Read the following comprehension passage carefully and then answer the question by choosing the best option out of the four alternatives. My brother David was always very close to our grandmother. They shared a deep love of Mother Nature and of eating food that they had grown with their own hands. Whenever his work schedule permitted, he would drop in for a short visit and a cup of coffee. One day, when David found no one at home, he left a small chunk of garden dirt on her porch. This simple act later became known in the family as his special "calling card". Whenever Grandmother returned home and saw the little piece of soil on her porch, she immediately knew that Dave had come by to see her. Although Grandmother grew up in poverty in Italy, she managed to do well after moving to the United States. She remained healthy and independent and enjoyed a long, fulfilling life. Recently she suffered a stroke and passed away. Everyone in the family felt deep sorrow, and David was completely heartbroken because his lifelong friend was gone. According to the passage, Grandmother enjoyed a _____ life.

Difficulty: Medium

Correct Answer: good and healthy

Explanation:


Introduction:
This comprehension question checks whether you can recognise how the writer sums up Grandmother's overall quality of life. The passage does not only talk about money, but also about health, independence, and emotional satisfaction, which together form the idea of a fulfilling life.


Given Data / Assumptions:
- Grandmother grew up poor in Italy but later did well in the United States.
- She is described as "always healthy and independent".
- She "enjoyed a fulfilling life".
- Her later years are presented in a positive, appreciative tone by the narrator.


Concept / Approach:
The concept here is to understand what a "fulfilling" life means in context. A fulfilling life combines good health, independence, emotional satisfaction, and often reasonable comfort or success. The question uses a blank followed by word pairs like "good and healthy" or "poor and healthy". You must select the pair that best matches the positive description in the passage without creating a contradiction or adding negative ideas that are not mentioned.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Focus on the phrase "She was always healthy and independent and enjoyed a fulfilling life".Step 2: The words "always healthy" clearly imply a generally good physical condition over many years.Step 3: The word "fulfilling" suggests that she found her life satisfying, meaningful, and "good" overall, not just free from disease.Step 4: Compare this with option B, "good and healthy". This matches both the idea of health and the positive evaluation of her life.Step 5: Check that no other option expresses the combination of positive qualities as accurately as option B does.


Verification / Alternative check:
The passage never describes her as sickly, miserable, or suffering in her later life. Instead, it mentions good health and independence up to an advanced age, until a final stroke. In biographical writing, "fulfilling" is almost always associated with a good life. Therefore, "good and healthy" is a natural way to summarise these details in simple exam language.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A, "healthy but sickly", is self-contradictory because someone cannot be both healthy and sickly at the same time. Option C, "rich but sickly", introduces "sickly" even though the passage stresses that she was always healthy. Option D, "poor and healthy", focuses on poverty, which applies to her childhood in Italy but not to the successful life she built later in the United States. None of these combinations reflect the overall positive tone about her life as accurately as "good and healthy".


Common Pitfalls:
One common mistake is to focus only on her poor upbringing and ignore the later description of success and fulfillment. Another is to be confused by options that mix opposite words like "healthy but sickly". Exam setters sometimes include such contradictory options to test if you are reading carefully. Always return to the exact words the passage uses, such as "fulfilling life", and then look for an option that captures that idea most directly.


Final Answer:
Grandmother is described as healthy, independent, and satisfied with her life, so she enjoyed a good and healthy life.

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