Which of the following sentences is a clear example of a simile in English figurative language?

Introduction / Context:
In English literature and grammar, students must recognise different types of figurative language such as simile, metaphor, hyperbole, and personification. A simile is one of the most common figures of speech, often tested in school examinations. This question asks you to identify which sentence is a straightforward example of a simile from a small set of vivid, descriptive comparisons.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• All sentences use some kind of imagery or comparison.
• Only one sentence clearly matches the technical definition of a simile.
• We assume the standard school level definition of simile and metaphor.

Concept / Approach:
A simile is a comparison between two unlike things using words such as like or as to highlight a specific quality. For example, saying someone is like a lion compares a person to an animal using like. A metaphor, by contrast, states that one thing is another thing without using like or as. Both are comparisons, but the presence of like or as in a direct comparison is the key signal of a simile in exam questions. Therefore, to choose the correct answer, we look for a sentence that uses like to directly compare two different things.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall the definition: a simile compares two unlike things using like or as. Step 2: Examine each option for an explicit comparison with like or as. Step 3: Notice that the sentence His stomach rumbled like an approaching train uses like to compare the sound of a stomach to a train. Step 4: Recognise that the other sentences imply comparisons but do not use like or as; they are metaphors. Step 5: Select the sentence with like as the clearest example of a simile.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can double check by rewriting the sentence in a more literal way. His stomach rumbled like an approaching train does not claim his stomach is a train; it only highlights the similar loud, rumbling sound. That is the classic structure of a simile. In contrast, He was a hurricane in her heart says he was a hurricane, directly equating the person with the storm. That is a metaphor, not a simile. This comparison test confirms that only the sentence with like fits the simile pattern.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Clouds of vanilla cotton candy floated in the sky.: This is a metaphor that describes clouds as cotton candy like, but it does not use like or as in a clear simile structure.
She was drowning in a sea of grief.: This is a metaphor, treating grief as if it were a sea in which she literally drowns, again without like or as.
He was a hurricane in her heart.: This is also a metaphor, stating that he was a hurricane, not that he was like a hurricane.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes think that any strong image is a simile, even when the sentence does not contain like or as. Another pitfall is believing that all comparisons are metaphors, ignoring the specific structure of similes. In exam practice, remember that if you see a direct comparison with like or as linking two different things, you almost certainly have a simile, especially at school level.

Final Answer:
The clear example of a simile is His stomach rumbled like an approaching train.