Numerical answer
Five jumbled sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd sentence and key in the number of that sentence as your answer.
1. Corals depend on microscopic algae living inside their tissues, which supply them with most of their food through photosynthesis.
2. When sea temperatures rise even slightly above normal for several weeks, this partnership breaks down and the corals expel the algae.
3. Without the algae the corals turn white, and unless conditions improve quickly, they starve.
4. Many reef fish species change sex during their lifetimes, a strategy that biologists believe maximises reproductive success.
5. Repeated bleaching events leave reefs too little time to recover between episodes, turning vibrant ecosystems into rubble.
1. Corals depend on microscopic algae living inside their tissues, which supply them with most of their food through photosynthesis.
2. When sea temperatures rise even slightly above normal for several weeks, this partnership breaks down and the corals expel the algae.
3. Without the algae the corals turn white, and unless conditions improve quickly, they starve.
4. Many reef fish species change sex during their lifetimes, a strategy that biologists believe maximises reproductive success.
5. Repeated bleaching events leave reefs too little time to recover between episodes, turning vibrant ecosystems into rubble.
Show answer and solution
Answer: 4
Sentences 1, 2, 3 and 5 form a causal chain about coral bleaching: corals depend on algae (1) → heat breaks the partnership (2, where 'this partnership' refers to 1) → the corals whiten and starve, i.e. bleaching (3) → repeated bleaching destroys reefs (5).
Sentence 4 is about sex change in reef fish. It shares the reef setting but has nothing to do with bleaching, algae or temperature, and it does not link to any other sentence.
Tip: An odd sentence often shares the *topic words* (reef) but not the *argument*. Follow the chain of cause and effect, not the vocabulary.
Sentence 4 is about sex change in reef fish. It shares the reef setting but has nothing to do with bleaching, algae or temperature, and it does not link to any other sentence.
Tip: An odd sentence often shares the *topic words* (reef) but not the *argument*. Follow the chain of cause and effect, not the vocabulary.
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