. Both the "magical" writing and incredible verbal acting receive accolades from everyone that has read it.

text: The article offers several reviews of the audiobook - the Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. The reviewers are bowled over by the extraordinary acting abilities of the reader. The above answer is misleading and not totally without truth.

answer: This article reviews the Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. It explains why the book is incomprehensible and strangely flat. It also offers a solution for readers who want to enjoy the book.

text: The response is missing relevant details - it does not cover the writer's opinion of the audiobook or the Muslim world's attitude towards Satanic Verses.

answer: The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

text: The answer should mention the audiobook.

text: The answer should mention that the article is a collection of reviews.

text: The answer should mention that the article is a collection of reviews of the audiobook version of the book.

text: The answer should include the fact that the article is a collection of reviews.

text: The answer could be more specific about what the article is about.

text: The article is about the audiobook version of the book.

text: The response misses to mention that the book is an audio book and is about various users' reviews of it.

answer: This article reviews the Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. It explains why the book is incomprehensible and strangely flat. It also offers a solution for readers who want to enjoy the book.

text: The article doesn't explain why the book is incomprehensible and strangely flat.

text: The article does not explain why the book is incomprehensible and strangely flat.

text: The article doesn't explain why the book is incomprehensible and flat.

text: The answer is inaccurate. The article is not about the book being incomprehensible and strangely flat. It is about the audiobook version of the book.

text: The article doesn't explain why the book is incomprehensible.

text: It is wrongly stated that the solution is a kindle, however, it's an audiobook.

text: The response should mention what the solution is.


text:
Working Title, unfinished...

The truck ambles up the steep slope of the roadway - she groans and
moans and whirs a sickly myriad of regurgitation and I pat the dash.
"Easy girl, few more clicks, promise, darling," I purr to her. I look
over at you and I wonder quietly if you know, if you have the skill to
read minds and, if you did, if you knew that what was coming was an
awful, awful lot of inexplicable nothingness. An atheist's belief. A
blank sheet of canvas ready to start anew as bones disintegrate into
whisps of timeless soot.

Of course, I knew.

I knew that this road led to that road, and then the final turn would lead us to a resort that
would be the final resting place. The 'Excessum Specus', I thought,
humourlessly. You cheered delightfully when I suggested it, and I felt
a sickened sense of guilt ride up my throat from my belly. I held your
hand as we clicked through corridors of the internet to find the
perfect romantic spot. You talked for days, you packed for days, you
swam in your simple, beautiful way of happiness for days, and for days
I couldn't and just wouldn't even consider telling you that I knew
what I know.

I bought the truck several years ago from a drifter that may or may
not have lived at the residence that he was squatting in. He seemed
eager to get rid of her, and, at $1,500, thinking I could either love
her or turn a monumental and even record-breaking profit, I followed
suit and eagerly shook his hand to seal the proposition. He handed me
the keys to my new darling after I had returned from the bank, and I
handed him a thick wad of 15 crisp hundreds, "hot off the presses,"
the clerk had pipped happily. The drifter swatted them from my hand
like a ridiculous thief and he skipped off down the street. I tossed
the keys in the air and whistled a sexy cat-call as my fingers ran
over her body delicately. I stayed in that spot for what seemed like
several hours, examining every nuance of my new lady. I've never been
one for knowing the inner-workings of the marvelous beasts we putter
around in throughout our daily lives, but having owned more than a
handful in my some thirty-years of life, I've grown to have an
unspoken degree of respect for them. And this one, this slick,
beautiful girl that I had obtained and was petting oh so gingerly, was
no exception. She was a creamy, luxurious white, like fresh, hot nail
polish on a call-girl's fingernails.

I fell into a deep chasm of love for her; my fingers traced every inch of her exterior from grill to
tail-light. I fingered the dash interior softly, caressing each gauge
that lay behind perfectly dirty glass. I slid my fingertips around the
knobs that tune and regulate the blasts of air and music that would
accompany me for the next millennium. She was imperfect, she was
flawed, she was a perpetual list of synonyms for a blemished vehicle,
but oh, she was mine. She was mine. I thought of the previous owners
for a moment, I thought of the drifter for half a moment, and I
thought of my future with her for what seemed like another billion
years. Trips, parties, love-making, fights, blinding sun-lit mornings,
eerily peaceful and calm nights where the night just swallowed me and
her whole like a helpless fly in a trap; I remember my heart beating
to the rhythm of the ideas that churned out like chocolates along an I
Love Lucy conveyor belt. I felt myself sink into her seat, the
seven-Postmeridian sun slowly turning her coordinates to travel, to
awaken the other half of the world. I slid the key into the ignition
(oh, what a satisfying click it made), and I turned her to start. She
roared alive like a leopard plotting revenge. I never thought of
selling her again.

