Read the following passage and answer the questions based on it.

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. The general recognition of this fact is shown in the proverbial phrase; ‘It is the busiest man who has time to spare.’ Thus, an elderly lady at leisure can spend the entire day writing a postcard to her niece. An hour will be spent in finding the postcard, another hunting for spectacles, half an hour to search for the address, an hour and a quarter in composition and twenty minutes in deciding whether or not to take an umbrella when going to the pillar box in the street. The total effort that would occupy a busy man for three minutes, all told, may in this fashion leave another person completely exhausted after a day of doubt, anxiety and toil.

What is the total time spent by the elderly lady in writing a postcard?

Question

Read the following passage and answer the questions based on it.

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. The general recognition of this fact is shown in the proverbial phrase; ‘It is the busiest man who has time to spare.’ Thus, an elderly lady at leisure can spend the entire day writing a postcard to her niece. An hour will be spent in finding the postcard, another hunting for spectacles, half an hour to search for the address, an hour and a quarter in composition and twenty minutes in deciding whether or not to take an umbrella when going to the pillar box in the street. The total effort that would occupy a busy man for three minutes, all told, may in this fashion leave another person completely exhausted after a day of doubt, anxiety and toil.

What is the total time spent by the elderly lady in writing a postcard?

Accepted Answer

Here is the explanation for the given question:

**Explanation for Option 1 (A full day) being correct:**

The passage explicitly states, "Thus, an elderly lady at leisure can spend the entire day writing a postcard to her niece." This sentence directly answers the question regarding the total time spent by the elderly lady. The subsequent detailed breakdown of activities (finding the postcard, hunting for spectacles, searching for the address, composition, and deciding about an umbrella) are provided as examples of how she *fills* that entire day, illustrating the principle that "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." Therefore, the total time she spends is "the entire day."

**Explanation for why other options are incorrect:**

*   **Option 2 (Three minutes):** This option is incorrect because the passage states that "The total effort that would occupy a busy man for three minutes..." This refers to the time a *busy man* would take, not the elderly lady. The elderly lady, being at leisure, takes significantly longer.
*   **Option 3 (Four hours and five minutes):** While this sum (1 hour + 1 hour + 30 minutes + 1 hour 15 minutes + 20 minutes = 4 hours and 5 minutes) represents the duration of the *specifically itemized* tasks mentioned in the passage, it does not represent the *total time spent* by the elderly lady. The passage clearly states she "can spend the entire day" on the task. The itemized activities are components of how she fills that day, but the overarching duration, as stated, is "the entire day," which is also reinforced by the phrase "after a day of doubt, anxiety and toil."
*   **Option 4 (Half an hour):** This option is incorrect because "half an hour" is only the time spent by the elderly lady to "search for the address," not the total time spent on the entire task of writing a postcard.