In this one-word substitution question, choose the single English word that best expresses the phrase "a girl with brown hair", commonly used to describe a young woman whose hair colour is brown.

Introduction / Context:
This question examines your familiarity with a common descriptive term for hair colour in English. In everyday language, especially in fashion, literature, and media, specific words describe people by the colour of their hair. Knowing such terms helps in understanding character descriptions and advertisements and is frequently tested in vocabulary sections of competitive exams.

Given Data / Assumptions:
The phrase is "a girl with brown hair". We must find the single word that refers to such a girl or woman. We assume standard modern English usage.

Concept / Approach:
The word "brunette" specifically describes a female with brown hair. While the term can sometimes be used more broadly, its primary and traditional usage is for a woman or girl whose hair is brown. The other options either describe a girl in a general sense or refer to a young woman without specifying hair colour, so they do not meet the exact requirement of the stem.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recognise that the key idea in the phrase is the hair colour, not just age or gender. Step 2: Recall that "brunette" is widely used to describe a brown-haired girl or woman. Step 3: Compare this meaning with each option. Step 4: Note that only "brunette" directly encodes both the femininity and the brown hair colour. Step 5: Choose Option C as the correct one-word substitution.

Verification / Alternative check:
Think of common phrases such as "a tall brunette" or "the model is a brunette with long hair". In these examples, "brunette" is clearly referring to a woman with brown hair. If you replaced it with "damsel", "lassie", or "mademoiselle", the information about hair colour would disappear. This confirms that only "brunette" preserves the central idea of the stem phrase.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A, "Damsel", simply means a young unmarried woman or girl, often used in the phrase "damsel in distress"; it does not specify hair colour. Option B, "Lassie", is an informal or dialect word for a young girl, particularly in Scottish English, again without any reference to hair colour. Option D, "Mademoiselle", is French for "Miss", used as a polite form of address, and is completely unrelated to hair colour. None of these options incorporates the idea of brown hair.

Common Pitfalls:
A typical mistake is choosing a word that means "girl" in general, because candidates overlook the crucial detail of hair colour. Another pitfall is being distracted by foreign-looking words like "mademoiselle" and assuming that sophistication equals correctness. When tackling one-word substitution questions, always identify the core concept that must be preserved and ensure the chosen word includes that idea, not just peripheral details like age or gender.

Final Answer:
The correct answer is "Brunette".