Which one of the following options can be inferred from the given passage alone?
When I was a kid, I was partial to stories about other worlds and interplanetary travel. I used to imagine that I could just gaze off into space and be whisked to another planet.
(Excerpt from The Truth about Stories by Thomas King)
A. It is a child's description of what he/she liked as a child.
B. It is an adult's memory of what he or she liked as a child.
C. The child in the passage read stories about interplanetary travel only in parts.
D. It teaches us that stories are good for children.
GATE 2023 · General Aptitude · Passage Reading · medium
Answer: B. It is an adult's memory of what he or she liked as a child.
Identify the narrator's temporal position using verb tense: The phrase 'When I was a kid' is past tense and is used by an adult reflecting on childhood. This immediately tells us the narrator is currently an adult. Option A (child's description) is therefore wrong — a child would say 'I am a kid' not 'I was a kid'.
Verify option B and eliminate C and D: Option B states it is an adult's memory of what he or she liked as a child — this matches perfectly with the past-tense, retrospective narration. Option C ('only in parts') adds a detail not in the passage. Option D ('stories are good for children') is a moral lesson not stated or implied anywhere. Therefore B is the only certain inference.