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: So much rain falling so fast causes some of the damage from a hurricane. But a lot of the damage is caused by storm surge. Storm surge is very high water located in the low pressure eye of the hurricane. The very low pressure of the eye allows the water level to rise above normal sea level. Storm surge can cause flooding when it reaches land ( Figure below ). High winds do a great deal of damage in hurricanes. High winds can also create very big waves. If the large waves are atop a storm surge, the high water can flood the shore. If the storm happens to occur at high tide, the water will rise even higher. 
Story: Beach town was hit hard by the hurricane. Hill town was spared, being situated 50 miles south. the eye of the hurricane passed almost through Beach town. 
Question: Which town had more damage caused by the water level rising above normal sea level?

SOLUTION: Beach.

PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: East Antarctica is colder than its western counterpart because of its higher elevation. Weather fronts rarely penetrate far into the continent, leaving the centre cold and dry. Despite the lack of precipitation over the central portion of the continent, ice there lasts for extended periods. Heavy snowfalls are common on the coastal portion of the continent, where snowfalls of up to 1.22 metres (48 in) in 48 hours have been recorded. 
Story: Two teams of scientists were in Antarctica to study the weather. Camp Alpha was located in East Antarctica, while camp Omega was situated in West Antarctica. 
Question: Which camp experienced fewer weather fronts?

SOLUTION: Omega.

PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: Human beings invented agriculture about 10,000 years ago. This provided a bigger, more dependable food supply. It also allowed people to settle down in villages and cities for the first time. Birth rates went up because there was more food and settled life had other advantages. Death rates also rose because of crowded living conditions and diseases that spread from domestic animals. Because the higher birth rates were matched by higher death rates, the human population continued to grow very slowly. 
Story: David was studying human history. He selected two specific eras of human history, era A and era B. Era A was before humans had invented agriculture. And, era B was after the invention of agriculture. He noticed that human societies had changed dramatically after the invention of agriculture. 
Question: Which era saw lower birth rate, era A or era B?

SOLUTION:
era A.