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.

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.

1. Option 3

2. Option 2

3. Option 4

4. Option 1

Correct Option: 4

Rationale:

The inserted sentence, “Everything is old-world, traditional techniques from Mexico,” serves as a broad, generalizing statement that defines the specific methods used by the sisters.

Position 1 is the most logical fit because it follows the introduction of the “ways their great-grandfather built and repaired instruments” and immediately precedes the specific details of those ways (using tacote wood, carving by hand, avoiding power tools). The flow of the paragraph moves from the general legacy (grandfather’s ways) to the definition of that legacy (the inserted sentence) to the specific evidence of that legacy (the manufacturing process).

Wrong Options:

Option 2 (Position 2) is incorrect because placing the sentence here would make it a repetitive summary after the specific details have already been given, disrupting the flow into the next topic (the waitlist).

Option 1 (Position 3) and Option 3 (Position 4) are incorrect because these sections of the paragraph discuss the business aspects (waitlist, celebrity clients) and personal history (childhood), not the technical manufacturing methods described in the inserted sentence.

Difficulty: Easy