Five jumbled up sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5), related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd sentence and key in the number of that sentence as your answer.

$1.$Urbanites also have more and better options for getting around: Uber is ubiquitous; easy-to-rent dockless bicycles are spreading; battery-powered scooters will be next.

$2.$ When more people use buses or trains the service usually improves because public-transport agencies run more buses and trains.

$3.$ Worsening services on public transport, terrorist attacks in some urban metros and a rise in fares have been blamed for this trend.

$4.$ It seems more likely that public transport is being squeezed structurally as people's need to travel is diminishing as a result of smartphones, video-conferencing, online shopping and so on.

$5.$ There has been a puzzling decline in the use of urban public transport in many countries in the west, despite the growth in urban populations and rising employment.

Question

Five jumbled up sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5), related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd sentence and key in the number of that sentence as your answer.

$1.$Urbanites also have more and better options for getting around: Uber is ubiquitous; easy-to-rent dockless bicycles are spreading; battery-powered scooters will be next.

$2.$ When more people use buses or trains the service usually improves because public-transport agencies run more buses and trains.

$3.$ Worsening services on public transport, terrorist attacks in some urban metros and a rise in fares have been blamed for this trend.

$4.$ It seems more likely that public transport is being squeezed structurally as people's need to travel is diminishing as a result of smartphones, video-conferencing, online shopping and so on.

$5.$ There has been a puzzling decline in the use of urban public transport in many countries in the west, despite the growth in urban populations and rising employment.

Accepted Answer

To form a coherent paragraph, sentence 5 serves as the opening statement since it introduces the main idea about the decline in urban public transport usage despite population growth and rising employment. Sentence 3 logically follows as it lists reasons for this trend, such as worsening services and terrorist attacks. Sentence 4 complements this by offering another possible reason: diminished need for travel due to technological advancements. Sentence 1 concludes the paragraph by discussing alternative options available for urbanites.

Sentence 2 is unrelated to the main idea of declining urban public transport usage and focuses instead on how public transport services improve with increased usage. Hence, it is identified as the odd sentence.

Correct Answer: Option 2