A research team led by Cat Badihi has discovered that chimpanzees communicate through exchanges of gestures occurring at a pace similar to that of human conversations. _____ chimpanzee gesture exchanges have short pauses of about 120 milliseconds between communications, comparable to the 200-millisecond average pause between turns in human speech.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Explanation
Context: The first sentence reports Badihi's general finding that chimpanzee gesture exchanges move at a pace like that of human conversation; the second gives the millisecond timings behind it.
Answer: D) Specifically,
Why? The second sentence introduces no new or opposing point — it narrows in on the claim just made, replacing "a pace similar to" with figures: pauses of about 120 milliseconds between chimpanzee gestures against a 200-millisecond human average. "Specifically" is the transition that marks this move from general statement to the detail supporting it.
Traps:
- A) By contrast → signals opposition, but the timings confirm the similarity rather than cut against it.
- B) As a result → treats the pause data as a consequence of the finding, when they are the evidence for it.
- C) Nevertheless → concedes a counterpoint, and nothing in the second sentence works against the first.