Extra Practice in Drawing Inferences

As Professor De Los Santos handed out the graded essays, Kassie’s stomach rumbled with a familiar queasiness. She avoided looking around and focused with intensity on the open textbook, not really seeing the pages that were before her. Aaron, who sat next to her, exclaimed with pleasure as he received his paper, “Unbelievable, I thought I had blown this assignment.” Kassie did not look up or respond to him, as she listened intently for her name. A girl with short, spiky hair across the room frowned when she received her paper and asked, “Dr. De Los Santos, may we rewrite this assignment?” The professor shook her head.

Kassie is confident that she did well on the paper.
Aaron was happy with his grade.
The professor will allow the girl with short, spiky hair to rewrite her assignment.
The girl with short, spiky hair did well on her assignment.

For the past two weeks, a heavy dusting of yellow pollen from the pine trees coated all the cars in the parking lot at Robert’s job site. The thick layering of pine pollen masked the fact that the oak and juniper trees were also pollinating. In addition, every yard in Robert’s neighborhood was covered with the purple flowering heads of Bermuda grass. Interestingly Robert linked the obvious pine pollen to allergy flare-ups, until he read a scientific report that stated the heaviness of pine pollen causes it to fall to the ground rather than be carried by the wind like most allergy-causing pollen. The same report stated that some of the most widely known plants that cause allergic reactions are Kentucky blue grass, Johnson grass, Bermuda grass, redtop grass, orchard grass, and sweet vernal grass. Trees that produce allergenic pollen include oak, ash, elm, hickory, pecan, box elder, and mountain cedar. An allergenic reaction includes frequent sneezing, clear and watery nasal discharge and congestion, itchy eyes, nose and throat, and watery eyes. For over a week, Robert has been experiencing these symptoms.

Robert is allergic to Bermuda grass.
Robert is allergic to pollen from pine trees.
Robert has a cold.
Robert has the flu.

Jermaine and his office coworkers all arrived at work at the same time on Monday morning. As usual, Jermaine unlocked the only entrance to the building, and then everyone unlocked their offices to begin their work routine. Immediately, Jermaine and his coworkers discovered that their computers and printers were missing from their offices. Each one reported that he or she had locked the office door with the computers and printers securely inside before leaving work on Friday. As they all looked around the office, there were no signs of forced entry. Jermaine called the police to report the theft of the computers and printers.

Jermaine stole the computers and printers.
The computers and printers were stolen by someone who had access to keys to the entry and the individual offices.
Someone broke into the office.
Jermaine and his coworkers were not surprised to find the computers and printers missing.

Alex and Mindy sit opposite each other in a booth at a diner. Mindy’s face is streaked with tears. Alex’s face is turned away as if deep in thought. His mouth is drawn into a thin frown, and his arms are folded across his chest. They do not speak to one another. As the waitress fills their coffee cups, Alex’s frown turns into a smile, and he orders a large breakfast. Mindy shakes her head to indicate that she does not want anything to eat. As fresh tears flow, she quickly turns her head away from Alex.

Mindy is more upset than Alex.
Mindy is very hungry.
Alex is more upset than Mindy.
The waitress is rude to Mindy.

The patrol officer flashes his lights to pull over the sedan that has been weaving across the center line that divides the two-way traffic. After inspecting the driving license of Laurel, the young woman behind the wheel, he asks her to step out of the car, stand with her arms outstretched, and touch the tip of her nose with an index finger. She loses her balance as she tries to do so.

Laurel is sober.
The police officer is harassing Laurel.
The police officer suspects that Laurel has been driving under the influence.
Laurel ran a red light.

The Case of the Archaeological Dig

“I’ve finally earned my place as assistant curator of the museum,” said Bob Hobbie to Max, the chief administrator of the Belgra Museum. “I moved West of the Pakistani dig site and we’ve just unearthed some wonderful coin artifacts.”

“Why did you start digging in a new location?” asked Max.

“One of the local natives told me that, for many generations, his family had passed down a legend of a lost village and he found a map among his father’s things,” said Bob. “His father recently passed away,” he added. “The native followed the map and led me to this site on the condition that if we discovered anything of value he would be paid one thousand dollars,” exclaimed Bob.

“And what is it that you found buried?” asked Max.

“It’s just terrific,” exclaimed Bob. “We found 3 gold coins of various sizes dated 400 BC, and after dusting them off I found them to be in excellent condition. I quickly paid the native to complete our verbal contract and keep him from trying to claim a portion of the discovery,” concluded Bob.

After considering for a few moments, Max told Bob that when he returns home, he should look for another job! Why?

Max was jealous of Bob’s find.
Max thought Bob had stolen the coins.
Max realized that Bob had been taken in by the local native because there couldn’t be any coins dated BC. How would anyone have known it was BC?
Bob was a bad employee.

The Case of the Untimely Blackmailer

“I’m telling you Hobbs,” said John Dough, “inheriting the Dough millions has had some nerve racking moments. Do you remember Frack the butler?”

“A smiling and mild mannered chap,” said Hobbs.

“That’s the guy. I fired him after inheriting the house in the Hamptons. Well, two days ago he came to my office and demanded one hundred thousand dollars. He claimed to have been in the study when my father drew up another will, naming my brother his sole heir.”

“You believed him?”

“I confess the news was quite a shocker. Dad and I had an argument over Marilyn sometime during the last week of June. Dad opposed the marriage, and it seemed possible that he had cut me off.”

