DIRECTIONS for the question: The given sentence is missing in the paragraph below. Decide where it best fits among the options 1, 2, 3, or 4 indicated in the paragraph.
1. Sentence: "Everything is old-world, traditional techniques from Mexico," Ava emphasizes.
Paragraph: The sisters embrace the ways their great-grandfather built and repaired instruments. ____(1) ____. When crafting a Mexican guitarrón used in mariachi music, they use tacote wood for the top of the instrument. Once the wood is cut, they carve the neck and heel from a single block using tools like hand saws, chisels and sandpaper rather than modern power tools — and believe that this traditional method improves the tone of the instrument. ____(2) ____. Their store has a three-year waitlist for instruments that take months to create. ____(3) ____. The family's artisanship has attracted stars like Los Lobos, who own custom guitars made by all three generations of the Delgado family. ____(4) ____. For the sisters, involvement in the family business started at an early age. They each built their first instruments at age 9.
Option 3
Option 2
Option 4
Option 1
Option 1
The correct answer is Option 1.
To determine the best placement for the given sentence, we must analyze its content and how it connects to the flow of the paragraph. The missing sentence states: "Everything is old-world, traditional techniques from Mexico," Ava emphasizes. This sentence highlights the use of traditional, historical methods originating from Mexico for their work.
Let's examine the context surrounding blank (1):
Before blank (1): "The sisters embrace the ways their great-grandfather built and repaired instruments." This sentence introduces the idea that the sisters follow older, inherited methods for instrument making.
After blank (1): "When crafting a Mexican guitarrón used in mariachi music, they use tacote wood for the top of the instrument. Once the wood is cut, they carve the neck and heel from a single block using tools like hand saws, chisels and sandpaper rather than modern power tools — and believe that this traditional method improves the tone of the instrument."
The sentences immediately following blank (1) provide specific, concrete examples of the "old-world, traditional techniques from Mexico" mentioned in the missing sentence. They describe the crafting of a traditional Mexican instrument (the guitarrón) and explicitly contrast their use of hand tools with "modern power tools," even using the phrase "this traditional method."
Therefore, placing the missing sentence at blank (1) provides a perfect logical bridge. It expands upon the "ways of their great-grandfather" mentioned in the preceding sentence and acts as a direct introduction to the specific examples of traditional Mexican craftsmanship detailed in the sentences that follow.