Directions: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions given below.

Six executives – A, B, C, D, E, and F – live on different floors of a six-storey building where the lowermost floor is numbered as 1, the floor immediately above it is numbered as 2, and so on up to the topmost floor numbered as 6. Each of them prefers a different fruit among Apple, Banana, Grape, Mango, Orange, and Papaya, but not necessarily in the same order.

E lives on the lowermost floor and prefers Grape. C lives on an odd-numbered floor immediately below F. Exactly two floors are between C and the one who prefers Mango, who lives on an even-numbered floor. F prefers Papaya. The one who prefers Orange lives immediately below the one who prefers Papaya. The number of floors above A is equal to the number of floors below B. A prefers Apple, while B prefers Banana.

Which of the following combinations of executive and preferred fruit is correct?

Correct Answer: D - Mango

Step-by-Step Explanation:

Let us analyze the given clues step-by-step to determine the arrangement of executives (A, B, C, D, E, F) and their preferred fruits (Apple, Banana, Grape, Mango, Orange, Papaya) on floors numbered 1 to 6:

1. Position of E:
E lives on the lowermost floor (Floor 1) and prefers Grape.
• Floor 1: E (Grape)

2. Positions of C, F, Orange, and Mango:
• C lives on an odd-numbered floor immediately below F. Since Floor 1 is occupied by E, C can be on Floor 3 or Floor 5.
• F prefers Papaya.
• The one who prefers Orange lives immediately below F (who prefers Papaya). This means C prefers Orange.
• Exactly two floors are between C and the person who prefers Mango, who lives on an even-numbered floor.
• If C is on Floor 3, there are two floors (Floors 4 and 5) between C and Floor 6. Floor 6 is even, so the executive on Floor 6 prefers Mango.
• Thus, C is on Floor 3 (Orange), F is on Floor 4 (Papaya), and the person on Floor 6 prefers Mango.

3. Positions of A and B:
• The number of floors above A is equal to the number of floors below B.
• A prefers Apple and B prefers Banana.
• If A lives on Floor 5, there is 1 floor above A (Floor 6). This means there must be 1 floor below B, which places B on Floor 2.
• Thus, B is on Floor 2 (Banana) and A is on Floor 5 (Apple).

4. Position of D:
• The only remaining executive is D, and the only remaining floor is Floor 6.
• Therefore, D lives on Floor 6 and prefers Mango.

Final Floor Arrangement (from top to bottom):
• Floor 6: D - Mango
• Floor 5: A - Apple
• Floor 4: F - Papaya
• Floor 3: C - Orange
• Floor 2: B - Banana
• Floor 1: E - Grape

Hence, among the given choices, the correct combination of executive and preferred fruit is D - Mango.