Question 233·Easy·Transitions
In 1963, scientist Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, a groundbreaking work that raised public awareness about the dangers of pesticides. _______ the book’s publication, the U.S. government established the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate chemical pollutants.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, first read the sentences on both sides of the blank without looking at the choices and decide the relationship: same idea, contrast, cause–effect, example, or time/sequence. Then check each option’s meaning and eliminate any that indicate the wrong relationship (like contrast when the ideas agree, or simultaneity when one event clearly follows another). Finally, plug the remaining choice into the sentence to ensure it sounds natural and accurately reflects the logical and time relationship between the ideas.
Hints
Compare the two events
Think about the order of events: first the book is published, then the government creates an agency. Are these ideas working together, opposing each other, or happening at the same time?
Check if there is contrast or agreement
Ask yourself whether the second sentence goes against (contradicts) the first sentence, or whether it continues the same idea and shows a related outcome.
Focus on the time relationship
Look for a transition that correctly describes when the government established the agency in relation to the book’s publication—did it happen at the same time, despite the book, or sometime later?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what each sentence is saying
Read the two sentences together:
- First: Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring in 1963, raising public awareness about pesticides.
- Second: The U.S. government establishes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate chemical pollutants.
The second event is logically connected to, and happens after, the first. The government action is a later response to the awareness raised by the book.
Decide what kind of relationship connects the ideas
Ask: Is the second sentence contrasting with the first, happening at the same time, or happening later as a result?
- It is not the opposite of the first sentence; the EPA’s creation fits with the concern about pesticides.
- It did not happen at exactly the same time as the book’s publication.
- It is a later consequence of the awareness raised by the book.
So we need a transition that shows a later-in-time or resulting action.
Check the meanings of the transition choices
Consider what each option usually signals:
- “Nevertheless,” = in spite of that; shows contrast.
- “Simultaneously,” = at the same time; shows two events happening together.
- “Conversely,” = on the other hand; introduces an opposite or reversed idea.
- One option describes what happened in the time period after an event.
Only a transition that clearly shows later time/afterward will match the relationship we identified.
Match the best transition to the sentence
We want the sentence to say that after the book’s publication, the government created the EPA:
“In 1963, scientist Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, a groundbreaking work that raised public awareness about the dangers of pesticides. In the years following the book’s publication, the U.S. government established the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate chemical pollutants.”
So the correct answer is D) In the years following.