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.

[EX Q]: Background Paragraph: As Figure above shows, the distance between particles is much smaller for the solid and liquid states than for the gas state. In the solid state, particles are fixed in place, while particles are more free to move in the liquid and gas states. The particles in the solid and liquid states “stick together,” but in the gas state, they move freely about the container. In general, it requires energy to separate individual particles. If we want to make a solid adopt a liquid form, we can add energy in the form of heat, increasing the temperature of the substance. Conversely, if we want to convert a substance from a gas to a liquid or from a liquid to a solid, we remove energy from the system and decrease the temperature. Pressure also plays an important role in changes of state, which will be discussed later on. We will study these difference in greater detail in the chapter States of Matter. 
Story: Thomas and Alexander are freshman students in an introductory chemistry laboratory course at their local college. In this week's experiment, both Thomas and Alexander will be starting their experiments with liquid water. They both follow different experimental protocols, and at the end of the experiment Thomas discovers ice in his reaction flask, while Alexander discovers steam in his reaction flask. 
Question: Which person created a substance with particles that have less distance between them than they did originally?
[EX A]: Thomas.

[EX Q]: Background Paragraph: Besides anthropogenic productivity of the land, the biodiversity of degraded land also declines, as previously mentioned.[12] With less biodiversity, this ecosystem is less adaptable to when disasters strike it[11][8] It has a smaller available food supply, in terms of plants, for animals, who then may die out or more likely may relocate. Proof of this decline is that presently 15-20% of Tibetan Plateau species are now considered endangered; and now because of this animal and plant absence, the soil quality of these degraded lands is very poor.[1] It does not hold the necessary nutrients, such as water, nitrogen, and carbon, essential to either supporting life or inviting life back to that land.[6] As a result of such carbon and nitrogen loss in the Tibetan Plateau, $8,033/ha and $13,315/ha were respectively lost in economic terms. Soils are further weakened by dust storms whose frequency increases because of degradation.[11][4] Erosion of soil becomes a bigger problem, since no longer are there as many plants to anchor in the soil. In the northern Chinese province alone, 400 million are affected every year with an associated 54 billion yuan of annual economic loss due to grassland degradation. 
Story: The Gorge saw some negative effects due to deforestation. The Valley has a more fertile soil, it's not overgrazed, and the trees and bushes are abundant, and the productivity has increased several fold over the past decade. Biodiversity in the Valley is varied, and the soils are nutritious and retain more water, nitrogen and carbon. 
Question: Which area experiences less soil erosion?
[EX A]: The Valley.

[EX Q]: Background Paragraph: White blood cells also make chemicals that cause a fever. A fever is a higher-than-normal body temperature. Normal human body temperature is 98.6°F (37°C). Most bacteria and viruses that infect people reproduce fastest at this temperature. When the temperature is higher, the pathogens cannot reproduce as fast, so the body raises the temperature to kill them. A fever also causes the immune system to make more white blood cells. In these ways, a fever helps the body fight infection. 
Story: Stephanie is a nurse at the local high school. Recently, the flu has been going around and she has had many students come into her office feeling ill. When a student comes in, the first thing she does is check their temperature to test for a fever. 
Question: If a student has a fever are they healthy or do they have a virus or infection?
[EX A]:
they have a virus or infection.