Question 95·Medium·Words in Context
Meteorologists were surprised not by the occurrence of the downpour but by the _____ with which it arrived: the storm formed and released six inches of rain in less than an hour.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
For SAT Words in Context questions, always read at least one full sentence before and after, then locate strong context clues—especially contrasts (like "not... but"), cause-and-effect, or explanations after a colon. Before looking at the choices, briefly paraphrase what should go in the blank (e.g., "how fast it arrived"); then pick the option whose meaning best matches your paraphrase, ignoring choices that are only loosely related to the topic or that seem tempting just because of nearby numbers or details. Аniкο АI Тutor
Hints
Focus on the contrast phrase
Look closely at the structure "not by the occurrence of the downpour but by the _____ with which it arrived." What kind of thing would be contrasted with the occurrence itself?
Use the explanation after the colon
The colon introduces an explanation: "the storm formed and released six inches of rain in less than an hour." Ask yourself: what specific aspect of the storm is being emphasized here? From aniko.aі
Paraphrase the blank in your own words
Try to restate the sentence: "Meteorologists were surprised not that there was a downpour, but by the _____ it arrived." What simple phrase (like a short description) would you use to complete that idea before you look at the choices?
Test each option with the sentence
Plug each answer choice into the blank and see which one makes the sentence logically and precisely describe what was surprising about the storm, based on the "less than an hour" clue.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence structure and contrast
The key structure is "not by the occurrence of the downpour but by the _____ with which it arrived." This means meteorologists expected the downpour itself and were instead surprised by some quality of how it arrived. The colon introduces an explanation of that surprising quality: "the storm formed and released six inches of rain in less than an hour."
Use the clue after the colon
The part after the colon explains what was surprising: the storm both formed and dropped six inches of rain "in less than an hour." That emphasizes how quickly the whole event happened, not the fact that it rained or how much total time the storm lasted peacefully afterward.
Paraphrase what belongs in the blank
If you restate the idea in your own words, it might sound like: "Meteorologists were surprised not that there was a downpour, but by how fast it arrived." So you are looking for a word that describes speed or swiftness of arrival, not amount of rain, pattern, or total length of the storm. © anіko.aі
Match your paraphrase to the choices
Now compare each option to your paraphrase "how fast it arrived." Pattern is about arrangement or design, volume is about amount, and duration is about how long something lasts. Only rapidity, which means "speed" or "quickness," matches the idea that the storm formed and released rain very quickly, so rapidity is the correct answer.