Here we are faced with a Paradox question. We are trying to resolve the discrepancy in the set of facts in the passage. What is our discrepancy? We are told that though antibiotics are effective in treating bacterial infections, they have no effect on a virus that is widespread among children--which causes 30% of those children infected with it to develop middle ear infections. But, when middle ear infections in children that are infected with the virus are treated with antibiotics, the ear infections usually clear up. Our correct answer will be a possible explanation to why antibiotics have no effect on viruses, but they apparently clear up the ear infections that the viruses cause.
Answer choice (B) does just this. If children with the virus are especially susceptible to bacteria that infect the middle ear, then the discrepancy in the passage is explained because that means that the antibiotics are treating the bacteria, as opposed to the virus, which is entirely consistent with the passage. Thus, this answer choice gives us one possible solution to clear up the discrepancy by explaining how the ear infections of those children infected with the virus were often cleared up by administering the antibiotics.
Remember, all you have to do is find the answer choice that presents one possible solution to the discrepancy in the passage.
Hope that was helpful! Please let us know if you have any other questions.
