Answer:
Typically, a writer may bring up nursery rhymes in order to show a "full circle effect" in their writing.
As for your other question, a counterpane is a decorative cover on a bed.
Explanation:
In order to reference the growth from their past to now, the writer uses nursery rhyme references to show that they have not forgotten their youth or uprooting in some way.
The answer is the last one D.
D) The discovery that the Universe is expanding was the greatest discovery of the century.