Given below are six sentences taken from a paragraph. The first and the last sentences are numbered S1 and S2 and are placed in the first and last positions respectively and are fixed in their positions. The other four sentences between the first and last sentences are jumbled up and are numbered A, B, C, and D. Rearrange the jumbled sentences in a logical sequence keeping the unity and coherence of the paragraph intact. Choose the correct alternative that best describes the sequence.
S1. I do not believe that chickens await the hour when the housewife brings their corn with as much anxiety as Peter awaited the evening.
A. How long it was!
B. But now the sun has set.
C. Evidently God's day had lost its end somewhere.
D. He kept looking to see whether the shadows of the trees were not lengthening, whether the sun was not turning red towards setting; and, the longer he watched, the more impatient he grew.
S2. The sky is red only on one side, and it is already growing dark.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
Connection to S1: Sentence S1 establishes that Peter is waiting for the evening with great anxiety. Sentence D follows this naturally by describing his behavior during that wait: he is constantly checking the shadows and the sun, and his impatience grows.
The Passage of Time: After D mentions his growing impatience, A acts as an exclamation of that feeling ('How long it was!'), emphasizing the slow passage of time.
The Feeling of Stagnation: Sentence C follows the exclamation about time by suggesting that the day seemed endless, as if it had 'lost its end somewhere.'
Transition to S2: Sentence B provides the turning point—'But now the sun has set.' This transition leads directly into S2, which describes the immediate visual result of the sunset: the sky being red on only one side and it growing dark.
The correct logical sequence for the jumbled sentences is DACB.