Choose the option that most effectively synthesizes the two ideas into a single, cohesive academic sentence:
1. The deep-sea submarine encountered extreme hydrostatic pressure at nine thousand meters.
2. The carbon-fiber hull remained intact and retrieved pristine core sediment samples.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Notwithstanding extreme hydrostatic pressure, the submarine hull remained intact and retrieved sediment samples.
Answer: Notwithstanding extreme hydrostatic pressure, the submarine hull remained intact and retrieved sediment samples. Why not the others: 'Because of extreme hydrostatic pressure, the submarine hull failed...' contradicts the fact that the hull stayed intact; 'whereas' wrongly sets up an adversative clause rather than a concession; 'Encountering extreme hydrostatic pressure...' misattaches the participle to 'sediment samples', creating a dangling modifier.
- Step 1: Analyze the relationship between the two premises: there is a concession between the severe pressure and the successful maintenance of hull integrity, which enabled sample retrieval.
- Step 2: The sentence uses the formal preposition 'Notwithstanding' to set up the concessive relation concisely and avoids dangling modifiers.
Practise more Cohesive Devices, Discourse Markers, and Error Identification.
Free questions with an explanation for every one, and full timed MUET Malaysia (Malaysian University English Test) mock tests.
More Cohesive Devices, Discourse Markers, and Error Identification questions
- Select the formal discourse marker that introduces a concessive fact:
________ several contentious disagreements during bilateral trade tal… - Choose the concessive connector that correctly modifies an adjective phrase:
The newly developed synthetic catalyst achieved high molecular… - Select the formal subordinating conjunction that means 'since' or 'to the extent that':
________ the experimental methodology lacked double… - Choose the conjunctive adverb that introduces a reciprocal opposite proposition:
Developed nations possess substantial technological capita… - Select the discourse marker that introduces an explicit clarification or restatement:
The patient exhibited acute aphasia; ________, she ha… - Identify the underlined portion that contains a grammatical error:
The persistent degradation (A) of coastal mangrove forests along the wes…