Question 134·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Expression of Ideas
While some climate models simulate future rainfall by imposing warming uniformly across the ocean surface, others allow the tropics to warm more than higher latitudes. The latter reproduce observed shifts in storm tracks. ______ models with uniform warming tend to misplace those shifts.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, first ignore the choices and decide how the ideas before and after the blank relate: Are they similar, opposite, cause-and-effect, example, or summary? Then eliminate any options whose function (addition, contrast, example, cause, etc.) does not match that relationship, even if they sound grammatically fine. This logical-match approach is far faster and more reliable than choosing by “feel” or word familiarity.
Hints
Read around the blank carefully
Reread both sentences without the transition. Focus on what the first sentence says about "the latter" models, and what the second sentence says about the models with uniform warming.
Determine how the two results relate
Ask yourself: Do the models with uniform warming have the same result, a cause/effect result, or an opposite result compared to the models that allow the tropics to warm more?
Match the relationship to transition types
Think about what each option usually signals: one shows cause/effect, one gives an example, one adds similar information, and one shows a difference. Which type fits the relationship you saw between the two sentences?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what each sentence is saying
Paraphrase the first part:
- Some climate models warm the whole ocean evenly.
- Others let the tropics warm more than higher latitudes.
- The second kind of model ("the latter") correctly reproduces observed shifts in storm tracks.
Now look at the second sentence: it says that models with uniform warming misplace those shifts. So the first kind of model gets the shifts wrong, while the second kind gets them right.
Identify the logical relationship between the ideas
Compare the results:
- Models that let the tropics warm more: success (they reproduce observed shifts).
- Models with uniform warming: failure (they misplace those shifts).
This is an opposite outcome. The second sentence is not giving a cause, an example, or extra similar information; it is pointing out a contrast between the two kinds of models.
Match the relationship to the type of transition
Now connect the relationship to the answer choices:
- We need a transition that shows opposition or difference between the models that work well and the models that do not.
- Among the choices, only one clearly signals a contrast between two opposing results.
Therefore, the correct transition is “By contrast,”.