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Lesson: Sentence Completion - 16

Find The Logical Connections

As you probably figured out based on the preceding examples, the blanks in paragraphs often call for “connectors”—words and phrases that link ideas together. To fill in these blanks, you must choose the word or phrase that provides the most natural and sensible flow of ideas.

SIMILARITY, THEN CAUSE AND EFFECT

When El Niño hit, vast schools of small fish, such as anchovies and sardines, sought cooler temperatures at farther depths of the Pacific than the levels where they are usually found. (i)_______ their response protected these fish from the unseasonable weather conditions, their predators were unable to reach them at these new, ater depths. (ii)_______, the predators suddenly lost their regular food supply.
The second sentence suggests a similarity between two results of the fishes’ response to El Niño: It protected them from bad weather and it protected them from predators. Either of the following would be appropriate in blank (i) to signal the similarity:
While
At the same time that
The final sentence indicates what is probably a result of the event described in the preceding sentence. In other words, what precedes blank (ii) caused what follows it. Any of these would be appropriate in blank (ii):
As a result
Consequently
Not surprisingly

CONTINUATION, THEN SIMILARITY

When El Niño hit, aquatic mammals were affected especially hard. (i)_______, along one Peruvian beach, the Punta San Juan, a whole season’s pup production of fur seals and sea lions died, as well as thousands of juveniles and breeding adults. By May 13, 1998, only 15 fur seals were counted, when there are usually hundreds; (ii)_______, only 1,500 sea lions were found in an area that usually houses 8,000.
The second sentence provides an example of the phenomenon described in the first sentence. Either of the following would fit blank (i):
For example
For instance
The phrase after blank (ii) describes a situation similar to the one described before the blank. Any of the following would work in blank (ii):
similarly
by the same token
also

CONTRAST, THEN RHETORICAL EMPHASIS

The United States, which was founded mainly by people who had emigrated from northern Europe, had an essentially open-door immigration policy for the first 100 years of its existence. (i)_______, starting in the 1880s and continuing through the 1920s, Conss passed a series of restrictive immigration laws ultimately leading to a quota system based on the number of individuals of each national origin reported in the 1989 census. (ii)_______, the door to freedom hadn’t exactly been slammed shut, but it was now open only to the “right” sort of people.
What follows the blank is an idea that contradicts the idea expressed in the preceding sentence. Accordingly, the word in blank (i) should signal that a contrasting idea lies just ahead. Either of the following completions would work:
however
but
The final sentence seems to put a negative rhetorical spin on the events described in the previous sentence. Any of the following would work in blank (ii):
Obviously
Clearly
Apparently

CONTRAST AND CONCLUSION

The polar ice cap’s high-pressure system controls the cold, relatively stable climate of Mount Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica. _______ Vinson is located in an arctic climate, snowstorms and terrific wind gusts are always possible.
The first sentence tells us that Mount Vinson’s climate is stable; the second sentence provides opposing, contrary information. A connector is needed to signal that opposing ideas are being presented. Either of the following phrases provide the appropriate connection and fits the paragraph’s grammatical construction:
However, since
Yet, because

RHETORICAL EMPHASIS, THEN CONTRAST

(i)_______, the most significant revolution in modern art was the invention of the purely abstract painting in the 1930s. Pablo Picasso is generally regarded as the quintessential modern artist. (ii)_______, in the course of Picasso’s long and varied career, he never painted any significant abstract picture. The first blank could be left empty without sacrificing the flow of ideas in the paragraph. All that is appropriate for blank (i) is some rhetorical flourish. Any of the following would serve the purpose:
Without a doubt
Indisputably
Clearly
The idea that follows the blank comes as a surprise considering the idea that precedes it. The fact that Picasso never made an abstract painting doesn’t follow as a logical result; it’s a surprising contradiction—not at all what we would reasonably expect. Any of the following would be appropriate in blank (ii) as a signal that an opposing idea is coming:
Yet
Nevertheless
However
Surprisingly, however
Ironically


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