Question 181·Easy·Transitions
Many people assume that electric vehicles will eliminate urban air pollution. _____ the electricity used to charge these vehicles is often generated by coal-fired power plants located outside city limits.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, first ignore the choices and decide how the two parts of the passage relate: are they in agreement, contrast, cause-and-effect, or example/detail? Then, look at what each transition does (contrast, result, similarity, example) rather than how it sounds, and pick the one whose function matches the relationship you identified. If a choice would change the meaning (for example, turning a contrast into a result), eliminate it immediately.
Hints
Paraphrase the two parts
Summarize the first part (the assumption about electric vehicles) and then the second part (where the electricity comes from). Are they saying the same thing or pushing in different directions?
Determine the logical connection
Ask yourself: Is the second sentence giving a result, a similar idea, an example, or a complication/obstacle to the first idea?
Check each transition’s job
Think about what each option usually does in a sentence: which one introduces a result, which one a similarity, which one an example, and which one signals that the next idea goes against or qualifies the previous one?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the relationship between the two ideas
Read the full thought: many people think electric vehicles will eliminate urban air pollution, but the next part says the electricity comes from coal-fired power plants outside cities. That second fact makes the original assumption less certain or overly simple.
Decide if the second idea agrees or disagrees
Ask: Does the second sentence support the assumption, give an example of it, show a result of it, or challenge/complicate it? Here, the fact about coal-fired power plants suggests that pollution still exists (just moved), so it challenges or contrasts with the idea that electric vehicles will eliminate urban air pollution.
Match each transition type to the relationship
Now look at what each choice does in general: one shows contrast, one shows result, one shows similarity, and one introduces an example. Since the sentences are in tension (assumption vs. complication), you need the choice that clearly signals contrast between the expectation and the reality.
Choose the transition that signals contrast
The only option that signals a clear contrast between the common assumption and the complicating fact is A) However, so that is the correct answer.