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Mr-Spark Posted 14 years ago
Proficiency Tests & Test-taking

Which sentence spoils the paragraph?

This is a question from an Advanced English Exam and asks us to find the inappropriate sentence in the paragraph. In other words, of the 5 sentences , which one spoils the coherence ?

( I) Galileo attempted to measure the speed of light by trying to measure the time required for light to travel a known distance between two hilltops. (II) Galileo stationed an assistant on one hilltop, and himself on another, and ordered the assistant to lift the cover from a lamp the instant he saw a flash from Galileo’s lamp. (III) When the person’s head moved to one side, a different bundle of rays would enter the eye from each point. (IV) The time was so short that he concluded it merely represented human reaction time, and that the speed of light must be extremely high. (V) Galileo measured the time between the flash of his lamp and when he received the light from his assistant’s lamp.

Could you please explain in detail? Thanks in advance..
  

Top answer

Sentence 2 address the methodology of the experiment, sentence 5 vaguely addresses the results (no time is given), and sentence 4 offers a conclusion. In my opinion, sentence 3 seems out of place and is not coherent.

— JohnParis

  • Sentence 2 address the methodology of the experiment, sentence 5 vaguely addresses the results (no time is given), and sentence 4 offers a conclusion.
  • In my opinion, sentence 3 seems out of place and is not coherent.
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12 Answers
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Sentence 2 address the methodology of the experiment, sentence 5 vaguely addresses the results (no time is given), and sentence 4 offers a conclusion.
In my opinion, sentence 3 seems out of place and is not coherent.
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The problem in this question, I think, if we omit the sentence 3, the sentence 4 cannot follow sentence 2 properly. In other words, 4 and 5 are not a proper follower of the sentence 2.

Am I wrong?
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any further comment?
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There are at least two problems with this passage, which makes it a poor test question. Sentence III is the worst offender, because it conjures a "person" out of thin air. If you discard III and swich IV and V, you have a coherent passage.
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we are fully agreed on the poorness of the test . I just need native comments to defend my point of view .. thankss..

anyone else to comment on the question?
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You are correct, Mr. Spark.
The problem lies with the order of the sentences.
Authors of scientific texts are instructed to follow a specific order when writing about an experiment/hypothesis. This "order" should be the same for a simple paragraph (or abstract) right up to a complete article or thesis.
I would recast the paragraph as follows (leaving out sentence 3, the offending sente
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This question is highly important for thousands of examinees in Turkey. We , the t English teachers in Turkey, think that this question needs correction .If we succeed in demonstrating that it is a problematic question, thousans of people will get 1, 25 points more.

So , Thanks to Paris and Enoon , But, I need more native comments ...

Thanks in advance again..
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Still we have time to talk on the question.. Waiting for your kind assesment...
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Sentence 3 should be the last sentence in the paragraph.
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Hello MakeYourEnglishWork, and welcome to English Forums.Emotion: party!!!
It's is always great to have new input and new members.
Unfor
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