"The brochure said:," I put one hand on the wheel and raise the other,
and speak in what I think is my best Shakespearean actor impression,
"'Come with tired hearts, leave with happy farts!'" You laugh and the
sun makes your eyes seem like rubies. "With a slogan like that, you
know we're in for a treat, if not a relaxing one, and don't forget
there's-," you interrupt and tell me you know of all the things we can
do, your words passing by giggling lips and perfect teeth. You tell me
you're looking forward to the Queen Sized bed the most, and you wink
and I feel my stomach flip like a half-cooked hamburger, minutes away
from being the perfect, succulent slab of meat for the gorging. Your
face drops into seriousness, which is one of things that I love so
much about you; how you can go from hysterics to complete,
lawyer-standing-at-the-podium dead pan, and you tell me with that you
"without a doubt" want to try everything at least once. Your finger
raises in the air as you speak, punctuating each hope and dream. You
tell me that you're tired of being afraid of everything, that you want
to rock-climb, bungee-jump, and, even though I don't have the heart to
beg to differ, you tell me you want to scuba dive. I knew for a fact
that there was no such recreational opportunity at this resort.
Instead, I just smile, I shift into a lower gear, and I turn the last
left-hand turn I knew I'd ever take in my life. I grip my darling's
steering wheel tightly and I try, oh do I try, to hold back the tears
as I hear your hands excitedly pat-pat-pat your lap in a tuneless bout
of glee.

Like a freight train, the thoughts that I’ve been trying to ignore for what seems like forever, they plough into me. I thought I had forgotten them, or at least stored them away in a dusty filing cabinet for purposes that I can only, and begrudgingly, label as ‘unwanted, but necessary’. Yet they heave themselves, thick and gooey and fresh like a picked scab, into my mind. My eyes flutter like a silent movie reel and I feel a hot slug of vomit creep up from inside me. I quickly but quietly slip out of our bed, leap into the bathroom and inhale a gushing relief of cool tap-water. Bent over the sink, I let several leagues-under-the-sea wet my lips, breathing in mist and white-noise.

These thoughts are a juggernaut, I think to myself, a modern-day and dangerous Hydra. They reproduce and reproduce and reproduce with every slaying swing of my sword. It’s best to just stop fighting and deal with the number of heads at hand, as they tower over me. I slowly shut the faucet. I stand in the door frame now, my hands supporting me. Your laptop’s screensaver swirls on the desk and, without looking back, I decide to take advantage.

I open a new document and hesitate. The slightly dimmed screen starts to mock me. Its smirk is a pixel blip – a line – a dash that continuously pulses like a primitive heartbeat; digital routine work, pumping default information which is ready and willing for input. I, for some reason, imagine the possibility that my heartbeat is in rhythm. I imagine that my body is ready and willing for something to signal my gears and ligaments to move from dormancy and that I can turn to you and look at you and watch you sleep. Hoping that I’ll be able to watch the just awoken sun crawl across your skin; the tiny hairs, like immaculate peaches, react to the warmth and gentle caress of light, stand on end with unbeknownst-to-you-goose-bumps as a bar of sunshine slowly and methodically scans a carbon copy of you. Your impeccable perfection immortalized into infinity. Infinity that I can keep in my back-pocket, giving me the complete knowledge that, as everything smudges and gets swept away by an end-all-be-all eraser, I can relax, fold my arms, trust inevitability and fall backward into limbo. No matter where I land, where my feet finally touch from their as of yet undetermined length of travel, I’ll be able to take you out of my pocket and remember that you were what once held me together in days yonder.

The clock on the desk, situated around a plentiful array of pamphlets detailing the activities one can do on the grounds, points stiffly to 6:28.

And then you shift in your sleep. I jump instinctively, fear rippling in a jolt through my veins. It takes me several degrees of the clock’s ticking second-hand to realize that everything, in this moment, is fine. I inhale a deep breath and notice what my wandering fingers must have typed as I was lost in thought. I quickly backspace ‘The End’, and I momentarily think about how easily it is to reverse time in a written world with just a keystroke. Still, the heartbeat pumps.

My fingers dangle over the keyboard and finally, I turn to you. Everything is perfect. A keystroke in my mind temporarily backspaces ‘The End’.

And I type: “Last night was fun ;) I love you more than I love pancakes. I’ll be back with some.”

