Correct Answer: Neha said, “What a pleasant surprise!”

Solution : The correct choice is the fourth option.

Direct speech involves quoting the exact words spoken by a person without any changes.

The steps of conversion are as follows:

• The reporting verb "exclaimed" is changed to "said" because we are moving from an exclamatory form to a straightforward statement.
• "Was" is removed in the direct speech, and the reported clause starts with the question word "what" to emphasise the exclamatory nature of the sentence.
• The words of the speaker are enclosed in the inverted commas, ending with an exclamatory mark.

Therefore, the direct form would be: Neha said, “What a pleasant surprise!”