Question 76·Easy·Text Structure and Purpose
Many meteorologists study historical weather data to improve future climate predictions. By examining decades of temperature records from coastal cities, researchers can detect gradual shifts in average sea-surface temperatures. These findings help refine models used to forecast hurricane intensity and frequency.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
For text-function questions, first read a bit before and after the targeted sentence to see the flow of ideas, then quickly paraphrase what each sentence is doing (e.g., introducing a topic, giving an example, explaining a method, stating a result, or contrasting ideas). Decide the role of the underlined sentence in your own words before looking at the choices, then eliminate any option that adds content not in the passage (like new topics or attitudes) or mislabels the sentence’s role (e.g., calling an example a conclusion). This top-down approach keeps you from being tricked by plausible-sounding but mismatched choices.
Hints
Read around the underlined sentence
Reread the first and third sentences. Ask: what is the general claim in the first sentence, and what is the outcome described in the third sentence?
Focus on what the underlined sentence adds
Does the underlined sentence introduce a new problem, give a result, or describe how the work is done? Pay attention to the phrase "By examining..." and what follows.
Eliminate answers that don’t match the passage content
Check whether the passage ever mentions disadvantages, conclusions of a study, or inland temperature trends. Cross out any choice that talks about something the passage never discusses.
Think about general vs. specific
Ask yourself: is the underlined sentence more general or more specific than the first sentence? How does that relationship help you choose the best description of its function?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand each sentence’s main job
Paraphrase the three sentences:
- First sentence: Meteorologists in general use old weather data to make better climate predictions.
- Underlined sentence: One way they do this is by looking at decades of temperature records from coastal cities to find slow changes in sea-surface temperature.
- Third sentence: The researchers then use these findings to improve hurricane forecasting models.
See how the underlined sentence connects to the first
The first sentence gives a broad idea: study historical weather data. The underlined sentence takes that broad idea and makes it more concrete, describing a particular kind of data (decades of coastal temperature records) and a specific goal (detecting gradual shifts in sea-surface temperature). That means it is elaborating on or exemplifying the general approach mentioned first.
Check that it doesn’t do what the wrong answers claim
Ask yourself:
- Does the underlined sentence mention any problems or disadvantages of the models? No.
- Does it sum up the overall result of the study? No, that’s what the third sentence does (using findings to refine models).
- Does it compare coastal and inland trends? No inland trends are mentioned at all. So the underlined sentence is mainly giving detail about how the research is done, not criticizing, concluding, or contrasting.
Match your understanding to the answer choices
Because the underlined sentence gives a concrete, specific description of how meteorologists study historical data—an example that illustrates the general approach from the first sentence—the best answer is: D) It gives a specific example that illustrates the research approach described in the previous sentence.