Quietly, I slip through a crack in the door that just allows me to exit, and I close it behind me.

title: The Reset Weekend - Would love feedback on style.

question: What does the story say about the relationship between the narrator and his truck?

text: "roared like a lion" - this is incorrect. It's "roared like a leopard"

answer: The narrator falls in love with the truck he got from the drifter. He treats it like a woman, running his fingers over the truck's "delicate" body and examining every nuance of his "new lady" for hours. The narrator thinks the truck is slick, with creamy and luxurious white paint, like hot nail polish on a call girl's fingernails. He caressed everything - from the truck's dash to the taillights. The narrator imagined all the adventures he and his truck would have together for the next millennium. Parties, trips, love-making, fights, sun-lit mornings, and peaceful nights. When the narrator slid the key into the ignition and fired her up, the truck roared like a leopard plotting revenge and he never thought of selling her again.

answer: The narrator purchased the truck several years ago from a drifter. He fell into a deep chasm of love for his truck. The narrator never thought of selling his truck again.

answer: The narrator falls in love with the truck he got from the drifter. He treats it like a woman, running his fingers over the truck's "delicate" body and examining every nuance of his "new lady" for hours. The narrator thinks the truck is slick, with creamy and luxurious white paint, like hot nail polish on a call girl's fingernails. He caressed everything - from the truck's dash to the taillights. The narrator imagined all the adventures he and his truck would have together for the next millennium. Parties, trips, love-making, fights, sun-lit mornings, and peaceful nights. When the narrator slid the key into the ignition and fired her up, the truck roared like a lion plotting revenge and he never thought of selling her again.

answer: The narrator falls in love with the truck he got from the drifter. He treats it like a woman, running his fingers over the truck's "delicate" body and examining every nuance of his "new lady" for hours. The narrator thinks the truck is slick, with creamy and luxurious white paint, like hot nail polish on a call girl's fingernails. He caressed everything - from the truck's dash to the taillights. The narrator imagined all the adventures he and his truck would have together for the next millennium. Parties, trips, love-making, fights, sun-lit mornings, and peaceful nights. When the narrator slid the key into the ignition and fired her up, the truck roared like a leopard plotting revenge and he never thought of selling her again.

text: The narrator is a man, not a woman.

text: The answer should mention that the narrator is going to kill himself and his girlfriend with the truck.

text: The narrator doesn't love the truck, he loves a woman. He is taking her to a resort to kill her and make it look like an accident.

text: The answer should note that the narrator is comparing the truck he bought to a woman.

text: Just the first sentence does justice in summing up the narrator's relationship with his truck.


text:
Jonathan parked his car on the far side of the lot in a corner space. Even though there were plenty of spots that were closer to his final destination, he wanted to make sure that no one went near his new car. He contemplated taking two spaces but decided against it because he didn’t want to be that guy. He didn’t want to be a guy that he himself would look down upon. After all it was just a car, why should he inconvenience others? But it was his car. And it was new.

Jonathan exited his car and began making his way through the rows of empty spaces in the parking lot. After about twenty strides he finally reached another car, eventually made his way to a sidewalk and began making his way through the park. He checked his watch; it was only 11:40 in the morning. He had twenty minutes to kill before he could begin doing what he came here to do.

Jonathan walked along the sidewalk and enjoyed the scenes of the park. The sun beat down on him, as the cloudless sky was so picturesque it could have been on a postcard boasting of the stereotypical weather enjoyed by southern California in the summer time. While it was summer, the day was not exceptionally hot, although Jonathan began to feel beads of sweat form on the back of his neck. A black shirt and jeans may not have been the best outfit to wear outside.

After a few minutes Jonathan reached his destination and checked his watch again. 11:43, still seventeen minutes before the Museum of Art opened. Perplexed with what to do, Jonathan began walking around aimlessly, hoping to find something interesting to amuse himself while he waited for the museum to open. He walked along the park, looking at the old buildings and admiring their architecture. But this admiration was fleeting, having seen these buildings numerous times before, their charm and allure was forgotten on Jonathan.

While walking, Jonathan came across a garden he had never seen before, nestled in between two smaller buildings as a makeshift courtyard. Seeking refuge from the sun that was beginning to wear on Jonathan, he decided to try and find a place to sit and wait until the museum opened. As he walked along the courtyard, he could not find any benches that were not taken by couples, no doubt enjoying the scenery and company of one another that Jonathan was hoping to partake in. Not wanting to make any couple feel unconformable by sitting next to them and possibly ruining their nice moment, Jonathan instead circled the courtyard, no doubt being eyed by the couples wondering why this one man appeared to be seamlessly pacing around the courtyard.

A couple finally obliged and left their bench as Jonathan was walking by. He sat hurriedly on the vacated bench and found himself next to an older woman in a wheel chair and what he presumed to be her daughter. They were talking happily and the older woman seemed happy to be outside. Jonathan sat there for a few minutes, occasionally hearing parts of their conversation while periodically checking his phone to see if he had any messages. He didn’t.

