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There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide where (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Paragraph: Research has hypothesised that the earliest evidence of human lip kissing originated in a very specific geographical location in South Asia 3,500 years ago ___ (1) ___ . From there it may have spread to other regions, simultaneously accelerating the spread of the herpes simplex virus 1. According to Dr Troels Pank Arbøll and Dr Sophie Lund Rasmussen, who in a new article in the journal Science draw on a range of written sources from the earliest Mesopotamian societies, kissing was already a well-established practice 4,500 years ago in the Middle East ___ (2) ___ . In ancient Mesopotamia, people wrote in cuneiform script on clay tablets ___ (3) ___ . Many thousands of these clay tablets have survived to this day, and they contain clear examples that kissing was considered a part of romantic intimacy in ancient times ___ (4) ___ . "Kissing could also have been part of friendships and family members' relations," says Dr Troels Pank Arbøll, an expert on the history of medicine in Mesopotamia.

Sentence: And probably much earlier, moving the documentation for kissing back 1,000 years compared to what was acknowledged in the scientific community.

Solution

✅ Correct Option: 2

The paragraph mentions two time periods: South Asia at 3,500 years ago (mentioned first) and Middle East at 4,500 years ago (mentioned second). Notice that 4,500 years is actually OLDER (earlier in history) than 3,500 years! The difference is exactly 1,000 years.


Missing sentence says

The sentence says "And probably much earlier, moving the documentation for kissing back 1,000 years..." This means we found evidence that's 1,000 years OLDER than what was previously thought.


Option 2 is correct as: The missing sentence should come right after the Middle East evidence is presented. This makes perfect sense because the paragraph just told us about NEW evidence from the Middle East (4,500 years ago), and the missing sentence immediately clarifies that this moves the timeline back 1,000 years from the South Asia evidence (3,500 years). The math checks out: 4,500 minus 3,500 equals 1,000 years earlier. It connects the two pieces of evidence smoothly.


Eliminating other options:

Option 1: This position is too early. We haven't mentioned the Middle East evidence yet. If we put the sentence here, readers would be confused about what "1,000 years earlier" refers to.

Option 3: This section talks about clay tablets and writing methods, not about comparing timelines. The missing sentence is about timeline revision, so it doesn't fit here.

Option 4: This section talks about romantic intimacy examples, not about when kissing started. The missing sentence discusses historical dating, so it's completely out of place here.

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