What does the process of close reading help a reader do? understand how the story ends
o 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

analyze and critique the story

Explanation:

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: close reading helps the reader analyze and critique a story.