getgyan wrote:
Mystery stories often feature a brilliant detective and the detective’s dull companion. Clues are presented in the story, and the companion wrongly infers an inaccurate solution to the mystery using the same clues that the detective uses to deduce the correct solution. Thus, the author’s strategy of including the dull companion gives readers a chance to solve the mystery while also diverting them from the correct solution.
Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above?
(A) Most mystery stories feature a brilliant detective who solves the mystery presented in the story.
(B) Mystery readers often solve the mystery in a story simply by spotting the mistakes in the reasoning of the detective’s dull companion in that story.
(C) Some mystery stories give readers enough clues to infer the correct solution to the mystery.
(D) The actions of the brilliant detective in a mystery story rarely divert readers from the actions of the detective’s dull companion.
(E) The detective’s dull companion in a mystery story generally uncovers the misleading clues that divert readers from the mystery’s correct solution.
I think the key thing that this question is trying to test is the "often/some/most" clarification, so I will give it a shot.
Most means Major i.e more than 50%.
Now lets go through the option, keeping in mind that this is an inference question, so the premises are very important (which normally leads to the answer which MUST BE TRUE)
A: According to the prompt mystery novels OFTEN feature a brilliant detective. So most is definitely pushing it. Wrong.
B. That is almost opposite of the argument. Argument says that the antics of the dull companion diverts reader from the correct solution in some stories. Wrong
C. The argument clearly mention that readers are "diverted" from the "correct solution" because of wrong assumptions/conclusion drawn by the dull side kick. So the correct solution is already present in the story; the author is only diverting readers from it. Also the word "some" coincides with "often" and both are almost equally inexplicable. Correct.
D. This is a VERY tempting choice. I almost got stumped on this one. But the argument says that the readers are diverted from the "correct solution" and NOT the "actions of the detective"(interpreting clues correctly). Wrong.
E. Clues are not misleading. Clues are the same for both of them. Only the interpretation of the detective is right. Wrong.
C is the winner
Hope this helps.
_________________
My GMAT Resources
V30-V40: How to do it! | GMATPrep SC | GMATPrep CR | GMATPrep RC | Critical Reasoning Megathread | CR: Numbers and Statistics | CR: Weaken | CR: Strengthen | CR: Assumption | SC: Modifier | SC: Meaning | SC: SV Agreement | RC: Primary Purpose | PS/DS: Numbers and Inequalities | PS/DS: Combinatorics and Coordinates
My MBA Resources
Low GPA: What you can do | Letter of Recommendation: The Guide | Indian B Schools accepting GMAT score | Why MBA?
My Reviews
Veritas Prep Live Online
close
36% (02:20) correct
