Question 198·Hard·Transitions
Most agricultural pests are controlled with chemical pesticides, which can harm beneficial insects and accelerate pest resistance. Entomologist Priya Desai has experimented with releasing sterile males to curb fruit fly populations. ______ the initial trials covered only small orchards, the technique reduced fruit fly numbers by more than 80 percent.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, always read a few sentences around the blank and first decide the type of relationship needed: continuation, example, cause/effect, contrast, or condition-with-outcome. Then, look only at the part of the sentence immediately before and after the blank and summarize that relationship in your own words. Finally, eliminate choices whose usual function (like cause/effect or similarity) does not match that relationship or that do not fit grammatically in the sentence structure; the remaining option will almost always be correct.
Hints
Check both sides of the blank
Read the entire last sentence and focus on the idea before the comma (about the trials) and after the comma (about the technique’s results). Decide what kind of relationship connects those two parts.
Decide what type of link is needed
Ask yourself: Is the second part a direct result of the first, similar to the first, the opposite of the first, or a strong outcome paired with some kind of limitation mentioned in the first part?
Test each transition type against the meaning
Imagine how the sentence would read with a word that means cause-and-effect, one that means similarity, one that marks a clear contrast, and one that sets up a condition. Which type best fits the idea that the trials were small but the effect was still very large?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the context of the whole passage
Read the two sentences before the blank:
- Most pests are controlled with chemical pesticides, which have problems.
- Desai is trying a different method: releasing sterile males.
The final sentence describes how well that new method worked, even though the trials had some limitation (they covered only small orchards). You need a transition that matches this overall idea.
Identify the relationship inside the sentence with the blank
Focus on the two parts of the sentence with the blank:
- Before the comma: "___ the initial trials covered only small orchards"
- After the comma: "the technique reduced fruit fly numbers by more than 80 percent."
Ask: How do these two ideas relate?
- The first part mentions a limitation (only small orchards).
- The second part states a very strong positive result (more than 80% reduction).
The structure suggests that the strong result is somewhat surprising given the limitation.
Match or eliminate transition types
Now look at what kind of connection each option usually shows:
- "Consequently," usually shows a cause-and-effect relationship.
- "Similarly," usually shows a comparison of similarity.
- "In contrast," usually sets up a clear opposition between two ideas.
None of these naturally fits the idea of a strong result paired with a limiting condition in the same sentence. You need the option that links a limitation to an unexpectedly strong outcome and can introduce a clause like "the initial trials covered only small orchards."
Choose the transition that fits both meaning and grammar
The only option that (1) connects a limiting condition to a surprisingly strong result and (2) grammatically introduces the clause "the initial trials covered only small orchards" is “Even though.”
The completed sentence reads: "Even though the initial trials covered only small orchards, the technique reduced fruit fly numbers by more than 80 percent." This shows that despite the limited scope, the results were still very impressive.