Question

select the correct answer
read the following sentence from the excerpt.
(10) in my room i sat down and tried calmly to reason out the matter. here was i, theobald jack pansay, a well - educated bengal civilian in the year of grace 1885, presumably sane, certainly healthy, driven in terror from my sweetheart’s side by the apparition of a woman who had been dead and buried eight months ago.
which definition would best define apparition in the passage?
a. the act of becoming visible
b. a ghostly figure
c. phenomenon
d. an unusual or unexpected sight

Explanation:

To determine the best definition of "apparition" in the passage, we analyze the context. The woman was "dead and buried eight months ago," so the figure that drove the narrator in terror should be a ghostly presence. Option A refers to an action (becoming visible), not a figure. Option C ("phenomenon") is too general. Option D ("unusual or unexpected sight") doesn't capture the supernatural/ghostly aspect. Option B ("a ghostly figure") matches the context of a dead woman's appearance.

Answer:

B. a ghostly figure