He repeated this task every so often, not sure what he was hoping to find, but even more unsure about how to act alone in a public place. He felt that the couples were watching him, wondering why he was alone in a very lovely place on a nice day. Jonathan hoped that if people were watching him that by checking his phone maybe they’d think he was trying to get in contact with someone who would meet him at the courtyard, when in reality no one was coming.

He checked his watch again. 11:56. Four minutes. Jonathan thought about getting up and walking back to the museum, getting there right as it opened. Right as he was about to leave, the older woman and her daughter decide to leave. Perhaps they were going to the museum as well? As the woman was wheeled passed Jonathan, she smiled. He responded with a unsure half smile and a head nod to acknowledge the woman. As he was about to get up, Jonathan realized he couldn’t leave just yet, otherwise the couples watching him might think that he was only there to view the old woman. Why else would he leave right as they were leaving? It couldn’t be coincidence. He’d have to wait an appropriate amount of time before leaving the courtyard, to make it appear that his departure had nothing to do with the old woman in the wheel chair. He would be late for the opening.

Jonathan walked into the museum and was immediately receptive to the cool, circulated air. He was much sweatier than he realized after having been outside for almost a half an hour. After showing his member card he was walked past the counter and began to wonder about the museum.

He liked coming on Sunday mornings right when the museum opened because there were less people. Unlike those days when membership was free and the museum was turned from a place of refuge with those of intellect into a hall bantered about by mobs of children and inattentive mothers who wanted to do something “cultural” for their children with the hopes that maybe a piece of great art would influence them, when in reality they were just happy to be out of the house. Jonathan disliked these people very much. Not the children, for they didn’t know any better, but the adults who treated his museum as a McDonalds play room. Jonathan only went to the museum once on a “free day” and vowed never to go back again.

On Sundays Jonathan only had to put up with adults who acted inappropriately, talking to loudly, walking in front of him while viewing a work. These acts may seem trivial but Jonathan rather disliked them because of the ease of which they could be avoided, at least among non-oblivious adults. While Jonathan didn’t consider himself an artist or even one who knew a great deal about art, he
knew what he liked and how to appreciate it.

As he wondered through the halls he walked into a room and was completely surrounded. He had walked into a room that featured life-sized Buddhists statues, collected from various temples all throughout Southeast Asia. They stood over ten feet tall and towered over Jonathan’s average build. Eight statues filled the room, four on each side of the wall with Jonathan in the middle, alone, being gazed upon by the century old works. He had been in this room dozens of times before, but for some reason felt uncomfortable. He had to leave.

Jonathan walked back into the hall from which he just came, unsure of why he felt so strange walking into the exhibit. Part of him thought it was because he was alone and caught off guard by the sixteen carved eyes all focusing on him, while another part wondered if he was burying some deeply guilt within himself that only eight Buddhists statues could reveal. Whatever it was, he didn’t care to find out and made his way into the German expressionist gallery.

Jonathan wondered about the first floor of the museum for about an hour, making his way through some new exhibits he hadn’t seen yet. Being impressed with some and disappointed with others, he made his way upstairs to the familiar galleries that hadn’t changed since he became a member many years ago. He walked through the Italian Renaissance gallery and sat down on a bench conveniently placed in front of his two favorite paintings.

Jonathan wasn’t alone in the gallery for very long, as people would occasionally drift in and out, viewing the works and mumbling softly to themselves or others. Occasionally people would stop and view the paintings that Jonathan was admiring. He could see the people out of the corner of his eye at times, watching him, wondering how he could remain so intently focused on just two works for such a long period of time.

“They are breathtaking, aren’t they? These two works,” Jonathan said softly. This is my favorite spot in the whole museum. On the one hand on the left, you have Canaletto painting Venice in such an idealized way. Picturesque. Perfect. How anyone who has ever imagined Venice would view it.  With water so clear and a sky so blue you don’t know which is which. Gondola operators singing in the canals to lovers new and old, their voices echoing off buildings that have seen more history than anyone of us could ever dream. Gloriously crafted buildings that have seen so much, so many lovers and families enjoying the canals, and so many more yet to see! It’s truly remarkable.

And on the right side you have Guardi painting Venice for how it really is. Dirty, hazy, the canal littered with merchants and street peddlers trying to make a living. Clogging the beauty of the canal with just unorganized chaos. The buildings lose their luster, as they too are not immune from the damaging effects of the chaos, appearing unkempt and filthy. This is how Venice, I’m sure, actually looked in the 16th century. Not the picturesque scene that we want to see but rather one that is more representative of life. Where people don’t see the beauty around them but rather they can’t because they are just to busy trying to get by. Just trying to survive.

I’ve been trying to survive for a long time now. Jonathan stopped his sentence and looked at the two paintings, putting his hand over his mouth and stroking his chin. He continued speaking. I’ve come here a lot, and I can always tell where I am in life based on which one of the paintings I focus on, the idealized imagery or the gritty reality. And the more I come here, the more I realize I never look at the painting on the left.

