Read the following passage given below and Answer the question.
A girl was standing on the veranda porch, looking at me very seriously. When I saw her, I sat up in bed with a start.
She was a small dark girl, her eyes big and black, her pigtails tied up in a bright red ribbon, and she was fresh and clean like the rain and the red earth.
She stood looking at me and was very serious. 'Hullo, 'I said, smiling and trying to put her at ease. But the girl was business-like and acknowledged my greeting with a brief nod.
'Can I do anything for you'? With great assurance she said, 'Yes, but I can stay on my own'.
'You're like me,' I said, and for a while, forgot about being an old man of twenty. 'I like to be on my own but I'm going away today'.
'Oh,'she said, a little breathlessly.
'Would you care to go to England'?
'I want to go everywhere,' she said. To America and Africa and Japan and Honolulu'.
'Maybe you will,' I said, 'I'm going everywhere and no one can stop me... But what is it you want what did you come for' ?
'I want some flowers but I can't reach them she waved her hand towards the garden, that tree ... see' ?
In the given passage, the fresh clean looks of the girl have been compared to _________.
Select the most appropriate option to complete the statement.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → the rain and the red earth
The narrator says the girl "was fresh and clean like the rain and the red earth". The word "like" makes the comparison (a simile): her fresh, clean look is compared to the rain and the red earth.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: big and small — Incorrect. Misread: "Big" describes her eyes and "small" describes the girl herself; neither is a comparison for her freshness.
Option 2: bright and red ribbon — Incorrect. Wrong focus: the bright red ribbon is what her pigtails were tied with, a detail of her appearance, not a comparison.
Option 3: small and dark — Incorrect. Wrong focus: "A small dark girl" describes her size and complexion; nothing is compared here.