Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: SQRP
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This para jumble question presents a short personal narrative that begins with a date and ends with the narrator holding a prayer book. The middle parts describe the physical setting, emotional reaction, and the reason for that reaction. Your task is to arrange the parts P, Q, R, and S so that the story unfolds in a natural and emotionally coherent order.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
A well structured narrative usually moves from setting to emotional reaction and then to explanation of the emotions, finishing with a closing visual or symbolic detail. After the date, the reader needs to know where the narrator is and what is happening physically. That is provided by S, which specifies the departure gate in Holguin, Cuba. Then Q presents the immediate emotional reaction as the doors close. R explains the reason for that reaction, namely leaving the family behind. P then intensifies the emotional description by describing the weight and inability to move. Finally, sentence 6 offers a closing image of the prayer book in the narrator s hands, suggesting reliance on faith or comfort.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Begin with sentence 1, which simply gives the date, September 2005.
Step 2: Establish the physical scene next. Part S states I was going through the departure gate at the airport in Holguin, Cuba, which situates the story in place and action.
Step 3: After the scene is set, describe the immediate emotional moment. Part Q begins with As the doors closed behind me, I was overcome by deep loneliness and despair, logically following the act of passing through the gate.
Step 4: Provide the reason behind this emotion. Part R explains that I was leaving behind my family and I did not know when I would see them again, which clearly justifies the loneliness and despair.
Step 5: Intensify the description of emotional and physical impact. Part P adds I felt such a great weight on me that I could barely move, showing how strongly the narrator was affected.
Step 6: Close with sentence 6, In my hands I held my prayer book, a visual symbol of seeking comfort or strength.
Step 7: The resulting order 1 S Q R P 6 matches combination SQRP.
Verification / Alternative check:
Read the full paragraph with the chosen order: September 2005. I was going through the departure gate at the airport in Holguin, Cuba. As the doors closed behind me, I was overcome by deep loneliness and despair. I was leaving behind my family and I did not know when I would see them again. I felt such a great weight on me that I could barely move. In my hands I held my prayer book. The passage now reads as a smooth and emotionally coherent narrative, starting with time, moving through place, emotion, cause, intensity, and finally to a symbolic object. Other orders either break the logical chain or place emotional explanation before the events that trigger it.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
RSQP: Starts with leaving the family before the reader is told where the narrator is, which makes the context less clear.
RQPS: Presents reason R and then immediately jumps to deep loneliness Q without first showing the physical setting at the gate.
PSRQ: Begins directly with the heavy feeling P without grounding the reader in time and place, leading to confusion until later sentences.
Common Pitfalls:
In para jumble questions, many students look only for grammatical connections and ignore narrative flow. Others place the strongest emotional sentence at the beginning even when the story needs a gradual build up. To avoid such mistakes, identify which sentence introduces setting, which provides immediate reaction, and which explains the cause. Arrange them so that each part naturally answers questions raised by the previous one. Practising with short narrative jumbles like this one will improve your ability to quickly see the underlying storyline in exam passages.
Final Answer:
The correct arrangement of the parts is SQRP, so option c is correct.
Discussion & Comments