16Hit1600
Expression of IdeasVery hardTransitions: emphasis

Expression of Ideas practice question

The city's recycling program had modest goals when it launched, aiming to divert a small fraction of household waste from landfills. ____, within five years it was processing more recyclable material per resident than any comparable city in the region.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

  1. A. Similarly,
  2. B. In other words,
  3. C. Remarkably,Correct
  4. D. Consequently,

Answer: C. Remarkably,

The program's small initial aims are set against an unexpectedly large outcome; 'Remarkably' emphasizes how striking that result is given the modest start. 'Consequently' would frame the result as a simple effect of the goals, missing the contrast between low expectations and high achievement.

Why the other answers are wrong

A. Similarly,
"Similarly" would require the two sentences to make parallel points, but modest launch goals and record-setting output per resident pull in opposite directions.
B. In other words,
"In other words" signals a restatement of the same idea, yet the second sentence reports a dramatically different outcome, not a rewording of the program's small initial aims.
D. Consequently,
"Consequently" treats the record results as a straightforward effect of the modest goals, which erases the point of the sentence: the outcome far exceeded what those low expectations predicted.

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