In this sentence arrangement question, the first part of the sentence is fixed as “It was three o clock in the afternoon” and the remaining parts are labelled X, Y, and Z; choose the most logical order of these parts to form a coherent sentence about waking up and finding bearers preparing to return.

Introduction / Context:
This question tests the ability to arrange sentence fragments in a logical and grammatically correct sequence. Such jumbled sentence questions are very common in competitive exams because they check both understanding of meaning and grasp of English structure. The setting described here is a narrative situation involving time in the afternoon, waking up, and finding bearers preparing to return. The learner must mentally combine the fragments to reconstruct the intended sentence.

Given Data / Assumptions:
The information provided includes:

• Fixed opening: It was three o clock in the afternoon.
• Fragment X: find our bearers.
• Fragment Y: before we woke, to.
• Fragment Z: preparing to return.
• We must choose the correct order of X, Y, and Z after the fixed opening.

Concept / Approach:
To solve jumbled sentence questions, we look for logical links of time, cause, and grammar. The sentence clearly describes what happened by three o clock in the afternoon. A natural structure would be It was three o clock in the afternoon before we woke, to find our bearers preparing to return. This means that by that time, they woke up and found the bearers getting ready to go back. Therefore, Y, which begins with before we woke, to, should follow the fixed opening. Then X, find our bearers, and finally Z, preparing to return, complete the sense.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Start with the fixed part: It was three o clock in the afternoon. Step 2: Decide which fragment can logically follow this. Fragment Y begins with before we woke, to, which can continue the time reference smoothly, giving It was three o clock in the afternoon before we woke, to. Step 3: Next, attach fragment X, find our bearers, to get before we woke, to find our bearers. Step 4: Finally, place fragment Z, preparing to return, to complete the sense: to find our bearers preparing to return. Step 5: The full sentence becomes: It was three o clock in the afternoon before we woke, to find our bearers preparing to return. Step 6: Match this order with the options: Y comes first, then X, then Z, which corresponds to option a (YXZ).

Verification / Alternative check:
To verify the choice, test other possible orders. If we tried XYZ, the sentence after the fixed part would read find our bearers before we woke, to preparing to return, which is clearly ungrammatical. XZY or ZYX also lead to broken sequences such as find our bearers preparing to return before we woke, to, which does not fit smoothly. Only YXZ gives a natural flow with a clear time clause and an infinitive phrase that explains what happened when they woke up.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option b (XZY) is wrong because X immediately after the fixed part produces an abrupt phrase without a connector, and the remaining order does not form a smooth subordinate clause. Option c (XYZ) fails for similar reasons and creates a grammatically broken line. Option d (ZYX) attempts to start with preparing to return, which hangs unconnected after the time clause and does not describe what the subject did. None of these alternatives result in a coherent or natural sounding sentence.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent mistake is to focus only on subject verb combinations and ignore connectors such as before and to. These small words guide the logical order of actions and time. Another pitfall is to form a sentence that appears partly meaningful but still contains grammatical breaks. To avoid such errors, always read the full reconstructed sentence aloud in your mind and check whether the time, action, and purpose all link smoothly.

Final Answer:
The most logical and grammatically correct order of the fragments is Y X Z, so the correct option is YXZ.