Concept:We need to find pairs of letters in the word 'CATASTROPHE' such that the number of letters between them in the word equals the number of letters between them in the English alphabet (considering both forward and backward directions).
Explanation:Write the letters with their positions:
C(1), A(2), T(3), A(4), S(5), T(6), R(7), O(8), P(9), H(10), E(11).
Alphabetical positions: A=1, C=3, E=5, H=8, O=15, P=16, R=18, S=19, T=20.
Check all pairs where the gap in the word equals the gap in the alphabet:
• Forward direction (left to right): S (at 5) and T (at 6): 0 letters between in word, alphabet gap 0 → valid (ST).
O (at 8) and P (at 9): 0 letters between, alphabet gap 0 → valid (OP).
• Backward direction (right to left or reversed order): O (at 8) and T (at 3): between positions 3 and 8 there are 4 letters (A,S,T,R); alphabet gap between T(20) and O(15) also 4 → valid (OT).
R (at 7) and P (at 9): between positions 7 and 9 there is 1 letter (O); alphabet gap between R(18) and P(16) also 1 → valid (PR).
No other pairs satisfy the condition.
Answer:Four pairs. (Option B)
