In the following item, a descriptive passage about a boy climbing up creaking stairs in the dark is jumbled. The passage consists of six sentences, with S1 and S6 fixed at the beginning and the end. The middle four sentences labelled P, Q, R and S are given in a mixed order. Read the passage carefully and choose the option that gives the correct sequence of P, Q, R and S between S1 and S6. S1: The boy felt his way up the creaking stairs through thick darkness. S6: He was just telling himself he was safe when the door was flung open and the gaunt old man grabbed his shoulder. P: All he had to do was just get past the central door on the landing. Q: He stopped as the great clock below whined for a few seconds and gave out a single, solemn stroke. R: His eyes were raised to the faint moonlight that shone above the landing. S: He hesitated as the sound died down and then crept on, thinking that if they could sleep through that, they would sleep through any noise he could make. The proper sequence should be

Introduction / Context:
This jumbled passage paints a suspenseful scene of a boy climbing dark, creaking stairs. The fixed first and last sentences frame the situation: he is moving through darkness and is eventually grabbed by an old man. The middle sentences describe what he sees, hears and thinks as he climbs. You must sequence them to maintain the atmosphere and logical flow of events.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• S1: The boy feels his way up creaking stairs in thick darkness.
• S6: Just as he thinks he is safe, a gaunt old man grabs his shoulder.
• R: His eyes are raised to the faint moonlight shining above the landing.
• Q: He stops when the great clock below whines and strikes once.
• S: After the sound dies down, he hesitates and then creeps on, thinking that if others could sleep through the clock, they could sleep through any noise he made.
• P: He knows that all he has to do is get past the central door on the landing.
• We assume the scene moves from perception (moonlight) to interruption (clock), to renewed movement, and finally to his goal on the landing.

Concept / Approach:
To order these sentences:

• Start with what he can see or sense as he climbs toward the landing.
• Introduce the sudden interruption by the clock striking.
• Then show his reaction to that interruption and his thoughts about making noise.
• Finally, describe his immediate objective on the landing before S6 brings the surprise of the old man.

You must maintain both suspense and logical sequencing of sensory details and thoughts.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: After S1, the next likely detail is what he can see in the darkness. Sentence R provides this: “His eyes were raised to the faint moonlight that shone above the landing.” This shows that he can barely see the landing ahead. Step 2: As he climbs, something sudden happens. Sentence Q states that he stops when the great clock below whines and strikes once. This is a natural interruption to his movement toward the landing described in R. Step 3: After the clock strikes, he must decide whether to continue. Sentence S shows his reaction: he hesitates, then creeps on, reasoning that if others could sleep through the clock, they could sleep through any noise he made. This is logically connected to the sound in Q. Step 4: Now that he has decided to continue, his focus returns to his immediate objective. Sentence P expresses this goal: “All he had to do was just get past the central door on the landing.” This builds the tension right before S6, where the door opens and the old man appears. Step 5: The sequence R Q S P between S1 and S6 therefore preserves the narrative structure and the suspense of the scene.

Verification / Alternative check:
Reading S1, R, Q, S, P and S6 in order, the scene is clear: he feels his way up, sees faint moonlight above, is startled by the clock, thinks about whether others are awake, decides to go on, focuses on passing the central door, and is then grabbed by the old man. There are no logical gaps, and each action or perception follows naturally from the previous one.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
P Q S R: This begins with his goal of getting past the door before describing the moonlight above the landing, which is less natural. It also places the visual detail of R after his mental calculation in S, weakening the flow.
P R Q S: Here his goal is stated before the visual description, and the interruption by the clock and his reaction do not fall into a clean sequence.
R Q P S: This order places P before S, so he defines his goal before describing his reaction to the clock, which disrupts the natural progression from interruption to response to renewed focus on the goal.

Common Pitfalls:
Learners sometimes try to arrange sentences only by their grammatical correctness rather than by narrative flow. In descriptive scenes, you should look for a pattern of perception, interruption, thought and renewed action. Another mistake is to ignore subtle time markers such as “after the sound died down” in S, which clearly ties S to Q. When you see such markers, always use them to decide what must come now and what must come later.

Final Answer:
The correct sequence of sentences is R Q S P, so the correct option is “R Q S P”.