In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank. There is a saying that coming events cast their shadows before. (1)________, it is not universally true. Something can happen within a second, and one may not (2)________ it. (3)________, some instances show that predictions based on certain signs have gone wrong. People generally say that natural calamities can be predicted by observing the animals. But what if animals are suffering from some disease and don’t show any signs before the event appears? They may fail to make peculiar sounds or actions about the events which are going to take place. (4)________, some unnatural calamities that are likely to appear may forecast their shadows by some bad omens. (5)________, we should not completely cancel out the possibilities that animals can sense certain unnatural happenings.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 1.
- (a)Therefore
- (b)Furthermore
- (c)Moreover
- (d)However
Answer
Why
Correct — D. Read the two sentences as a pair. First: There is a saying that coming events cast their shadows before. Then, after the blank: it is not universally true.
The second sentence takes the saying back. A reversal needs a contrast connector, and However is the only contrastive word on offer.
Therefore, Furthermore and Moreover all carry the first sentence forward, which is the opposite of what the passage does here — so option (d).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)Therefore — Therefore signals a result. The passage does not conclude from the saying that the saying is unreliable — it contradicts the saying, and a result connector cannot mark a contradiction.
- (b)Furthermore — Furthermore adds a second point on the same side. The clause after the blank argues against the sentence before it, so adding to it reverses the direction of the passage.
- (c)Moreover — Moreover is additive, like furthermore. Nothing is being added here — the writer is denying the saying just quoted, not reinforcing it.
Concept
Cloze connectors are decided by direction, not by how each word feels on its own. Read the sentence before the blank and the clause after it, then ask which way the argument turns.
Three directions cover almost every SSC connector blank:
contrast — however, but, nevertheless, on the contrary
addition — moreover, furthermore, besides, also
result — therefore, hence, thus, consequently
Here the turn is a reversal, so only the contrast set can fill the blank. Once the direction is settled, four options usually collapse to one.
Four of this passage's five blanks are connectors and only blank 2 is a vocabulary slot. The argument swings between doubting the saying and half-accepting it, so track the swing sentence by sentence rather than deciding each blank on its own.
Key facts
- However marks contrast and can open a sentence, followed by a comma.
- Moreover and furthermore are additive, so neither can introduce a denial of the sentence before it.
- Therefore is a result connector and needs the preceding sentence to be its cause.
Study next
Common traps
- Picking a connector by how formal it sounds instead of by the direction of the argument
- Missing that not universally true is a denial, because it is worded so mildly
SSC gives one passage with five blanks and asks each as a separate question. The other four blanks of this passage are English Q.22 to Q.25 (09 Sep 2024, 09:00).
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