Question 119·Easy·Transitions
Monarch butterflies migrate thousands of miles each year, a journey that has fascinated scientists for decades. _____ researchers have only recently begun to understand how the insects use Earth’s magnetic field to navigate.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, first read the sentences without the transition and ask how the second idea relates to the first in broad terms: cause/effect, contrast, sequence/time, or example. Then, label each answer choice by its typical function (e.g., "consequently" = result, "however"/"nevertheless" = contrast, "for instance" = example) and quickly eliminate any whose function doesn’t match the relationship you identified, focusing on logic rather than which word "sounds good."
Hints
Read around the blank carefully
Read both sentences together without the transition. Ask yourself how the second idea relates to the first: is it a result, an example, something happening at the same time, or something that contrasts with it?
Focus on time phrases
Pay attention to the words "for decades" and "only recently." What kind of relationship between scientists’ long-term interest and their recent understanding do these phrases suggest?
Match the relationship to the transition type
Once you know whether the ideas show cause/effect, time/sequence, example, or contrast, eliminate any choices whose meaning does not match that relationship.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the relationship between the two sentences
Read the two parts together, skipping the blank:
"Monarch butterflies migrate thousands of miles each year, a journey that has fascinated scientists for decades. ___ researchers have only recently begun to understand how the insects use Earth’s magnetic field to navigate."
The first part says scientists have been fascinated for decades. The second part says that only recently have they begun to understand the mechanism. This sets up an expectation-versus-reality situation: you might expect decades of fascination to lead to good understanding long ago, but actually that understanding is recent.
Decide what kind of transition is needed
Ask: Does the second sentence
- give a result of the first?
- describe something happening at the same time as the first?
- give an example of the first idea?
- or contrast with what we might expect from the first?
Because the idea "fascinated ... for decades" contrasts with "only recently begun to understand," the best description is contrast (an unexpected limitation or surprise compared to what we’d expect). So we need a transition that shows contrast between the two ideas.
Match each answer choice to its meaning and select the contrast
Now check what each option usually signals:
- "Consequently," = as a result, therefore (cause → effect)
- "Meanwhile," = at the same time, in the meantime (two parallel actions)
- "For instance," = for example (introducing a specific example)
- "Nevertheless," = even so, in spite of that (contrast with what you’d expect)
The sentences do not show a result, simultaneous actions, or an example. They do show an unexpected contrast between long-term fascination and only recent understanding. Therefore, the only logical transition is "Nevertheless,".