Jonathan heard a low cough coming from behind him. He looked over and saw a docent, standing in the doorway, with a perplexed look on her face. Jonathan looked around, and saw no one else in the room. He was unsure how long he was talking or if he was even talking to anyone. He felt his face go bright red with embarrassment. He couldn’t think of what to do next.

title: Venice

question: Summarize Jonathan's thoughts about the museum.

text: The contents of the Venice paintings are important to include because they are an integral part of Jonathan's thoughts about the museum.

answer: He's a long-time member and likes going there, especially on Sundays. He finds the behavior of unattended children especially bothersome, so he doesn't like going on the days when museum entry is free. Some adults also behave in a rude manner while there, but Jonathan can tolerate the people who talk loudly or walk in front of him when he's looking at something. In the Italian Renaissance gallery, there are two paintings of Venice that he likes to look at often.

text: The response includes extraneous information not useful for the task.

text: The answer omits that Jonathan finds the museum to be a place of refuge.

text: The response misses to mention that Jonathan finds the behavior of unattended children especially bothersome, so he doesn't like going on the days when museum entry is free.

text: The answer should mention that Jonathan likes going to the museum because he can always tell where he is in life based on which painting he focuses on.

text: The response should include that Jonathan likes going to the museum because he can always tell where he is in life based on which one of the paintings he focuses on, the idealized imagery or the gritty reality.

text: It's not just the behavior of the children.

text: The response failed to mention the room he's looking uncomfortable in the museum. This part of the answer should include the life-sized Buddhist statutes.

text: Jonathan did not tolerate adults talking loudly and walking in front of him. He disliked this.

text: This should mention how the Italian Renaissance gallery is his favorite.

answer: He's a long-time member and likes going there, especially on Sundays. He finds the behavior of unattended children especially bothersome, so he doesn't like going on the days when museum entry is free. Some adults also behave in a rude manner while there, but Jonathan can tolerate the people who talk loudly or walk in front of him when he's looking at something. In the Italian Renaissance gallery, there are two paintings that he likes to look at often. They both depict Venice, one in a pristine and ideal state while the other shows a gritty, realistic state.

text: The answer should mention that the paintings are in Jonathan's favorite part of the museum

text: The article should mention that Jonathan goes to the museum very early on a Sunday morning to avoid crowds

answer: He's a long-time member and likes going there, especially on Sundays. He finds the behavior of unattended children especially bothersome, so he doesn't like going on the days when museum entry is free. Some adults also behave in a rude manner while there, but Jonathan can tolerate the people who talk loudly or walk in front of him when he's looking at something. In the Italian Renaissance gallery, there are two paintings of Venice that he likes to look at often.

answer: He's a long-time member and likes going there, especially on Sundays. He finds the behavior of unattended children especially bothersome, so he doesn't like going on the days when museum entry is free. Some adults also behave in a rude manner while there, but Jonathan can tolerate the people who talk loudly or walk in front of him when he's looking at something. In the Italian Renaissance gallery, there are two paintings that he likes to look at often. They both depict Venice, one in a pristine and ideal state while the other shows a gritty, realistic state.

text: The answer should mention that Jonathan finds the museum to be a place of refuge.

text: The first sentence is unnecessary.

text: The first two sentences don't really add to the answer.

text: This isn't really a statement about the museum so much as a statement about the paintings so should be omitted.

answer: Jonathan likes coming to the museum on Sundays because there are fewer people. He dislikes the people who come on free days because they are loud and inattentive. He finds the museum to be a place of refuge. He likes the German expressionist gallery. He finds the Italian Renaissance gallery to be his favorite spot in the museum.

text: The response should include that Jonathan finds the museum to be a place of refuge.

text: The response misses to mention that Jonathan finds the German expressionist gallery to be his favorite spot in the museum.

text: The response contains inaccurate information.

text: The answer omits Jonathan's thoughts on the paintings of Venice.

text: The response misses to mention that Jonathan finds the German expressionist gallery.

text: It is omitted that he feels comfortable in the museum.

text: The Italian Rennaisance gallery is Jonathan's favorite, not the German expressionist one.

text: The response contains inaccurate information about liking the German expressionist gallery.

answer: Jonathan likes coming to the museum on Sundays because there are fewer people. He dislikes the people who come on free days because they are loud and inattentive. He finds the museum to be a place of refuge. He likes the German expressionist gallery. He finds the Italian Renaissance gallery to be his favorite spot in the museum.

text: It is unattested that he likes the German expressionist gallery.


text:
ZHANG LIANG (; (died April 17, 646[1]) was a Chinese general and official who served as a chancellor late in the reign of Emperor Taizong in the Tang dynasty. He was eventually accused of using witchcraft – a major taboo in imperial China – and executed in 646.

