There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide where (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Sentence: [T]he Europeans did not invent globalization.

Paragraph: The first phase of globalization occurred long before the introduction of either steam or electric power…Chinese consumers at all social levels consumed vast quantities of spices, fragrant woods and unusual plants. The peoples of Southeast Asia who lived in forests gave up their traditional livelihoods and completely reoriented their economies to supply Chinese consumers….___(1)___. These exchanges of the year 1000 opened some of the routes through which goods and peoples continued to travel after Columbus traversed the mid- Atlantic. ___(2)___. Yet the world of 1000 differed from that of 1492 in important ways….the travellers who encountered one another in the year 1000 were much closer technologically. ___(3)___. They changed and augmented what was already there since 1000. ___(4)___. If globalization hadn’t yet begun, Europeans wouldn’t have been able to penetrate the markets in so many places as quickly as they did after 1492.

Evaluation of options:

Option 1: The given sentence would feel disjointed here. The sentence before Blank 1 talks about the exchanges in the year 1000, and then the phrase "These exchanges" in the next sentence directly refers to those early global interactions. Inserting the sentence about Europeans not inventing globalization here would disrupt the flow, as it shifts the focus to European involvement too early and interrupts the natural transition from the earlier exchanges.

Option 2:The sentence doesn’t fit here because the paragraph is discussing the opening of global routes through the exchanges before Columbus. The sentence about Europeans not inventing globalization would break the flow, as it introduces an idea that contradicts the continuity of thought about the routes and exchanges leading up to 1492. The transition between the sentences before and after Blank 2 is smooth, and inserting the sentence would disrupt that.

Option 3: The given sentence fits here, especially since the previous sentence talks about the travelers of 1000 being much closer technologically. The sentence about the Europeans not inventing globalization reinforces that these global exchanges were already in place, and the next sentence, which talks about how these exchanges were changed and augmented by Europeans, fits logically after the given sentence. This creates a natural progression of ideas from the historical exchanges to the European influence.

Option 4: While the sentence might seem to fit here, this part is more focused on how things evolved after 1000. It discusses changes and developments that took place over time, particularly after the initial exchanges. The sentence about Europeans not inventing globalization would shift the focus too much from the evolution and changes happening after 1000, making it less coherent in this context.

Therefore, Option 3 is the best fit because it connects logically with both the idea of technological closeness and the shift in influence after 1000.