Question 134·Medium·Transitions
In 2022 researchers at the Polar Botanical Institute began monitoring plant growth on Greenland's southern coast to study the effects of warming temperatures. The team expected incremental gains in biomass over decades. ______ satellite images revealed a 15 percent increase in vegetation density in just two years.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, first ignore the answer choices and decide how the second sentence relates to the first: is it cause/effect, contrast, example, or continuation? Look for clues like expectations vs. results, positive vs. negative, or general statement vs. specific detail. Once you’ve labeled the relationship, eliminate any choices that signal the wrong type (for example, get rid of cause/effect words if nothing is causing anything), then pick the one that matches the relationship you identified.
Hints
Focus on the researchers’ expectations
Look closely at the phrase "expected incremental gains in biomass over decades." What does this say about how fast they thought the plants would grow?
Compare expectation to outcome
Now read the part after the blank: "revealed a 15 percent increase in vegetation density in just two years." Does this result match what they expected, or does it go against their prediction?
Match the choice to the relationship
Think about what type of connection exists between a prediction and a later outcome that turns out to be quite different. Which option best links an expectation to a surprising result?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the first sentence (the expectation)
Read the first sentence: it says researchers began monitoring plant growth to study warming temperatures, and they expected incremental gains in biomass over decades. This means they predicted slow, small increases in plant growth spread out over a long time.
Understand the second sentence (the reality)
Now read the second sentence without the blank: it says that satellite images revealed a 15 percent increase in vegetation density in just two years. This describes a much faster and larger change than what the team expected.
Decide the relationship between the two sentences
Compare the expectation (slow growth over decades) with the result (15% increase in just two years). The actual result is surprising and does not match the original prediction. So the second sentence is not giving an example of the first, not showing a cause, and not reinforcing it as similar. Instead, it shows that reality went against what was expected.
Match the relationship to the best transition
Check each choice:
- "As a result," suggests cause and effect from the first sentence, but the second sentence doesn’t clearly happen because of the first; it’s just reporting findings.
- "For example," would introduce a specific instance of something just described, but the second sentence isn’t an example of a general statement.
- "Similarly," would show that the second idea is like the first, but here the result is different from what was expected.
- "However," shows a contrast between an expectation and an unexpected outcome, which fits perfectly here.
Therefore, the correct answer is "However,".