which quote from selection 1 supports the inference that relying on technology for immediate information impairs people's ability to think?

it is the background information on the characters and setting explained at the beginning of the story. the exposition will often have information about events that happened before the story began. the exposition is often the very first part of the plot.

one is a red flower, and one is the sky when the sun sets.

  this riddles' answer is library.

  the "leaves" are a reference to the books' pages that the library contains; the branches are a network of libraries that connect multiple libraries' collections, resources, and items in a system of a common database, integrating them; the branches' organization are a useful management tool for coordinating the multiple collections many libraries have.