Question

the dark side of the nursery rhyme
(1) the nursery rhymes we teach our children may sound fun and appear playful, but it takes only minimal analysis to turn innocent laughter into unspeakable fear. the number of macabre topics of many nursery rhymes is startling—consider the medical state of many of the characters at the end of each playful song.
its raining, its pouring,
the old man is snoring.
he went to bed and bumped his head,
and he couldnt get up in the morning.
(2) did the old man die? is he in a coma? were any of us to bump our heads and then not awake the next morning, it might pose a problem.
jack and jill went up the hill
to fetch a pail of water.
jack fell down and broke his crown,
and jill came tumbling after.
how is the information in this selection organized?
a chronological order, from older nursery rhymes to newer nursery rhymes
b cause and effect, from the nursery rhymes to the effects they have had on children
c example and analysis, as each nursery rhyme is succeeded by an in - depth examination
d problem and solution, as each nursery rhyme presents a moral problem for children to resolve

Explanation:

To determine how the information is organized, we analyze each option:

• Option A: There's no indication of organizing by the time (old to new) of nursery rhymes. Eliminate A.
• Option B: The text doesn't focus on showing effects of nursery rhymes on children (like behavioral or emotional effects), but rather on analyzing the rhymes' content. Eliminate B.
• Option C: The first part introduces the idea that nursery rhymes have macabre topics, then provides a nursery rhyme ("It's raining...") and then analyzes the medical state of the character (asking if the old man died, etc.). This follows the pattern of giving an example (the rhyme) and then analyzing it. This matches.
• Option D: The text doesn't present nursery rhymes as moral problems for children to solve, nor does it offer solutions. Eliminate D.

Answer:

C. Example and analysis, as each nursery rhyme is succeeded by an in - depth examination