French language Q&A Forum

I thought that in french, nouns must always have direct or indirect articles. But in the last sentence of this exercice, "cuillère et fourchette" aren't given any.

In the C1 writing challenge 'A bad matchmaker":
The answer to the question "who felt ready to date again" is:

"qui se sentait de nouveau prêt à rencontrer des gens"

but:

1. Why is "dater" not accepted for "to date" instead of only several variations on renconter or sortir? (Especially since dating implies more than just meeting.) Is it perhaps more a Quebecois thing than a French thjing?

2. Why is "encore" not accepted for "again" instead of only "de/à nouveau"