Before the first railroads were built in Australia, engineers warned against using multiple track widths across the continent._____regional officials couldn't agree on a single-width system. Thus, railways in Queensland, like the Durundur Railway, were made using narrow tracks, while those in Victoria were built with wide tracks.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Explanation
Context: Before Australia's first railroads, engineers warned against using multiple track widths across the continent. The blank introduces regional officials' failure to agree on one width, which left Queensland with narrow track and Victoria with wide.
Answer: D) Nevertheless,
Why? What the officials did runs against the advice they were given: the warning was issued, and the disagreement produced the very mix of gauges it cautioned about. "Nevertheless" introduces an outcome that holds in spite of what came before.
Traps:
- A) "For this reason," makes the warning the cause of the disagreement, but the officials acted against that warning rather than because of it.
- B) "In other words," promises a restatement, and a failure to agree is a new event, not a rewording of the engineers' advice.
- C) "Similarly," claims the two sentences align, yet the officials' deadlock defeated the engineers' recommendation.