PrepTest 114, Section 1, Question 15
Mystery stories often feature a brilliant detective and(59 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AMost mystery stories(12 more words not shown)
- BMystery readers often(22 more words not shown)
- CSome mystery stories(12 more words not shown)
- DThe actions of(18 more words not shown)
- EThe detective's dull(18 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
The companion gives the reader someone to think alongside, even when that person gets the answer wrong.
I can see why a mystery writer would use that device. The companion works with the clues in front of the reader and arrives at a mistaken solution. The detective uses those same clues correctly. That lets the story put a possible answer in view while still leaving readers a chance to figure out a better one. The distraction comes from the mistaken interpretation, not necessarily from a different set of clues.
What we’re looking for
For the most strongly supported answer, my first thought is something about the companion's role as a storytelling device. But there isn't only one sentence we could infer. We'll need to distinguish what the passage actually establishes from a reasonable-sounding story about what readers usually do.
Working the answers
- A
'Often' doesn't establish 'most.' The passage tells us this setup occurs frequently, but doesn't say it appears in more than half of mystery stories. A makes a broader numerical claim than we've been given.
- B
A reader might spot the companion's mistakes and solve the mystery that way. But the passage doesn't say readers often do so, or that spotting mistakes by itself is enough. It gives readers a chance to solve the mystery without specifying this successful process or how commonly it occurs.
- CCorrect
In the stories described, the presented clues are enough for the detective to deduce the correct solution, and the setup gives readers a chance to solve the mystery too. That supports the modest claim that some mysteries provide readers with enough clues. We don't need to claim that most readers succeed, or that every mystery follows this pattern.
- D
We aren't told how often the detective's actions draw attention away from the companion. The passage describes the companion diverting readers from the correct solution. That doesn't establish the separate relationship between the detective's actions and the attention readers give the companion.
- E
Interpreting clues badly isn't the same as discovering misleading clues. The passage doesn't tell us who uncovers the clues, and the detective reaches the right answer using the same ones. E changes both the companion's role and the source of the misdirection.
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