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: Soil is well developed in the forest as suggested by the thick humus layers, rich diversity of large trees and animals that live there. In forests, precipitation exceeds evapotranspiration which results in an excess of water that percolates downward through the soil layers. Slow rates of decomposition leads to large amounts of fulvic acid, greatly enhancing chemical weathering. The downward percolation, in conjunction with chemical weathering leaches magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), and aluminum (Al) from the soil and transports them downward, a process known as podzolization. This process leads to marked contrasts in the appearance and chemistry of the soil layers.
Story: Two brothers were land owners. Bill owned 40 acres of forest, , with very well developed soil. His brother Rick owned 40 acres of grasslands, with a poor soil. Rick decided to sell his land.
Question: Which brother owned a land which had slow rates of decomposition?

SOLUTION: Bill.

PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: Any unused energy in food, whether it comes from carbohydrates, proteins, or lipids, is stored in the body as fat. An extra 3,500 Calories of energy results in the storage of almost half a kilogram (1 pound) of stored body fat. People who consistently consume more food energy then they need may become obese. Obesity occurs when the body mass index is 30.0 kg/m 2 or greater. Body mass index (BMI) is an estimate of the fat content of the body. It is calculated by dividing a person's weight (in kilograms) by the square of the person's height (in meters). Obesity increases the risk of health problems such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension.
Story: Two friends met after 20 years and compared diets. Paul ate junk food daily and weighed 300 lbs and was 5'8'' in height. Mike was vegan and stayed healthy and thin.
Question: Which friend had less stored body fat?

SOLUTION: Mike.

PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: The Hubble space telescope shows that technology and science are closely related. Technology uses science to solve problems, and science uses technology to make new discoveries. However, technology and science have different goals. The goal of science is to answer questions and increase knowledge. The goal of technology is to find solutions to practical problems. Although they have different goals, science and technology work hand in hand, and each helps the other advance. Scientific knowledge is used to create new technologies such as the space telescope. New technologies often allow scientists to explore nature in new ways.
Story: Stan Lawson is a biologist who studies marine life and has been keeping hand written notes for many years on experiments that he has performed. Jack Smith is an inventor and engineer who wants to create a new type of plastic companies can use that won't harm the ocean. They are considering joining together to work on this new venture.
Question: Which person would provide the scientific knowledge used to create the new product, Stan Lawson or Jack Smith?

SOLUTION:
Stan Lawson.