Arrange the following sentences in a logical sequence to form a coherent paragraph:
[1] Yet, beneath this veneer of stability, subtle seismic stresses accumulate along locked fault lines.
[2] The Pacific Northwest coast of North America presents an outwardly serene maritime landscape.
[3] Geologists caution that when this locked zone inevitably ruptures, it will generate a megathrust earthquake of cataclysmic proportions.
[4] There, the oceanic Juan de Fuca plate descends inexorably beneath the continental North American plate.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. 2 - 4 - 1 - 3
- Step 1: Identify the opening sentence: Sentence 2 introduces the overarching geographic setting: the tranquil Pacific Northwest coastline.
- Step 2: Sentence 4 establishes the underlying tectonic interaction (the Juan de Fuca plate descending beneath North America). Sentence 1 introduces the contrast between tranquil scenery and seismic peril, and Sentence 3 provides the paleoseismic evidence of recurring megathrust earthquakes.
- Step 3: The coherent logical sequence is 2 - 4 - 1 - 3.
Answer
2 - 4 - 1 - 3.
Why not the others: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 opens with the adverbial pronoun 'There' without establishing the geographic location; 1 - 3 - 2 - 4 starts abruptly with the contrast marker 'Yet' before describing the serene coastline; 2 - 1 - 3 - 4 places earthquake rupture records before describing the descending tectonic plate mechanism.
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