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.

[Q]: Background Paragraph: Candied fruit, also known as crystallized fruit or glacé fruit, has existed since the 14th century. Whole fruit, smaller pieces of fruit, or pieces of peel, are placed in heated sugar syrup, which absorbs the moisture from within the fruit and eventually preserves it. Depending on size and type of fruit, this process of preservation can take from several days to several months.[1] This process allows the fruit to retain its quality for a year.[2]

The continual process of drenching the fruit in syrup causes the fruit to become saturated with sugar, preventing the growth of spoilage microorganisms due to the unfavourable osmotic pressure this creates.[3]. 
Story: Mary and Ann got some fruit as a gift from a friend. Mary decided to candy the fruit, while Ann decided to eat them fresh, Mary received plums, peaches, apples and oranges. Ann got pears, quince, cherries and blackberries. 
Question: Which fruit retained their quality longer plums or quince?
[A]: plums.


[Q]: 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 10 last week. On Tuesday, there were 3500 motorcyclists. On Wednesday, there were 4500 motorcyclists. On Thursday, there were 5500 motorcyclists. On Friday, there were 6500 motorcyclists. On Saturday, there were 7500 motorcyclists. On Sunday, there were 8500 motorcyclists. On Monday, there were 9500 motorcyclists. 
Question: What day had a lower crash rate per cyclist: Thursday or Monday?
[A]: Monday.


[Q]: Background Paragraph: When the subtropical ridge in the Northwest Pacific is stronger than normal, it leads to a wet monsoon season for Asia.[18] The subtropical ridge position is linked to how far northward monsoon moisture and thunderstorms extend into the United States. Typically, the subtropical ridge across North America migrates far enough northward to begin monsoon conditions across the Desert Southwest from July to September.[19] When the subtropical ridge is farther north than normal towards the Four Corners, monsoon thunderstorms can spread northward into Arizona. When suppressed to the south, the atmosphere dries out across the Desert Southwest, causing a break in the monsoon regime.[20]. 
Story: In 2016, the subtropical ridge across North America migrated far enough northward to begin monsoon conditions across the Desert Southwest from July to September, but in 2017 the atmosphere dried out across the Desert Southwest, causing a break in the monsoon regime. Therefore a wet year was followed buy a dry one, and the fires started again. 
Question: Which month of the year was drier, July 2017 or October 2016?
[A]:
July 2017.