Background and service under Li Mi

It is not known when Zhang Liang was born. He was from Zheng Prefecture (roughly modern Zhengzhou, Henan), and it was said that his family was not of a noble lineage. Early in his life, Zhang was a farmer, but was said to have great expectations. He was also said to be appearing to be honest and meek outwardly, but instead was treacherous inside. At the end of the Sui dynasty, the rebel ruler Li Mi conquered Zhang's home region, and Zhang followed him. Initially, he was not regarded highly by Li Mi, but after he revealed a treasonous plot to Li Mi, Li Mi believed him to be faithful, and so made him a general and had him serve under the general Xu Shiji.

In 618, Li Mi was defeated by the Sui general Wang Shichong, and he fled to Tang territory and surrendered to the Tang Empire. The parts of the territory formerly under Li Mi's control was still under Xu's control, and Xu, because Li Mi had already submitted to Tang, decided to submit to Tang as well — a decision that Zhang supported.

During Emperor Gaozu's reign

After the submission of Xu Shiji (who later would be bestowed the imperial clan name of Li and be known as Li Shiji) to Tang, Zhang Liang was made the governor of Zheng Prefecture. However, around the same time, Wang Shichong captured Zheng Prefecture, and Zhang had nowhere to go, and instead took up guerilla warfare in the region. Later, based on recommendations by Li Shiji and Fang Xuanling, the Tang prince Li Shimin (the second son of Emperor Gaozu) invited Zhang to serve on his staff, and Zhang eventually became a trusted advisor.

By 626, Li Shimin was locked in an intense rivalry with his elder brother, Li Jiancheng (the Crown Prince), and he considered actions to take. As Li Shimin contemplated the possibility that he might eventually need to seize Luoyang to serve as a basis of operations against Li Jiancheng, he sent Zhang to Luoyang, with several thousand men, to secretly plan for that possibility, and to distribute wealth to get people to join Li Shimin's cause. However, this was discovered by Li Shimin's younger brother, Li Yuanji (the Prince of Qi), who supported Li Jiancheng, and Li Yuanji accused Zhang of treason. Zhang was briefly put under arrest, but under interrogation refused to reveal Li Shimin's instructions to him, and with insufficient evidence against himself, he was released and allowed to return to Luoyang. Later that year, after Li Shimin ambushed Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji at Xuanwu Gate and killed them, he effectively forced Emperor Gaozu to create him crown prince and then yield the throne to him (as Emperor Taizong).

During Emperor Taizong's reign

For Zhang's contributions, Emperor Taizong enfeoffed him as the Duke of Changping and made him the commandant at Huai Prefecture (, roughly modern Jiaozuo, Henan). In 631, he was made the imperial censor, and then the minister of palace supplies. He was also created the greater title of Duke of Yu. He served several times as commandants, and in 633, when Emperor Taizong made his favorite son Li Tai, the Prince of Wei, the commandant at Xiang Prefecture (, roughly modern Handan, Hebei) but did not actually send Li Tai to Xiang Prefecture, Zhang was made the secretary general at Xiang Prefecture and effectively the commandant. In 637, his title was changed to Duke of Xun.

It was said that when Zhang was at a prefectural post, he would send his subordinates to secretly investigate who are the good and who are the evil people of the locale, allowing him to punish the evil and discover the good. He was also praised for suppressing the local bullies and helping the weak. However, it was also said that he divorced his wife and married a Lady Li as his new wife. Lady Li was said to be promiscuous and jealous, but was greatly favored by Zhang. When they went to Xiang Prefecture, there was a young man who sold pens for a living and was good at singing and dancing. Lady Li carried on an affair with the young man, and, falsely declaring that Zhang had previously carried on an affair with the young man's mother, encouraging Zhang to adopt the young man as a son, to be named Zhang Shenji () — an act opposed by Zhang's son, by his former wife, Zhang Shenwei (), to no avail. It was also said that Lady Li favored witchcraft, engaging many witches, and interfered with Zhang's administration, and from that point on, Zhang's reputation began to suffer.

