In this sentence ordering task, choose the most logical order of the labelled parts X, Y, and Z to complete the idea: "Children are sensitive X to what happens around them and are Y enthusiastic about working on Z plays that reflect their lives."

Difficulty: Medium

Correct Answer: XYZ

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
Sentence ordering questions test your ability to recognise logical and grammatical patterns in English. In this item, a single sentence is broken into labelled segments X, Y, and Z. You must find the correct sequence so that the completed sentence becomes smooth, meaningful, and grammatically correct. Such tasks are important in exams because they check both your understanding of sentence structure and your sense of natural English order.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • The basic frame is "Children are sensitive X to what happens around them and are Y enthusiastic about working on Z plays that reflect their lives".
  • X, Y, and Z are short fragments that need to be placed in the correct positions after the verbs "are sensitive" and "are enthusiastic".
  • The completed sentence should talk about children, their sensitivity to their surroundings, and their enthusiasm for plays that reflect their lives.
  • We assume that X corresponds to "to what happens around them", Y to "enthusiastic about working on", and Z to "plays that reflect their lives".


Concept / Approach:
To solve such questions, you should first reconstruct the most natural English sentence without worrying about labels. A smooth version is "Children are sensitive to what happens around them and are enthusiastic about working on plays that reflect their lives." Once you have this, you match each label X, Y, Z to the phrase that fits this pattern. This lets you determine the correct order of the labels after the main sentence parts. You must also check that the prepositions and connectors remain in correct positions when the labels are inserted.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Imagine the complete sentence in plain English: "Children are sensitive to what happens around them and are enthusiastic about working on plays that reflect their lives."Step 2: Identify which fragment naturally follows "are sensitive". It should be "to what happens around them", which is X.Step 3: Identify which fragment follows "are" in the second part. It should be "enthusiastic about working on", which is Y.Step 4: Finally, the object of that phrase is "plays that reflect their lives", which is Z.Step 5: Putting this together gives the order X then Y then Z, so the correct sequence is XYZ.


Verification / Alternative check:
We can quickly test the other options. If we use ZYX, the sentence would read in a strange and incorrect order. Options ZXY and YZX similarly break the close connection between "sensitive" and "to what happens around them" or between "enthusiastic" and "about working on". Only the XYZ arrangement keeps both halves grammatical and natural to a fluent speaker of English. This confirms that XYZ is the correct choice.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:

  • Option A ZYX would disturb the link between each verb and its logical complement, producing an awkward and confusing sentence.
  • Option C ZXY would put "plays that reflect their lives" directly after "are sensitive", which changes the meaning and feels incorrect.
  • Option D YZX would put "enthusiastic about working on" immediately after "are sensitive", which also creates a mismatch in meaning and flow.


Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes try to solve such items only by guessing or by focusing on the first fragment they like. A better strategy is to rebuild the full sentence from your intuition of natural English and then map fragments to that model. Also pay close attention to prepositions like "to" and "about", because they often signal where certain fragments must attach in the sentence.


Final Answer:
The most logical and grammatical order of the labelled parts is XYZ, giving a smooth sentence about children and plays that reflect their lives.

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