"The road was wet and puddles lay everywhere." The best-supported inference is:

1. An inference should follow from the premises given. 2. Wet roads and puddles are the result of water on the ground. 3. The most direct cause that fits is rain that had already fallen. 4. The clues describe the present state, so a future event cannot be inferred. 5. Nothing says a river was involved, so that adds new information. 6. So the best-supported inference is that it had rained. **Why the other options fail:** - It will rain soon talks about the future, which the clues do not show. - A river overflowing adds a cause the text never mentions. - The road being new is unrelated to wetness. _Source: Wikipedia, "Inference", section "introduction" (revision 1376402623)_