How many such pairs of letters are there in the word “MUNICIPAL” each of which has as many letters between them as in the alphabetical series (both in the forward and backward directions)?

The correct option is Two.

To find the pairs of letters in the word “MUNICIPAL” that have as many letters between them as in the English alphabetical series (in both forward and backward directions), let us first note the positional values of each letter in the alphabetical order:

M = 13
U = 21
N = 14
I = 9
C = 3
I = 9
P = 16
A = 1
L = 12

Now, let us count and check for matching pairs in both directions:

1. Forward Direction:

- Starting from M (13): 14 (N), 15 (O), 16 (P), 17 (Q), 18 (R), 19 (S), 20 (T), 21 (U) — No match.
- Starting from U (21): 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 — No match.
- Starting from N (14): 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 — No match.
- Starting from I (9): 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 — No match.
- Starting from C (3): 4 (D), 5 (E), 6 (F), 7 (G), 8 (H) — No match.
- Starting from I (9): 10, 11, 12 — No match.
- Starting from P (16): 17, 18 — No match.
- Starting from A (1): 2 — No match.

2. Backward Direction:

- Starting from L (12):
13 (M), 14 (N), 15 (O), 16 (P), 17 (Q), 18 (R), 19 (S), 20 (T) — No match.
- Starting from A (1):
2 (B), 3 (C) — Matches C at position 5! So, (A, C) forms a valid pair because there is 1 letter between A and C in both the word and the alphabet.
Continuing from A (1): 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 — No further match.
- Starting from P (16):
17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 — No match.
- Starting from I (9):
10 (J), 11 (K), 12 (L), 13 (M) — Matches M at position 1! So, (I, M) forms a valid pair because there are 3 letters between I and M in both the word and the alphabet.
Continuing from I (9): 14 — No further match.
- Starting from C (3):
4, 5, 6, 7 — No match.
- Starting from I (9):
10, 11, 12 — No match.
- Starting from N (14):
15, 16 — No match.
- Starting from U (21):
22 — No match.

Thus, we find exactly two such pairs: (A, C) and (I, M) in the backward direction.