In 640, Zhang was recalled to the capital Chang'an to serve as the minister of public works. In 641, he was made the head of the household for Emperor Taizong's son and crown prince, Li Chengqian, but was also sent out of the capital to serve as the commandant at Luo Prefecture (i.e., modern-day Luoyang, Henan). The general Hou Junji, who was unhappy that he had been briefly imprisoned on accusations of embezzlement after he conquered Gaochang, tried to instigate Zhang by asking him, “Who squeezed you out?” Zhang, in jest, responded, “Other than you, who can squeeze me out?” Hou responded, “I conquered a kingdom, but I ran into someone throwing a tamper tantrum big enough to overturn a house. What strength do I have to squeeze you out?” He then rolled up his sleeves and yelled, “I am so unhappy that I would rather die. Do you want to commit treason? I will commit treason with you!” Zhang secretly reported this exchange to Emperor Taizong, but Emperor Taizong pointed out that this was a private conversation with no corroboration, and took no action on it.[2] After Hou was revealed to have plotted with Li Chengqian to overthrow Emperor Taizong in 643, Li Chengqian was deposed and exiled, while Hou was executed. Because Zhang had previously warned Emperor Taizong about Hou, Emperor Taizong rewarded him by recalling him to the capital to serve as the minister of justice and also bestowing him the additional designation of _Canyu Chaozheng_ (), making him a _de facto_ chancellor. (Earlier in 643, when Emperor Taizong commissioned the Portraits at Lingyan Pavilion to commemorate the 24 great contributors to Tang rule, Zhang's was one of the portraits commissioned.) [Zhang Liang's campaign during the Tang-Goguryeo war.] In 644, when Emperor Taizong planned a major campaign against Goguryeo, Zhang repeatedly advised against it, but Emperor Taizong did not accept his advice. Zhang himself thereafter requested to be a general on the campaign, and he was put in charge of the 40,000 soldier fleet that would depart from Lai Prefecture to head directly toward the Goguryeo capital Pyongyang. In summer 645, Zhang's fleet attacked and captured Bisa (, in modern Dalian, Liaoning), and then headed to the mouth of the Yalu River in anticipation of the army also arriving there. When his forces subsequently marched past Geonan (, in modern Yingkou, Liaoning), Goguryeo forces made a surprise attack against his forces—shocking him so much that he froze, but his failure to react was interpreted by his own soldiers to be a show of resolve and bravery, and his assistant Zhang Jinshu () subsequently counterattacked and repelled the Goguryeo attack. Later, however, when Emperor Taizong's own main forces became bogged down in sieging Ansi (, in modern Anshan, Liaoning) and was eventually forced to abandon the offensive with winter arriving, Zhang withdrew as well.

Death

Meanwhile, over the years, Zhang had taken some 500 men and called them his sons. He had also become very trusting of sorcerers named Cheng Gongying () and Gongsun Chang (), whose brother Gongsun Jie () was one of Zhang's “sons.” Both Cheng and Gongsun flattered Zhang by suggesting that one day he would be emperor. In 646, one Chang Dexuan () reported to Emperor Taizong these things and suggested that Zhang was plotting treason. Emperor Taizong had the chancellor Ma Zhou investigate, and, although Cheng and Gongsun Chang admitted the allegations, Zhang denied the allegations, stating that Cheng and Gongsun only admitted because they wanted to be spared. Emperor Taizong, however, believed that Zhang was plotting with his 500 “sons.” Most officials also advocated Zhang's death; only Li Daoyu () the deputy minister of construction opposed, stating, “There is no firm evidence that Zhang was committing treason, and he should not be put to death.” Emperor Taizong executed Zhang and Cheng, but later regretted it, and due to his regrets, he promoted Li Daoyu to the post of deputy minister of justice.

Notes and references

-   _Old Book of Tang_, vol. 69.1
-   _New Book of Tang_, vol. 94.2
-   _Zizhi Tongjian_, vols. 191, 194, 196, 197, 198.

Category:646 deaths Category:Sui dynasty people Category:Tang dynasty generals at war against Goguryeo Category:Chancellors under Emperor Taizong of Tang Category:People executed for witchcraft Category:People executed by the Tang dynasty by decapitation Category:Executed Tang dynasty people Category:7th-century executions by the Tang dynasty Category:Politicians from Zhengzhou Category:Executed people from Henan Category:Year of birth unknown Category:Tang dynasty generals from Henan Category:Tang dynasty politicians from Henan Category:Transition from Sui to Tang

[1]

[2] The _Old Book of Tang_, in Hou's biography, reported this event to be in 643, and the _Zizhi Tongjian_ adopted that dating. See _Old Book of Tang_, vol. 69 ; _Zizhi Tongjian_, vol. 196. However, the _Old Book of Tang_ biography for Zhang Liang, in the same volume, dated this event as occurring in 641.

title: Zhang Liang (Tang dynasty)

question: Summarize Zhang's life during Emperor Gaozu's reign.

text: Wang Shichong didn't capture Zhang. Instead, he captured the Zheng Prefecture.

answer: Zhang became the governor of Zheng Prefecture and Wang Shichong captured him. So, Zhang took up guerilla warfare but later, Li Shimin invited him to serve on his staff. Li Shimin sent Zhang to Luoyang with thousands of men to plan to seize the place. Zhang was arrested for treason but he didn't reveal anything so he was released.

