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Question

Difficulty: EasySentence Reordering and Placement

The following paragraph is from an essay about the history of technology.

[1] In 1948, Bernard Silver, a graduate student at Drexel Institute of Technology, overheard a supermarket executive asking a dean to develop a system to automatically capture product information at checkout. [2] Silver mentioned this challenge to his friend Norman Joseph Woodland, who became obsessed with the problem. [3] Woodland's initial idea was to use ink that glowed under ultraviolet light. [4] He then realized that a pattern of thin and thick lines, inspired by Morse code, could represent numbers.

The writer wants to add the following sentence to the paragraph:

"This ultraviolet ink, however, proved to be both unstable and expensive, forcing them to abandon the concept."

To make the paragraph most logical, where should this sentence be placed?

  1. A
    after Sentence 1
  2. B
    after Sentence 2
  3. after Sentence 3Answer
  4. D
    after Sentence 4

Answer

after Sentence 3
The correct answer is the option that places the sentence after Sentence 3. Sentence 3 introduces the idea of using ultraviolet ink. The target sentence begins with 'This ultraviolet ink,' which requires an immediate antecedent to make sense. Placing the target sentence after Sentence 3 logically explains why the first idea failed before moving on to the second idea (Morse code lines) in Sentence 4.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the key transition and referring terms in the sentence to be placed.
The target sentence begins with the phrase 'This ultraviolet ink,' which indicates it must immediately follow a sentence that introduces the ultraviolet ink.
Establishing clear pronoun-antecedent relationships is essential for logical paragraph cohesion.
2
Scan the paragraph to find where the ultraviolet ink is first mentioned.
Sentence 3 contains the first and only mention of 'ink that glowed under ultraviolet light' in the original paragraph.
This establishes the necessary context for the pronoun phrase in the target sentence.
3
Evaluate the chronological and logical flow of the entire paragraph with the new sentence inserted.
Placing the sentence after Sentence 3 completes the thought about the initial idea's failure before Sentence 4 introduces the subsequent idea of using line patterns.
This sequence preserves the step-by-step narrative of the invention process.

Key Concept

Sentence Reordering and Placement
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Sentence Reordering and Placement

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