Question 96·Easy·Transitions
Researchers have long suspected that ordinary, everyday activities could yield meaningful therapeutic effects. _____ a new study confirms this suspicion by showing that spending just 20 minutes in a city park can significantly lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, first read the sentence before and after the blank without looking at the choices and describe the relationship in your own words: is it continuation, contrast, cause/effect, example, or a time shift? Then scan the answer choices and label each by its function (contrast, example, time, etc.). Quickly eliminate any choice whose function does not match the relationship you identified, even if it “sounds good” in isolation. Finally, reread the sentence with your remaining choice to ensure it preserves the original meaning and flow.
Hints
Zoom in on the connection between the sentences
Ask yourself: Does the second sentence agree with, contradict, or simply illustrate the idea in the first sentence?
Decide if there is contrast
Look for any signal words or meanings that show disagreement or opposition between the suspicion and the new study’s findings. If you don’t see real conflict, transitions that show contrast are probably wrong.
Think about time and development
The first sentence talks about what researchers have "long suspected." The second talks about what a new study shows. What kind of transition would connect a past belief to a present confirmation?
Check each option’s typical role
Before picking, quickly recall what each transition usually does: which ones show contrast, which give examples, and which indicate a shift to what is currently true.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the relationship between the two sentences
Read the sentences together:
"Researchers have long suspected that ordinary, everyday activities could yield meaningful therapeutic effects. _____ a new study confirms this suspicion by showing that spending just 20 minutes in a city park can significantly lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol."
The first sentence talks about a long-standing suspicion. The second sentence presents a new study that confirms that suspicion. So the ideas are in agreement and the second continues or updates the first; it does not contradict or replace it.
Identify what kind of transition is needed
Ask: What is the logical link from the first sentence to the second?
- It is not a contrast: the study supports, not opposes, the suspicion.
- It is not giving a simple example; it is presenting evidence that confirms the suspicion.
- It does show a move from "for a long time, people suspected" to "at this point, a study confirms." That is a time shift / development: from past suspicion to present confirmation.
Match each choice to its typical use
Now look at what each option usually signals:
- "Instead," = contrast or replacement (this rather than that).
- "For example," = an instance of a general category mentioned right before.
- "Nevertheless," = contrast, showing something happens despite what was just said.
- "Now," = a shift to the present moment or to what is currently the case.
We need a word that introduces the current situation (a present-day study) that confirms what was suspected before, not one that contrasts with or merely exemplifies it.
Eliminate mismatches and choose the best fit
Check each option against the relationship you identified:
- "Instead," would suggest the study replaces or contradicts the suspicion, which is wrong because the study confirms it.
- "For example," would make the study sound like just a random example, but in the sentence it functions as evidence that confirms the suspicion, not simply an illustration.
- "Nevertheless," would mean the study’s result is in spite of the suspicion, but here there is no conflict.
- Only "Now," correctly shows that at this point in time, a new study provides confirmation of a long-held suspicion.
So the correct transition is "Now,".