Although recent trends in American dining have elevated the ordinary macaroni and cheese to a lofty fine dining experience with add-ins like truffle, lobster, and expensive and (1) rare cheeses. For decades, the ubiquitous Kraft brand macaroni and cheese was not only a family dinner staple, but also a quick, convenient snack easy enough for nearly anyone to prepare. This signature dish made (2) its debut, along with many other markedly less-successful (3) products during the Great Depression when Americans suffered economic hardship and (4) there wasn’t much food around. Other less successful products and (5) recipes are also developed during the Great Depression. This inexpensive, grainy mixture of fine-ground cornmeal and powdered milk could be mixed with water to make a (6) gruel-like slurry; that was served at breakfast or mixed into ground meat and nut-butters to stretch more expensive products and make meals seem more filling. (7) Looking to fill the empty stomachs of the masses, scientists at Cornell developed a product called Milkorno. (8) After the stock market crash, and the windy, drought-filled years that led to the Dust Bowl, jobs, money, and food items were in short supply. Even when fresh dairy and produce was available, transient families (9) living in caravans and camps had no access to refrigeration or food preservation. Kraft ingeniously crafted a highly stable, non-perishable, powdered dairy product that took the place of milk and cheese. (10) (11) This filling dinner was shelf-stable, the dried ingredients could be reconstituted in one pan by just adding boiling water, and the box was easy to carry. It was the perfect food for the times. Mothers waxed creative with their recipes as well. Limited by the rationing of many staples (12) with sugar and produce, women turned to products like vinegar and crackers to replace typical pie ingredients like fresh fruits and berries. Austerity even hit the White House (13) which Eleanor Roosevelt used the naturally sweet dried prunes to concoct a dessert pudding that was served to visiting dignitaries. Kraft’s world-famous dinner in a box shines as the star of Depression Era food. Many of the other products and recipes understandably slipped into (14) not being known when the economy recovered and normal food items once again became widely available. (15)

Question

Which of the following sequences of paragraphs makes this
passage most logical?
A 1, 3, 2, 4, 5
B 1, 4, 2, 3, 5
C 5, 1, 2, 3, 4
D 3, 4, 1, 2, 5

Answer 1

To determine the most logical sequence of paragraphs in the passage provided, we need to consider the natural flow of ideas and topics.

1. The passage starts discussing the evolution of macaroni and cheese, introducing it as a staple during tough times. This is generally related to paragraph 1 since it talks about fine dining versus Kraft's version.
2. It then looks back at the historical context of macaroni and cheese and similar products developed during the Great Depression. This suggests we should transition to a discussion of the conditions of the time (likely paragraph 4), explaining the economic hardships and food scarcity.
3. After setting up the historical context, we would logically move to the introduction of specific products made during that time (paragraphs 2 and 5). Paragraph 2 talks about the debut of Kraft mac and cheese, while paragraph 5 discusses other less successful products during the same era.
4. Finally, the passage could finish by wrapping up the discussion of how some products, like Kraft mac and cheese, became iconic, while others faded into obscurity (paragraph 14).

Given this breakdown, the sequence that makes the most logical sense is: 1, 4, 2, 3, 5 which corresponds to option B.

This sequence introduces the topic, discusses the era's hardships, then transitions to the specific products that emerged, wrapping it up with a final note on their success relative to other products.