Question

Given below are the jumbled sentences of a paragraph. The first and the last sentence of the jumbled paragraph are given in correct order. Arrange the middle sentences in the correct sequence.

i. The release of atomic energy is the greatest achievement which science has yet attained
ii. but the first invention to which their discoveries were applied was a bomb
iii. the atom was split by physicists whose minds were set on the search for knowledge
iv. it was more deadly than any other weapon invented so far
v. it is with dread that scientists regard the first use to which their greatest discovery was put
vi. however, they are gratified by the numerous applications of atomic energy for peaceful and constructive population.

• A. ii, iii, iv, v
• B. v, iii, ii, iv
• C. iii, ii, iv, v
• D. iv, v, iii, ii

Hint:

Ask what "their" in sentence ii and "it" in sentence iv point back to, then remember that "however" in the fixed last sentence needs a gloomy sentence right before it.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

This paragraph moves along a clear emotional arc: praise, then a grim turn, then relief. Sentence i gives the praise and sentence vi gives the relief, both fixed. So the four middle sentences must carry the grim turn and land on something dark enough for "however" in vi to push against. Pronouns settle the rest: "their" in ii needs "physicists" in front of it, and "it" in iv needs "a bomb" in front of it.

1. ii, iii, iv, v: Places "but the first invention to which their discoveries were applied was a bomb" directly after i. At that point no physicists have been mentioned, so "their" refers to nothing. Rejected.
2. v, iii, ii, iv: Opens with the scientists' dread about a use that has not been described yet, then explains the splitting of the atom afterwards, which reverses cause and reaction. It also ends on iv, and "it was more deadly than any other weapon invented so far, however, they are gratified" gives "they" no owner. Rejected.
3. iii, ii, iv, v: The physicists split the atom in search of knowledge (iii), "but" their discovery became a bomb (ii), that bomb was deadlier than any earlier weapon (iv), and the scientists look back on it with dread (v). "However" in vi then lifts the mood. Every pronoun has an antecedent. Accepted.
4. iv, v, iii, ii: Puts "it was more deadly than any other weapon" straight after the praise in i, forcing "it" to mean atomic energy itself, and closes the middle with the "but" clause, which cannot sit next to "however". Rejected.

Read straight through, the paragraph runs from the greatest achievement of science, through the physicists' pure motive, to the bomb, its destructive power, the dread it left behind, and finally the peaceful uses that console the scientists.

Let's summarize:

• A pronoun cannot appear before the noun it stands for, which rules out any order where ii or iv comes first.
• "But" in ii needs a positive statement immediately before it, and iii supplies it.
• "However" in the fixed closing sentence needs a negative statement before it, and only v fits that slot.

The middle sentences run iii, ii, iv, v, so option (C) is correct.