Question 144·Hard·Transitions
Climate models long suggested that the Arctic would warm faster than lower latitudes. ______ recent satellite data reveal that the region is heating even more rapidly than those early projections predicted.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For SAT transition questions, first ignore the answer choices and read the surrounding sentences to decide the exact relationship: are they showing agreement, contrast, cause/effect, a specific example, or extra emphasis? Once you are clear on that relationship, quickly label each option by its function (contrast words like "however," result words like "therefore," emphasis words like "indeed," comparison words like "similarly") and choose the one whose function matches the relationship you identified, even if another option sounds smooth on its own.
Hints
Check how the ideas are related
Read both sentences together without any transition. Ask yourself: do the ideas agree, disagree, show a cause and its effect, or give extra support?
Focus on the phrase "even more rapidly"
The second sentence says the region is heating "even more rapidly" than predicted. Does that suggest disagreement with the models, or that the basic idea of faster warming is being strengthened?
Match each transition type to the relationship
Think about what each choice usually does: one shows a result, one shows contrast, one emphasizes or reinforces, and one shows a comparison. Which type fits two sentences where the second strengthens the first?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the first sentence
The first sentence says that climate models have long suggested that the Arctic would warm faster than lower latitudes. This is a prediction or expectation about how quickly the Arctic will warm compared with other regions.
Understand the second sentence
The second sentence says that recent satellite data reveal the region is heating even more rapidly than those early projections predicted. This means the new data agree with the idea that the Arctic warms faster, and they intensify it by showing the warming is happening even faster than expected.
Decide the logical relationship between the two sentences
The two sentences are not disagreeing; the second does not show an opposite or unexpected result. The second also is not an effect or result of the first—climate models did not cause the new data. Instead, the second sentence provides stronger supporting evidence for the idea in the first sentence.
Match the relationship to the best transition
Now look at the options:
- A) "Consequently," shows a result or effect.
- B) "Nevertheless," shows contrast or opposition.
- C) "Indeed," emphasizes or reinforces a previous statement.
- D) "Similarly," compares one thing to a different but related example. Because the second sentence reinforces and strengthens the first, the transition that signals emphasis and confirmation—“Indeed,”—is the most logical choice.