What does the process of close reading a reader do? understand how the story ends, analyze and critique the story, understand the story in just one reading, understand the literary elements of the story, comprehend the surface meaning of the story

The correct answer is B. The process of close reading allows a reader to analyze and critique the story.

Close reading helps the reader focus on important details in a text in order to better understand it. Because re-reading is a part of close reading, this technique would not help someone read the story in just one reading.

Furthermore, this technique is meant to help the reader understand the entire story -- close reading goes beyond understand both the story's surface meaning and its ending.

Therefore, the correct answer is B: close reading helps the reader analyze and critique a story.