Craft and StructureEasy–MediumFunction of a sentence
Craft and Structure practice question
Most bird species that migrate do so at night, navigating by the stars. Not all, however: hawks and other soaring birds travel by day, riding columns of warm air that form only after the sun has heated the ground. For them, night travel would mean flapping the entire way.
Which choice best describes the function of the second sentence in the text as a whole?
- A. It introduces an exception to the generalisation in the first sentence.Correct
- B. It restates the first sentence in different words.
- C. It explains why most birds prefer to migrate at night.
- D. It summarises the argument of the whole text.
Answer: A. It introduces an exception to the generalisation in the first sentence.
The first sentence makes a general claim ('most ... at night'); the second opens with 'Not all, however' and describes birds that do the opposite. That is an exception being introduced.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. It restates the first sentence in different words.
- The second sentence describes birds that travel by day — the opposite of the first sentence, not a restatement.
- C. It explains why most birds prefer to migrate at night.
- The second sentence is about day-flying hawks, not about why night migrants choose the night.
- D. It summarises the argument of the whole text.
- It's a specific case, not a summary; the text's overall point is only complete with the third sentence.
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