قدّام | منصة التدريب على اختبارات القدرات والتحصيلي وموهبة

Some questions do not ask what a passage says but how its parts relate: "What is the relationship between the second and third sentences?" The answer is almost always carried by a connective word.

The four relationships you must know

Relationship	The second idea...	Connectives
Cause & effect	results from the first	because, therefore, so, as a result, thus
Contrast	opposes the first	but, however, yet, whereas, on the other hand
Example	illustrates the first	for example, for instance, such as, namely
Sequence	comes next in time/order	first, then, next, finally, afterward

Read the connective, name the relationship

Train yourself to translate the linking word into a verb:

"because the river flooded..." $\to$ the flood causes what follows.
"However, the plan failed..." $\to$ this contrasts with the hopeful sentence before.
"For instance, in 2019..." $\to$ this supports the general claim above with an example.

If two sentences have no connective, supply one yourself: read them as "and so", "but", or "for example" and see which fits. That hidden link is what the question is testing.

Effect-then-cause order

English often states the effect first and the cause second:

"Crops withered that summer because rain never came."

The withering is the effect; the missing rain is the cause — even though it appears last. Do not assume the first clause is always the cause.

Worked examples

Example 1 (difficulty 3/5)

Read these sentences: "(1) The factory promised that its new filters would clear the air within a year. (2) Two years later, however, residents still reported the same haze over the valley." The relationship of sentence (2) to sentence (1) is best described as:

◎ Predict the answer first:

Tips

Memorize the connective lists — half of relationship questions are answered by the linking word alone.

When no connective is present, mentally insert "and so", "but", or "for example" to test the fit.

Cause and effect can appear in either order; identify which clause does the causing, not which comes first.

Common mistakes

Confusing contrast with cause

Why: Both can join two events, so they blur together when read quickly.

Fix: Check the connective: however/yet = contrast; because/therefore = cause.

Assuming the first clause is always the cause

Why: We read left to right and expect causes first.

Fix: Locate the word "because/so"; the cause sits with it, wherever it appears.