Question 110·Easy·Transitions
Many flowering plants rely on daytime insects like bees for pollination. _____, several cactus species are pollinated by bats that visit the flowers at night.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, first ignore the answer choices and decide what the logical relationship is between the ideas: similarity, contrast, cause/effect, sequence, or time. Then quickly eliminate any transitions whose meanings don’t match that relationship. Always check the specific details (like day vs. night, increase vs. decrease, typical vs. unusual) to see whether the second sentence is reinforcing, explaining, or opposing the first, and choose the transition that best matches that role in context.
Hints
Identify what the second sentence is doing
Ask yourself: Is the second sentence giving a similar example, an opposite/alternative example, a cause, or something happening at the same time?
Focus on the words about time and type
Pay attention to the contrast between "daytime insects like bees" and "bats that visit the flowers at night." What kind of relationship does that suggest?
Match option meanings to that relationship
Think about what each transition usually shows: same kind of thing, different/alternative thing, cause-and-effect, or events happening at the same time.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the relationship between the two sentences
Read the full text: many flowering plants use daytime insects like bees for pollination, but several cactus species are pollinated by bats that visit at night. The second idea is not a result of the first and not happening at the same time; it describes a different, contrasting pattern.
Decide what kind of transition is needed
Ask: Does the second sentence show similarity, time, cause/effect, or contrast?
- It is not similar, because bees (day) vs. bats (night) are opposite in timing and type.
- It is not cause/effect, because the first fact does not cause the second.
- It is not mainly about two actions happening at the same time. So the sentence needs a transition that shows a contrast or alternative to the usual situation.
Evaluate each option by its meaning
Match each choice to the type of relationship it signals:
- "Similarly" = in the same way (signals similarity).
- "Meanwhile" = at the same time (signals events occurring together).
- "Therefore" = as a result (signals cause and effect).
- One remaining option signals a contrasting alternative, which fits the idea that instead of being pollinated by daytime insects, some plants are pollinated by nocturnal bats.
Choose the transition that shows contrast
Because the sentence is contrasting the usual pollinators (daytime bees) with an alternative (bats at night), the transition that means "as an alternative/contrast to that" is the best fit. The correct answer is A) Instead.