Question

Read the excerpt from Noah’s paper.

The United States wanted to be the first country to have an astronaut in outer space and lost to the Soviet Union. Yuri Gagarin, a Russian cosmonaut, was the first person to orbit the Earth.

In the first sentence, which words would provide a more appropriate transition than and? Select two options.

but
nor
so
thus
yet

Answer 1

but
yet

Explanation: The sentence expresses a contrast (the U.S. wanted to be first but/ yet it lost), so "but" and "yet" are the appropriate transitions. "So" and "thus" indicate result, and "nor" requires a negative partner (neither...nor).