Question

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.
Sentence: [T]he Europeans did not invent globalization.
Paragraph: The first phase of globalization occurred long before the introduction of either steam or electric power…Chinese consumers at all social levels consumed vast quantities of spices, fragrant woods and unusual plants. The peoples of Southeast Asia who lived in forests gave up their traditional livelihoods and completely reoriented their economies to supply Chinese consumers….___(1)___. These exchanges of the year 1000 opened some of the routes through which goods and peoples continued to travel after Columbus traversed the mid-Atlantic. ___(2)___. Yet the world of 1000 differed from that of 1492 in important ways….the travellers who encountered one another in the year 1000 were much closer technologically. ___(3)___. They changed and augmented what was already there since 1000. ___(4)___. If globalization hadn’t yet begun, Europeans wouldn’t have been able to penetrate the markets in so many places as quickly as they did after 1492.

• A. Option 4
• B. Option 3
• C. Option 2
• D. Option 1

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

The sentence "[T]he Europeans did not invent globalization." fits best at option 3 within the paragraph. Here's the reasoning:

The paragraph discusses the early phase of globalization, highlighting exchanges and commercial activities around the year 1000, particularly those involving Chinese consumers and Southeast Asian economies. The text contrasts the year 1000 with 1492, noting key differences and developments that followed.

The correct position for the sentence should logically connect the discussion of pre-existing global interactions with the role Europeans played post-1492. Placing it at option 3 smoothly bridges the ideas that while Europeans were significant in altering global trade post-1492, they did not start the globalization process itself.

Thus, the paragraph flows more cohesively, acknowledging the longstanding nature of global exchanges and dispelling the notion of European primacy in its inception.