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Five jumbled up sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4 and 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.'Stat' signaled something measurable, while 'matic' advertised free labour; but 'tron', above all, indicated control.

  1. It was a totem of high modernism, the intellectual and cultural mode that decreed no process or phenomenon was too complex to be grasped, managed and optimized.
  2. Like the heraldic shields of ancient knights, these morphemes were painted onto the names of scientific technologies to proclaim one's history and achievements to friends and enemies alike.
  3. The historian Robert Proctor at Stanford University calls the suffix '-tron', along with '-matic' and '-stat', embodied symbols.
  4. To gain the suffix was to acquire a proud and optimistic emblem of the electronic and atomic age.

Entered answer:

Solution

āœ… Correct Answer: 2

Let us trace the main topic: All sentences seem to discuss suffixes like '-tron', '-matic', and '-stat' and their symbolic meaning.

Step 1: Find the opening sentence -> Sentence 4 introduces Robert Proctor and his idea of these suffixes as "embodied symbols" - this sets up the whole discussion.

Step 2: What comes next? -> Sentence 3 continues by comparing these symbols to heraldic shields of ancient knights, giving us a clear analogy.

Step 3: Then what? -> Sentence 1 explains what each suffix actually means ('stat' = measurable, 'matic' = free labour, 'tron' = control).

Step 4: Finally -> Sentence 5 wraps up by saying getting these suffixes was like getting a proud emblem.

So the flow is: 4 -> 3 -> 1 -> 5 (introduces concept -> analogy -> specific meanings -> significance)

From passage: "It was a totem of high modernism, the intellectual and cultural mode that decreed no process or phenomenon was too complex to be grasped, managed and optimized."

This sentence talks about high modernism and intellectual/cultural modes -> completely different focus from the other sentences which stay focused on the suffixes and their symbolic meaning.


šŸ”“ Sentence 2 -> scope-shift -> jumps to abstract concepts like "high modernism" and "intellectual/cultural modes" when all other sentences stick to discussing the specific suffixes and their symbolic meanings. It's like talking about philosophy when everyone else is discussing specific word parts.

🟢 Sentences 1, 3, 4, 5 -> all stay focused on the suffixes as symbols and their meanings, creating a clear, connected discussion.

Answer: 2

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