A woman reads a magazine article about high blood pressure. After talking with her mother, the woman realizes that her mother is experiencing the same symptoms that are described in the article. What is the best course of action?

A. obviously has very weak beliefs: This option doesn’t make sense. The fact that the clerk lies in one particular instance doesn’t necessarily mean that he has weak beliefs. His strong belief in telling the truth could still be genuine, and the contradiction may simply be explained by the extreme situation.

B. was afraid of the intruders and feared for his life: This is the most reasonable explanation. In a threatening situation, the clerk might have decided that telling a lie was the best way to protect himself or the store, even though he values honesty in general.

C. wanted the intruders to leave quickly: While it’s possible that the clerk might have wanted to get rid of the intruders, this doesn’t fully explain why he would lie about the safe’s location. Fear of harm seems like a more compelling explanation than simply wanting them to leave quickly.

D. believed strongly in his work responsibilities: While this could be an explanation for his behavior in some contexts, it doesn’t directly address the contradiction. His responsibility to protect the store and himself could override his personal belief in honesty, but fear is a more likely motivator in this situation.

A. the only valid explanation for the student's score: This is incorrect because the student's low score could be due to various factors, such as poor research, lack of clarity, or missing information, in addition to being a poor writer. The statement doesn't claim to be the only valid explanation.

B. a reason without a conclusion: This is incorrect because the statement does have a conclusion: the student is a poor writer. It provides both a premise (the score) and a conclusion (the student's writing ability).

C. one of the possible explanations for the student's score: The statement offers a possible explanation for the student's score, namely that the student is a poor writer. However, other factors could also explain the low score, so it's not the only possible explanation.

D. an irrelevant explanation for the low score: This is incorrect because being a poor writer could indeed be a relevant explanation for a low score, especially if the paper was poorly written. While other factors could be at play, this explanation is not irrelevant.