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Difficulty: MediumSentence Reordering and Placement

The following paragraph contains numbered sentences.

[1] In 1948, Bernard Silver and Norman Joseph Woodland set out to design a system that could automatically read product information during supermarket checkout. [2] Woodland’s initial ideas were inspired by Morse code, but he struggled to translate those dots and dashes into a scannable format. [3] To clear his head, he took a trip to a beach in Miami, where he sat in a chair and idly ran his fingers through the sand. [4] By drawing these vertical patterns in the sand, he realized he had conceptualized the very first barcode.

The author wants to add the following sentence to the paragraph:
'He realized that extending the dots and dashes downward would create thin and thick lines.'
To make the paragraph most logical, after which sentence 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
Placing the sentence after Sentence 3 is correct because it creates a logical progression of ideas. Sentence 3 establishes the setting (a beach in Miami) and describes the action of running fingers through the sand. The added sentence describes the realization that extending dots and dashes downward would create lines. Sentence 4 then refers back to both preceding sentences by mentioning 'drawing these vertical patterns [from the added sentence] in the sand [from Sentence 3].' This makes the insertion after Sentence 3 the only location that maintains logical coherence and avoids dangling pronoun/noun references.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the target sentence for logical connectives and pronouns.
The target sentence refers to 'the dots and dashes' and introduces the concept of 'thin and thick lines'.
This establishes that the target sentence must follow the introduction of dots and dashes and precede the mention of the lines.
2
Locate where 'dots and dashes' are first introduced in the passage.
Sentence 2 introduces 'Morse code' and 'those dots and dashes'.
The target sentence cannot be placed before Sentence 2 because it would refer to dots and dashes before they are introduced.
3
Examine the connection between the target sentence and the remaining sentences.
Sentence 3 introduces the 'sand'. Sentence 4 refers to drawing 'these vertical patterns in the sand'. The target sentence describes the creation of the vertical patterns ('thin and thick lines'). Placing the target sentence after Sentence 3 resolves the references: the sand from Sentence 3 is combined with the lines from the target sentence to form the action in Sentence 4.
This positioning ensures a logical sequence and maintains correct pronoun-antecedent agreement.

Key Concept

Sentence Reordering and Placement
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Topics

Sentence Reordering and Placement

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