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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: Somalia has been dealing with an enormous humanitarian catastrophe, driven by the longest and most severe drought the country has experienced in at least 40 years. ___ (1) ___ . Five consecutive rainy seasons have failed, causing more than 8million people - almost half of the country's population to experience acute food insecurity. ___ (2) ___ . More than 43,000 people are believed to have lost their lives, with half of the lives lost likely being children under five. The damage the drought has caused is far-reaching. ___ (3) ___ . Farmers have lost all their agricultural income, while pastoralists have lost more than 3 million livestock, impoverishing entire communities, and leaving them on the brink of famine. ___ (4) ___ . Some, like the pastoralists, may never be able to go back as their livelihoods have been irreversibly wiped out.

Sentence: Many have had to leave their homes behind, with more than 1.3 million people being displaced due to the drought.

Solution

βœ… Correct Option: 1

From passage: "Some, like the pastoralists, may never be able to go back as their livelihoods have been irreversibly wiped out."

Thought Process:

Drought details -> Food crisis -> Deaths -> Economic damage -> Displacement fits here -> Permanent loss

The sentence about people leaving homes connects perfectly with pastoralists never returning. It shows the progression: economic ruin -> forced to leave -> can't come back.


Option Analysis:

πŸ”΄ Option 2 (Position 1) -> context-shift -> Jumps straight to displacement before explaining why people had to leave. The paragraph needs to build up the crisis first.

πŸ”΄ Option 4 (Position 2) -> partial-truth -> Food insecurity is mentioned, but displacement is too specific here. We need the broader damage context first.

πŸ”΄ Option 3 (Position 3) -> breaks-flow -> The sentence after Position 3 talks about farmers and pastoralists losing income. Displacement would interrupt this economic explanation.

🟒 Option 1 (Position 4) -> perfect-fit -> Comes right after economic devastation, leads perfectly into "never able to go back". Shows the complete story: crisis -> displacement -> permanent loss.

The displacement sentence acts as a bridge between losing livelihoods and never returning home.

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