TASK DEFINITION: You are given a background paragraph that describes one or more causal or qualitative relationships such as a relationship in economics or a scientific law and a story that makes use of the concepts or the relationship described in the provided paragraph. You are also given a question about the story that requires an understanding of the relationship described in the background paragraph and the story. You need to come up with an answer to the given question; the answer will be a span from either the question or the story. In order to correctly answer the given question, you need to understand the relationship mentioned in the background paragraph and should be able to use it to understand that in the story. Your answer can not consist of any word that is not mentioned in any of these: the background paragraph, the story, or the question. You can directly copy and paste a span from the story or the question while answering the given question.
PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: Turner et al (2006) derived crash prediction models for this report’s predecessor and found a
pronounced ‘safety in numbers’ effect in the models. Using the crash prediction model for mid-block
locations, generic motorist and cyclist volumes can be used to demonstrate the impacts on the
expected crash rate of varying motor vehicle and cycle volumes. As shown in figure 2.20, an increase
in the proportion of cyclists to the overall traffic volume causes an increase in expected crashes at
mid-block locations, but the crash rate increases at a decreasing rate. That is to say, the crash rate per
cyclist goes down as the cycle volume increases. 
Story: There were a lot of motorcycles on Interstate 14 last week. On Friday, there were 1511 motorcyclists. On Saturday, there were 2511 motorcyclists. On Sunday, there were 3511 motorcyclists. On Monday, there were 4511 motorcyclists. On Tuesday, there were 5511 motorcyclists. On Wednesday, there were 6511 motorcyclists. On Thursday, there were 7511 motorcyclists. 
Question: What day had a lower crash rate per cyclist: Friday or Thursday?

SOLUTION: Thursday.

PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: Millions of people in the world jog for exercise. For the most part, jogging can be a healthy way to stay fit. However, problems can also develop for those who jog in the heat. Excessive sweating can lead to electrolyte loss that could be life-threatening. Early symptoms of electrolyte deficiency can include nausea, fatugue, and dizziness. If not treated, individuals can experience muscle weakness and increased heart rate (which could lead to a heart attack). Many sports drinks can be consumed to restore electrolytes quickly in the body. 
Story: Two teams of runners took part in a study about exercise. Red team ran 10 km in the heat, while Green team ran the same distance in the morning in cool weather. The Red team experienced more runners with health problems. 
Question: Which team had fewer runners with muscle weakness?

SOLUTION: Green.

PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: Storing large volumes of data – When storing XML to either file or database, the volume of data a system produces can often exceed reasonable limits, with a number of detriments: the access times go up as more data is read, CPU load goes up as XML data takes more power to process, and storage costs go up. By storing XML data in Fast Infoset format, data volume may be reduced by as much as 80 percent. 
Story: Samuel had a busy day storing XML. At 5 PM, he stored 223 Gigabytes to the database. At 6 PM, he stored 334 Gigabytes to the database. At 7 PM, he stored 445 Gigabytes to the database. At 8 PM, he got dinner. At 9 PM, he stored 556 Gigabytes to the database. At 10 PM, he stored 667 Gigabytes to the database. At 11 PM, he went to sleep to finish storing XML tomorrow. 
Question: What time did storage costs go up:  5 PM or 8 PM?

SOLUTION:
5 PM.