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Question

Difficulty: MediumParagraph-Level Transitions

The following paragraphs are from an essay about the history of synthetic chemistry.

Paragraph 1
In 1856, eighteen-year-old chemist William Henry Perkin was attempting to synthesize quinine, a treatment for malaria, in his home laboratory. Instead of obtaining the clear drug, his experiments resulted in a dark, sludge-like residue. When cleaning the beaker with alcohol, Perkin noticed that the substance left behind a vibrant, purple wash. He had accidentally created mauveine, the world's first synthetic aniline dye. At the time, purple clothing was a luxury reserved exclusively for the wealthy, as natural purple dye had to be painstakingly harvested from thousands of Mediterranean sea snails.

Paragraph 2
[1] Soon, the streets of London and Paris were awash in mauve garments, sparking a fashion revolution. This breakthrough did not merely change the fashion industry; it also laid the foundation for the modern chemical industry, showing that valuable organic compounds could be synthesized from cheap, abundant coal tar.

Which choice provides the most effective transition from the preceding paragraph to the rest of the passage at the underlined portion [1]?

  1. Recognizing the commercial potential of this easily produced alternative to rare sea snails, Perkin patented his discovery and built a factory.Answer
  2. B
    Although synthetic dyes are common today, Perkin patented his method and established a factory, it made the color accessible to the general public.
  3. C
    In contrast, Perkin patented his method and establishes a factory to produce the dye.
  4. D
    Insistent on capitalizing from this alternative to sea snails, Perkin patented his method and established a factory.

Answer

Recognizing the commercial potential of this easily produced alternative to rare sea snails, Perkin patented his discovery and built a factory.
The correct choice effectively transitions between the two paragraphs by directly linking the reference to rare sea snails at the end of the first paragraph to the actions of patenting the discovery and building a factory. This connects the idea of a costly natural dye with the creation of an accessible synthetic alternative, setting up the subsequent sentence about the widespread fashion revolution in London and Paris.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the end of the first paragraph to identify the main focus.
The paragraph concludes by highlighting that natural purple dye was extremely rare and costly because it had to be harvested from Mediterranean sea snails.
An effective paragraph transition must connect back to the ideas that directly precede it.
2
Analyze the second paragraph to identify the subsequent focus.
The second paragraph describes how the mauve garments became widespread in London and Paris, sparking a fashion revolution and launching the chemical industry.
The transition must set up the ideas that follow it, bridging scarcity to mass accessibility.
3
Evaluate the choices for logical coherence and grammatical correctness.
The correct choice links the sea snails (preceding paragraph) with the factory and commercialization (following paragraph) without any grammatical errors, unlike the distractors which contain a comma splice, a tense shift, or a preposition error.
The ideal option must satisfy both logical and grammatical criteria.

Key Concept

Paragraph-Level Transitions
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Topics

Paragraph-Level Transitions

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