In this sentence arrangement question about a man reading to his wife, the first and last parts are fixed; choose the option that gives the most logical order of the parts P, Q, R and S.

Introduction / Context:
This is another paragraph arrangement question where you are given a fixed opening sentence and a fixed closing sentence, with four middle parts that must be arranged in a meaningful order. The short narrative describes a man offering to read something to his wife in the evening. Your task is to choose the sequence of P, Q, R and S that creates a natural and coherent conversation leading to the final remark about his reaction.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Sentence 1: One evening he lit a large lamp in the bedroom and sat near his wife.
• Sentence 6: He was somewhat taken aback by her answer.
• P: “Why not?”, was the answer.
• Q: “Whatever you like.”
• R: “Shall I read you something?”, he asked.
• S: “What shall I read?”, he continued.
• Options: RPSQ, SRQP, RQPS, SQPR.

Concept / Approach:
We are dealing with a small dialogue. The first sentence describes the setting; then the man asks a question, the wife answers, he asks a follow-up question and she responds again, after which the narrator comments on his reaction. To find the correct order, we must track who is speaking each time and ensure that each reply corresponds logically to the immediately preceding question. The answer that “takes him aback” in sentence 6 will be the last thing the wife says before the narrative closes.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: After the opening description, it is natural for the man to start the conversation. R (“Shall I read you something?”, he asked.) is a clear first question. Step 2: The wife's immediate response to this first question is P (“Why not?”, was the answer.), which is a positive acceptance. Step 3: Having obtained permission, he follows up with S (“What shall I read?”, he continued.), which logically advances the conversation. Step 4: The wife's second answer is Q (“Whatever you like.”), which answers his second question about what to read. Step 5: Sentence 6 (“He was somewhat taken aback by her answer.”) then refers to this last reply, “Whatever you like.”, because it is vague and perhaps unexpected. Step 6: The resulting order is 1 – R – P – S – Q – 6, which corresponds to option RPSQ.

Verification / Alternative check:
Read the full paragraph with this order: “One evening he lit a large lamp in the bedroom and sat near his wife. ‘Shall I read you something?’, he asked. ‘Why not?’, was the answer. ‘What shall I read?’, he continued. ‘Whatever you like.’ He was somewhat taken aback by her answer.” This flows naturally as a short conversation: question, acceptance, follow-up question, non-specific reply, then surprise. Other orders either break the natural pattern of question–answer or make the pronouns and reactions feel misplaced.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
In SRQP, the sequence would start with “What shall I read?” without any prior invitation to read, which makes the conversation abrupt and confusing. In RQPS, the reply “Whatever you like” would be given immediately after “Shall I read you something?”, which does not fit as well as the more natural acceptance “Why not?”. In SQPR, “What shall I read?” appears before the initial offer to read, again breaking the logical order of interaction. Only RPSQ respects the natural flow of a dialogue between husband and wife.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to ignore who is speaking each line and simply look for grammatically correct sequences. Another is to underestimate the importance of the narrator’s comment in sentence 6; this sentence tells you which reply was surprising. Paying attention to conversational logic, speaker turns and emotional reactions will help you solve such jumbled dialogue questions more reliably.

Final Answer:
The most logical order of the parts is RPSQ.