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. It was a chill, rain-washed afternoon of a late August day, that indefinite season when partridges are still in security or cold storage, and there is nothing to hunt - unless one is bounded on the north by the Bristol Channel, in which case one may lawfully gallop after fat red stags.
A. Of all her guests, he was the one who had come to Lady Blemley with the vaguest reputation.
B. The undisguised open-mouthed attention of the entire party was fixed on the homely negative personality of Mr. Cornelius Appin.
C. Lady Blemley's house-party was not bounded on the north by the Bristol Channel, hence there was a full gathering of her guests round the tea-table on this particular afternoon.
D. And, in spite of the blankness of the season and the triteness of the occasion, there was no trace in the company of that fatigued restlessness which means a dread of the pianola and a subdued hankering for auction bridge.
S2. Someone had said he was "clever," and he had got his invitation in the moderate expectation, on the part of his hostess, that some portion at least of his cleverness would be contributed to the general entertainment.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Correct Answer
CDBA
Explanation
The question asks to rearrange the sentences into a logical, coherent order to reconstruct a paragraph from Saki's famous short story Tobermory.
Sentence S1 introduces a rule regarding the geography of late August hunting by mentioning the Bristol Channel. Sentence C directly mirrors this specific constraint by stating that Lady Blemley's house-party was not bounded on the north by the Bristol Channel, establishing why everyone was gathered inside round the tea-table. This creates an unbreakable link between S1 and C.
Sentence D then expands upon the condition of this indoor assembly by describing the mood in spite of the blankness of the season. Sentence B explains why there was no trace of restlessness, noting that the entire party's attention was fixed on Mr. Cornelius Appin. Sentence A introduces Mr. Appin's status relative to the hostess, explaining that he had come with the vaguest reputation. This transitions seamlessly into the final fixed sentence S2, which explains how he got that reputation and invitation based on someone saying he was clever.
Therefore, the correct chronological and thematic progression is C → D → B → A.
Key Points
Parajumble problems on your exam paper often hinge on finding grammatical or structural transitions. Spotting direct logical qualifiers—like the continuation of the "Bristol Channel" condition from S1 to C—lets you anchor the start of the sequence instantly.