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. My two old gentlemen sat half in the shadow of the green lamp-shade, moldering ruins both, from long-past days, bowed and trembling, gazing before them with the dull glance of the dimming eyes of age.
A. One, the host, is evidently an old officer, as you would recognize at once from his carefully wound cravat, his pointed, sharply cut mustache, and his martial eyebrows.
B. The other, who sits near him on the sofa, a tall, spare figure, his narrow shoulders crowned by the high-domed head of a thinker, draws occasional thin puffs of smoke from a long pipe which is just about to go out.
C. He sits holding the handle of his roller-chair like a crutch tightly clasped in both hands.
D. He is motionless except for his jaws, which move up and down ceaselessly with the motion of chewing.
S2. Among the myriad wrinkles of his smooth-shaven, dried-up face, framed in a wreath of snow-white curls, there lurked a quiet, gentle smile, a smile which the peace of resignation alone can bring to the face of age.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Logical Breakdown:
S1 (Fixed): Introduces "two old gentlemen" sitting in the shadow.
Sentence A: Naturally follows S1 by identifying the first of the two: "One, the host..." It describes his appearance (cravat, mustache, martial eyebrows).
Sentence C: Provides a specific detail about this first gentleman (the host) mentioned in Sentence A: "He sits holding the handle of his roller-chair..."
Sentence D: Continues describing the host's current state: "He is motionless except for his jaws..." This builds on the physical description started in A and C.
Sentence B: Introduces the second person: "The other, who sits near him on the sofa..." This creates a clear transition from the first gentleman to the second.
S2 (Fixed): Concludes the paragraph by describing a "gentle smile" on a face, which logically refers back to the description of the "other" gentleman (the thinker) mentioned in Sentence B.
ACDB is the correct sequence of sentences.