Question

read the passage.
dark star
giselle leaned against the mahogany bay horse, stroking the white diamond - shaped star on its forehead and looking into its soulful brown eyes. \hey, my man,\ she whispered. dark star angled his head around, cautiously sniffed at the cast on giselle’s forearm, and then nuzzled her neck and lightly stamped a hoof on the floor of his stall. \i’m okay. i missed you, too,\ she said. then she retrieved some green apple slices from a resealable plastic bag and fed them one by one to the horse. \today is our day to pick up where we left off, so here’s a little something to give you energy,\ she told the horse.
ever since she was a little girl, giselle had loved horses, and she devoured books like the black stallion, black beauty, and national velvet. when she was eight years old, giselle moved to the country with her parents and baby twin brothers. the open field behind their home was a blank page begging to be filled. but when she
how does the author create mystery in this story?
by focusing more on scenes with dark star than on scenes with her parents and siblings, readers wonder about giselles relationship with her family.
by explaining in detail giselle’s love for books about horses but never explaining how she learned to ride, readers question giselle’s ability to care for dark star.
by alternating events from the past and the present to show giselle’s unpredictability, readers are continually guessing how giselle will react to new developments in the story.
by mentioning giselle’s cast at several points in the story, but never directly explaining how she broke her arm, the author adds interest for

Explanation:

To determine how the author creates mystery, we analyze each option:

• Option 1: Focusing on Dark Star vs family scenes wouldn't make readers wonder about family relationship (mystery about family isn't the focus here).
• Option 2: Explaining love for horse books but not how she learned to ride doesn't directly create mystery about caring for Dark Star (learning to ride isn't the main mystery element).
• Option 3: Alternating past and present to show unpredictability – the passage doesn't show alternating timelines for unpredictability; it's more about an unexplained event.
• Option 4: Mentioning Giselle’s cast multiple times but never explaining how she broke her arm. This creates mystery because readers are left curious about the cause of the cast, which adds interest as they want to know the backstory.

Answer:

D. By mentioning Giselle’s cast at several points in the story, but never directly explaining how she broke her arm, the author adds interest for (assuming the full option concludes with readers wanting to know the backstory, which fits the mystery - creating element of an unexplained event).