If it’s a part of the standardized test that actually does make it much easier. A standardized test only allows to mark one option and that option needs to be derived unambiguously from the question. As such, neither A nor B are actually possible answers under this framework, D is not a possible answer to the question, and we’re left with C.

If I was given the original question as part of some standardized test, I would probably think about it for a while, flip a coin mentally, choose either A or D, and then contest it afterwards if it gets marked as being incorrect.