Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one.
1The audit revealed serious flaws in the procurement process; ............... public trust in the agency remained surprisingly resilient.
Wrong!
"Nevertheless" is correct because the second clause states a point that contrasts with the first rather than follows from it or exemplifies it.
2To make the claim persuasive, the author must show not merely temporal proximity between the reform and the decline, but ...............
Wrong!
"a causal explanation" is correct because the sentence says the problem is not timing but why one change might have produced another.
3If the conclusion is to be coherent, it must ............... the premises already established.
Wrong!
"follow from" is correct because a coherent argument requires the conclusion to be supported by the premises already given; after "must" we use the base form of the verb.
4The report assumes that scarcity will automatically reduce consumption; ..............., consumers may simply switch to cheaper brands.
Wrong!
"By contrast" is correct because the second claim opposes the first by rejecting the assumption that scarcity automatically reduces consumption.
5The survey data are interesting, but without ............... they do not justify the policy recommendation.
Wrong!
"the warrant" is correct because the missing link between the evidence and the recommendation is the underlying principle that authorises the inference.
6Water shortages are becoming more frequent, so investment in desalination seems attractive. This, ..............., would not address the environmental cost of brine disposal.
Wrong!
"however" is correct because the sentence reverses the expected argumentative direction and introduces a limitation on the proposed policy.
7The committee can endorse the recommendation only ............... the funding mechanism is made transparent.
Wrong!
"provided that" is correct because the following clause states a condition under which the recommendation remains acceptable.
8The historical digression may be accurate, but it lacks ............... because it does not advance the claim about current regulation.
Wrong!
"relevance" is correct because the sentence criticises a detail that may be true but does not bear on the claim being argued.
9The proposal should be rejected ............... it is ambitious, but because it offers no implementation route.
Wrong!
"not because" is correct because the sentence denies one possible ground for rejection before giving the actual ground introduced by "but because".
10The author separates affordability from willingness to pay. ............... matters because the two variables respond differently to subsidies.
Wrong!
"This distinction" is correct because the previous wording contrasts affordability with willingness to pay, and the next clause says that contrast matters for interpretation.
11............... the figures are accurate, they do not by themselves prove that the intervention caused the improvement.
Wrong!
"Even if" is correct because the sentence grants the possibility of accurate figures while arguing that they still do not establish causation.
12..............., the author clarifies its scope so that the later response is not misunderstood.
Wrong!
"Before answering that objection" is correct because the sentence says the author first clarifies the objection so that the later reply is intelligible.
Exercise complete
0 out of 12
correct answers
Answers
- The audit revealed serious flaws in the procurement process; nevertheless public trust in the agency remained surprisingly resilient.
- To make the claim persuasive, the author must show not merely temporal proximity between the reform and the decline, but a causal explanation.
- If the conclusion is to be coherent, it must follow from the premises already established.
- The report assumes that scarcity will automatically reduce consumption; by contrast, consumers may simply switch to cheaper brands.
- The survey data are interesting, but without the warrant they do not justify the policy recommendation.
- Water shortages are becoming more frequent, so investment in desalination seems attractive. This, however, would not address the environmental cost of brine disposal.
- The committee can endorse the recommendation only provided that the funding mechanism is made transparent.
- The historical digression may be accurate, but it lacks relevance because it does not advance the claim about current regulation.
- The proposal should be rejected not because it is ambitious, but because it offers no implementation route.
- The author separates affordability from willingness to pay. This distinction matters because the two variables respond differently to subsidies.
- Even if the figures are accurate, they do not by themselves prove that the intervention caused the improvement.
- Before answering that objection, the author clarifies its scope so that the later response is not misunderstood.