I encountered the following multiple-choice question on page 118 (question 4 in section 3) of my JLPT N2 grammar textbook 「新完全マスター文法 日本語能力試験N2」:
朝のラッシュは何とか( )ものか。
a ならない b しない c なれない
I had little clue and guessed 「c なれない」. The answer given is 「a ならない」.
In fact, I hardly understand the sentence at all. My textbook explains ~ないものか on page 117 as
~ないもの(だろう)か
実現は難しいが、何とかして~ということになってほしい。
可能動詞や話者の意志が入らない動詞につく。
My rough translation would be "if only ...", suggesting an unlikely scenario (実現は難しい). I chose 「c なれない」 because なれる is a 可能動詞, but I do not think I understand the sentence. Here are my failed attempts at translating the sentence completed with each of the three options:
(a) 朝のラッシュは何とかならないものか。
(?) If only the morning rush somehow became.
(b) (?)朝のラッシュは何とかしないものか。
(?) If only (I) somehow did the morning rush.
(c) (?)朝のラッシュは何とかなれないものか。
(?) If only the morning rush could somehow become.
Apparently, my translations make little sense. I feel that I am misunderstanding either 朝のラッシュ (referring to ラッシュ・アワー?) or なる (become? succeed? pass?). Why is 「a ならない」 the right answer? What does the sentence (especially the word なる) mean in that case? What am I missing here?