“Frack said he has this second will, which he said would be worth a lot more than the blackmail money he was asking for. He said the new will was dated June 31, only one day after the old will, but it would be legally recognized, he claimed.”

“You didn’t pay him, I hope?” asked Hobbs.

“I paid—with my boot to the seat of his pants.”

“Perfect,” agreed Hobbs. “Imagine trying to peddle a story like that!”

Why did they decide not to pay Frack?

Frack was too mild mannered.
There are only 30 days in the month of June, so they knew Frack was lying.
They weren’t going to give in to Frack’s blackmail.
John Dough decided to give Frack his old job back instead.

The Case of the Murdered Wife

Detective Palumbo had just finished examining the body of Debbie Layne, which was lying on the couch in her plush living room.

“Mrs. Layne was hit on the back of her head 3 or 4 times with the butt of that pistol,” the sleuth said.

The .45 lay on the floor near the body. Detective Hobbs was dusting the weapon for fingerprints.

“I’ve telephoned her husband at his office and only told him to come home. I dislike breaking bad news. Will you do it?” the sheriff asked.

“I’ll do it,” said Palumbo as he watched the body being removed from the scene. Then he took a seat in a lounge chair to wait for Mr. Layne.

The ambulance drove away just as Mr. Layne arrived. He came into the living room and asked, “Where’s Debbie? What’s happened?”

“I’m sorry to have to tell you that she was murdered about 3 hours ago,” said Palumbo. “Your cleaning lady found the body and called the sheriff.”

“I can’t find any fingerprints on this gun,” said the sheriff. “I’ll send it to the lab.”

Mr. Layne’s face flushed as he got angry and said, “Please find the fiend that clubbed Debbie to death. I’ll put up a twenty-five thousand dollar reward.”

“Save your money,” said Hobbs. “The murderer won’t be that hard to find.”

Why?

Palumbo knew the police would find the murderer without a reward.
Palumbo suspected the cleaning lady.
Palumbo knew Mr. Layne was bankrupt.
Palumbo knew that the sheriff had only told Mr. Layne to come home and not what had happened. When Mr. Layne saw the gun, he said that she had been clubbed to death. A normal reaction would have been to assume that she had been shot with a gun, not clubbed.

The Case of the Gold Digger

Detective Palumbo had just ordered a drink at the bar in the Tahoe motel when a young man with sun-bleached golden hair and tanned cheeks sat on the stool beside him.

After ordering a scotch and water, the sunburned man nodded toward the gaming tables. “My name is John Patmos,” he said genially. “It’s great to be back in civilization and hear people and money talking out loud.”

Palumbo introduced himself. “I guess you’ve been out in the desert?”

“Yeah, I got back yesterday,” said Patmos. “Washed the dust out of my ears, had a barber shave off my seven months of whiskers and trim my hair. Then I bought a whole new wardrobe on credit. All I had to do was show my assay report. Boy am I going to celebrate.”

“You found gold?” inquired Palumbo.

“Yes sir. Hit the big load.” Patmos stroked his bronzed chin thoughtfully; then in a low voice he said, “If I can find a backer, I’ll take enough out of those hills to buy ten pleasure palaces like this one. Of course, I’m not trying to interest you. But if you know someone who’d like to get in on a sure thing, let me know. I’m staying in room 510. Can’t give out the details here, you understand.”

“I understand,” said Palumbo, “that you’d better improve your story if you want to sucker someone into a deal that’s worthless.”

How did Palumbo know the story was fictitious?

Palumbo never gave money to a stranger.
Palumbo had no doubt that the whole story was fabricated. Patmos said he had a barber shave off 7 months of whiskers, yet his face and chin were tan. If he hadn’t shaved for seven months, his face would have been white where the whiskers had been instead of tanned.
Palumbo knew that room 520 did not exist in that motel.
Palumbo knew all the gold had been removed from the desert decades earlier.

The Case of the Rescue at Sea

“Thank heaven you saw me!” exclaimed Ted Long as he feebly helped make fast his battered yawl to Dr. Hall’s chartered fishing boat.

Hall reached over the side and assisted the bedraggled yachtsman aboard.

Long staggered into the shade of the cabin and sagged upon a berth. He removed his cap to wipe the perspiration from his brow, revealing a bald, freckled head.

“Drink this,” said Hall, holding out a cup of water.

Long gulped it frantically, asked for a second, and when he had downed it, told of his ordeal.

“Bill Smith and I were sailing for Bimini when the storm hit us. The sails, rudder, and radio went in the first five minutes. We barely managed to keep afloat.”

“We drifted five days, lost. Three days ago our fresh water supply gave out. Bill went crazy with the heat and thirst. He started to drink the ocean water. I tried to restrain him—I hit him. He—he struck his head against the starboard rail. He’s dead. It’s my fault!”

Hall climbed into Long’s disheveled yacht. In the little cabin he found Bill Smith laid out on his back, dead. The criminologist studied the bruise on Smith’s jaw and the one at the base of his skull.

Back on the fishing boat, he warned Long grimly, “You’re going to have to tell the police a better tale than the one you told me!”

Why didn’t Hall believe Long?

The sails, rudder, and radio were in good condition on the yacht.
Dr. Hall knew there had been no recent storms at sea in that area.
The bruises on Smith were not consistent with Long’s story.
Hall knew that Long’s story of hitting Smith and accidentally killing him while restraining him from drinking ocean water was false. If the supply of fresh water had given out “three days ago,” as Long claimed, he would have been dehydrated, and therefore could not have wiped “the perspiration from his brow.”