Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: A library
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This puzzle is a classic example of a pun, where a single word has more than one meaning. The riddle asks which building has the most stories. On first reading, you may think about stories as floors in a high rise building. However, the hidden idea is to use the other meaning of stories, namely tales or narratives that you read. Such questions appear in verbal reasoning practice to test vocabulary knowledge and the ability to recognise wordplay in English.
Given Data / Assumptions:
- The question focuses on a building that has the most stories.
- The word stories can mean floors in a building.
- The word stories can also mean written or printed tales in books.
- We are looking for a playful answer, not a serious architectural record.
Concept / Approach:
The key to solving this riddle is to recognise the double meaning of the word stories. If you think only about floors, then a skyscraper seems reasonable. However, when you remember that a story is also a tale that you read in a book, the answer becomes clear. A library is a building that contains thousands of books, each with its own story. In that sense, no other building can compete with it in the number of stories it holds. The puzzle is therefore about language, not engineering.
Step-by-Step Solution:
1. Read the question and identify the key word stories.
2. Recall both meanings of the word: floors and tales.
3. Check which buildings are mainly associated with many books and tales.
4. Recognise that a library is specifically designed to store stories in the form of books.
5. Conclude that the riddle is using the second meaning, so the answer is a library.
Verification / Alternative check:
You can verify the pun by mentally replacing stories with books in the question. Which building has the most books makes immediate sense, and the natural answer is a library. If you try the same replacement with floors, the question becomes which building has the most floors, and the answer would then depend on the tallest skyscraper in the world, which is not what the riddle is aiming at. This difference confirms that the language based interpretation is correct.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
A skyscraper, a shopping mall, a museum and a government office building can all have many floors, but they do not normally contain more stories as tales than a well stocked library. Museums have exhibits and objects, malls have shops, and office buildings have work spaces. None of these is primarily a home for written stories. Therefore these options fit only the physical meaning of stories and ignore the clever wordplay that makes the riddle interesting.
Common Pitfalls:
Many learners respond quickly with skyscraper because they interpret the question literally and imagine tall buildings with many levels. This shows the danger of rushing without checking if there is any double meaning in the key words. In competitive exams, riddles with puns are often included to reward candidates who read slowly and think about vocabulary. Training yourself to ask what else can this word mean is a very useful habit in such sections.
Final Answer:
The riddle plays on the two meanings of the word stories, so the building that has the most stories is a library, which contains a huge number of written stories in its books.
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