Why does the writer use the short sentence 'But a street is more than a place to buy things'?
On a wet Tuesday in March, the main street of my home town looks like a mouth with missing teeth. The baker closed in January; the shoe shop has been papered over since Christmas. Only the charity shops, the vape shops and a single stubborn butcher keep their lights on. We are told this is progress: that people now buy everything online and the street has simply been outgrown. But a street is more than a place to buy things. It is where a child first sees a neighbour's face turn kind, where news is exchanged over counters, where a town learns what it is. When we lose it we lose, quietly, the habit of being a community, and no delivery van can bring that back to our doors.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. To mark a turning point and state the writer's main claim
- Step 1: 'But' contrasts with the 'progress' view before it.
- Step 2: The short, direct sentence signals the key claim that the writer then develops.
Answer
To mark a turning point and state the writer's main claim.
Why not the others: To slow down the passage so that readers can rest their attention: a short sentence here is deliberate for emphasis, not for rest. To admit that the writer's own argument is weak: the sentence strengthens the argument. To list the different shops that are found on a street: no shops are listed in this sentence.
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