Problem: Hotel California My first thought: I was going crazy. Twenty-four hours of silence (vacuum, remember); was I hallucinating noises now? I heard it again. It was a fine bell, reminiscent of ancient stone churches and the towering cathedrals I'd seen in documentaries. And accompanying the bell, I saw a light. Now, there were two things here that made ridiculously small amounts of sense. First, the whole in-a-vacuum why's-there-a-bell thing. Second, I was floating in the dark remnants of my broken ship, and any conceivable light sources were not within view; starlight is a distinctly different color and significantly less bright. These signals were the heralds of my saviors. The first words they said to me meant nothing. I wasn't listening; I didn't care; I was going to live; I was going to keep breathing. Next to those, nothing else mattered. The recycled air tasted sweet in my mouth, and all thoughts that crossed my mind were cheap metaphors about life-giving substances and how breathing was like sex, only better. (I reserved the right to revise this opinion later.) When I was done mentally exclaiming over my impossible rescue, I looked around. The ship, it was odd and old, either so outdated or so heavily modified that I couldn't tell what make it was, and somehow, the crew standing around me fit the same description, a singularly atypical amalgamation of folk. And me, I guess I was one more piece in their puzzle. I was one more scrap to weld onto the rest, one more stranded survivor who was found. I was now one of them. 

Question: "Who is the "Them" the writer refers to being one of?"

Answer: "Another found stranded survivor"
Answer: yes

Problem: In the rest of the world, China's supreme sage, Kongfuzi (K'ung Fu-tzu), is better known by the romanized name "Confucius." He was born in 551 b.c. in what is now Shandong Province in eastern China. So profound was his influence that eleven Chinese emperors made pilgrimages to the birthplace of the Great Teacher. You, too, can pay your respects at the vast temple raised on the site of his home in the small town of Qufu (Chufu), and at his tomb in the woods just to the north. The classics of Confucius, while seldom addressing spiritual and metaphysical matters, set standards for social and political conduct that still underlie many of the Chinese ways of doing and perceiving. Confucius laid great stress on the proper and harmonious relationships between ruler and subject, parent and child, teacher and student, the individual and the state. These relationships were deemed to be hierarchical and dictatorial. If the order was disturbed, dire consequences inevitably resulted. The son who disobeyed the father would bring disaster upon himself and his family, just as the emperor who defied the "mandate of heaven" or ignored the good of the empire brought ruin upon the nation. Over the centuries Confucius has suffered more changes of fortune than probably any other philosopher. Honored soon after his death as the greatest of scholars, he was later revered as semi-divine; you can still visit temples to Confucius in many Chinese cities. During the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), however, he was denounced as a counter-revolutionary force. It was only after the death of Chairman Mao (1976) and the opening of China to the outside world under more progressive reformers that Confucius, too, was "rehabilitated." Unlike Confucius, about whose life many specific and even colorful details are known, the philosopher Laozi (Lao Tse or Lao-Tzu) is an enigma. Estimates of his date of birth vary by well over a century. One legend even says he taught the young Confucius. Laozi is immortalized by his book of thoughts on man, nature, and the universe, Daodejing ("The Way and Its Power"), which became the major text of China's greatest indigenous religion, Daoism (Taoism). With its emphasis on nature, intuition, the individual, paradox ("The knowledge which is not knowledge"), and the cosmic flow known as "The Way," Daoism became the religion of artists and philosophers. After the death of Confucius, the Zhou Dynasty entered a period of strife known as the "Warring States" period (475–221 b.c.). 

Question: "What kind of relationships did Confucius say must be hierarchical and dictorial, and if they are not what would happen?"

Answer: "Spiritual and metaphysical relationships, or states would begin warring"
Answer: no

Problem: New Legitimacy: Organized crime was soon to have a formidable adversary in its bid to control Las Vegas — corporate cash. Though Las Vegas had developed a powerful local economy, few major outside investments were made in the city, due primarily to mob infiltration and its inherent ties to illegal activities. That would change dramatically with the 1966 arrival of billionaire Howard Hughes. A legitimate businessman, Hughes was nonetheless eccentric and dramatic, a style suited to the Las Vegas ethos. True to the myth, the reclusive Hughes immediately cloistered himself in the Desert Inn's penthouse. Several weeks later he was asked — then ordered — to vacate the room to make room for high rollers, whereupon he promptly bought the property and fired the management. Thus began Hughes' legendary three-year, $300-million Las Vegas buying spree. When it was over, Hughes owned six casinos, an airport, and an airline, along with numerous plots of land stretching from the Strip to the mountains. Hughes' actions would have beneficial repercussions, both immediate and lasting. Because of the new legitimacy Las Vegas acquired from Hughes' investments, established companies such as Hilton Hotels bought into the gaming business, and their influence helped draw a line in the desert sand between legitimate operations and mob casinos, where illegal skimming of profits was rampant. That, combined with the formation of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, would signal the beginning of the end for heavy mob influence in the city. Las Vegas with a Vision As corporations moved in and the mob was slowly pushed out, a new Las Vegas emerged. The legitimization of gambling led to its increased legalization across the US. What was once a sure thing became much more competitive. Casino operators had to reassess the nature of their business. The first to really do so was Steve Wynn, a Las Vegas resident and owner of the Golden Nugget. In the mid-1980s, Wynn began plans to reinvigorate Las Vegas with a new resort. He bought several Strip properties — the Silver Slipper and Castaways among them — and demolished them to make way for a new kind of resort — Mirage —  which became an instant success. 

Question: "Who owned the Golden Nugget and Silver Slipper?"

Answer: "Steve Wynn"
Answer:
yes