Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Old age
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This question asks you to interpret the idiomatic phrase "Evening of life". Idioms often use metaphors drawn from nature or daily experience. Here, the stages of a day are used to represent the stages of life. Understanding this metaphor helps you choose the correct meaning. Such idioms are common in both literature and competitive exams, so recognising them strengthens both reading comprehension and vocabulary.
Given Data / Assumptions:
• Idiom: "Evening of life".
• Options: old age, a party, holiday, none of these.
• The phrase clearly connects the time of day "evening" with a period in human life.
• Morning is usually associated with youth, midday with maturity, and evening with later years.
Concept / Approach:
The key concept is metaphorical mapping between time of day and age. In literary and idiomatic usage, life is often compared to a single day. Morning stands for childhood or youth, afternoon or noon for adult life and mid career, and evening for old age or retirement. Night may symbolise death. Therefore, "Evening of life" naturally refers to the later stage of life, which we call old age. None of the other options fits this well known metaphorical pattern.
Step-by-Step Solution:
1. Recognise that the phrase is metaphorical, not literal.
2. Map the idea of a day onto a human life cycle: morning with youth, midday with middle age, evening with older age.
3. Note that evening occurs before night, just as old age precedes the end of life.
4. Compare this insight with the options and look for a matching life stage.
5. Identify "Old age" as the option that matches this metaphor.
6. Confirm that a party or a holiday has no logical connection with the conceptual metaphor of evening applied to life.
Verification / Alternative check:
Consider common phrases in English literature and speech such as "in the autumn of his life" or "in the twilight of her days", both used for older people. These expressions follow the same pattern of linking later times of day or year with later stages of life. "Evening of life" fits perfectly into this pattern. If you mentally substitute "old age" into a sentence like "He spent the evening of his life in quiet comfort", it sounds natural and meaningful, confirming the correct answer.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option B, a party, has no metaphorical relationship with the time of day in this expression. Option C, holiday, again does not connect to the idea of life stages. Option D, none of these, would only be correct if none of the options matched, but "old age" clearly matches the idiom. Choosing any of these alternatives would ignore the well established metaphor used in English literature and idiomatic language.
Common Pitfalls:
Some learners overthink idioms and create very specific or unusual explanations instead of looking for simple, established meanings. Others may be unfamiliar with this type of metaphor and treat the phrase too literally, imagining the time after work or the end of a busy day. A useful tip is to learn common metaphors that map physical cycles, such as day and night or seasons, onto human life stages, which will help you decode several idioms at once.
Final Answer:
The idiom "Evening of life" refers to Old age.
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