text: The answer omits that Zhang was a trusted advisor to Li Shimin.

text: The answer omits Zhang's role in the death of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji.

text: The response is missing the part where Li Shimin ambushed Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji at Xuanwu Gate and killed them, which led to Li Shimin being made crown prince and then yielding the throne to him (as Emperor Taizong).

text: It's omitted that Li Shimin ambushed Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji at Xuanwu Gate and killed them, which made him emperor.

text: "Zhang became the governor of Zheng Prefecture" - add "After the submission of Xu Shiji to Tang, Emperor Gaozu"

text: The answer omits the subsequent killing of Emperor Gaozu's sons.

text: Wang Shichong captured Zheng Prefecture, not Zheng. That is why he took up guerilla warfare

text: it is omitted that after he was released, he was allowed to return to Luoyang

answer: After submitting to the Tang Empire, Zhang Liang was made the governor of Zheng Prefecture. However, Wang Shichong captured the prefecture and Zhang took up guerilla warfare in the region. Later, the Tang prince Li Shimin invited Zhang to serve on his staff, and Zhang became a trusted advisor. In 626, Li Shimin sent Zhang to Luoyang to secretly plan for the possibility that he would need to seize Luoyang to serve as a basis of operations against Li Jiancheng. Li Yuanji, Li Jiancheng's supporter, accused Zhang of treason. However, Zhang was released and allowed to return to Luoyang.

text: The answer omits that Zhang was also an advisor to Li Shimin.

text: The answer omits that Zhang was also a trusted advisor to Li Shimin.

text: The answer omits that after Li Shimin ambushed Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji at Xuanwu Gate and killed them, he effectively forced Emperor Gaozu to create him crown prince and then yield the throne to him.

text: The answer omits that Zhang was a trusted advisor to Li Shimin, who later became Emperor Taizong.

text: "However" is used too often in this response.

text: The response is missing Li Shimin's death and the events that followed after.

text: The answer should mention what happened to Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji.

answer: Zhang became the governor of Zheng Prefecture and Wang Shichong captured the region. So, Zhang took up guerilla warfare but later, Li Shimin invited him to serve on his staff. Li Shimin sent Zhang to Luoyang with thousands of men to plan to seize the place. Zhang was arrested for treason but he didn't reveal anything so he was released.

text: The answer should mention that Zhang became a trusted advisor for Li Shimin.

answer: After submitting to the Tang Empire, Zhang Liang was made the governor of Zheng Prefecture. However, Wang Shichong captured the prefecture and Zhang took up guerilla warfare in the region. Later, the Tang prince Li Shimin invited Zhang to serve on his staff, and Zhang became a trusted advisor. In 626, Li Shimin sent Zhang to Luoyang to secretly plan for the possibility that he would need to seize Luoyang to serve as a basis of operations against Li Jiancheng. Li Yuanji, Li Jiancheng's supporter, accused Zhang of treason. However, Zhang was released and allowed to return to Luoyang.

answer: Zhang became the governor of Zheng Prefecture and Wang Shichong captured the region. So, Zhang took up guerilla warfare but later, Li Shimin invited him to serve on his staff. Li Shimin sent Zhang to Luoyang with thousands of men to plan to seize the place. Zhang was arrested for treason but he didn't reveal anything so he was released.

text: The answer omits that Li Shimin ambushed Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji at Xuanwu Gate and killed them, he effectively forced Emperor Gaozu to create him crown prince and then yield the throne to him (as Emperor Taizong).

text: The answer omits Zhang's role in the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

text: It is omitted that Li Shimin ambushed Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji at Xuanwu Gate and killed them, he effectively forced Emperor Gaozu to create him crown prince and then yield the throne to him (as Emperor Taizong).

text: The answer omits Zhang's life after the reign of Emperor Gaozu.

text: "Li Shimin sent Zhang to Luoyang with thousands of men to plan to seize the place. Zhang was arrested for treason but he didn't reveal anything so he was released." - this was during Emperor Taizong's reign, not Emperor Gaozu's. Revise the answer to reflect the correct timeline of events.

text: It doesn't mention that the treason was the plan to seize Luoyang and doesn't mention that he was exiled.

text: "Zhang became the governor of Zheng Prefecture and Wang Shichong captured the region." - this is confusing and needs to be split into two sentences. Wang Shichong's capture of the region must be given more context.

category: other

category_text: coherence and coverage

answer: Zhang became the governor of Zheng Prefecture and Wang Shichong captured him. So, Zhang took up guerilla warfare but later, Li Shimin invited him to serve on his staff. Li Shimin sent Zhang to Luoyang with thousands of men to plan to seize the place. Zhang was arrested for treason but he didn't reveal anything so he was released.