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: Science has officially crowned us superior to our early-rising brethren.

Paragraph: My fellow night owls, grab a strong cup of coffee and gather around: I have great news. ___(1)___. For a long time, our kind has been unfairly maligned. Stereotyped as lazy and undisciplined. Told we ought to be morning larks. Advised to go to bed early so we can wake before 5am and run a marathon before breakfast like all high-flyers seem to do. Now, however, we are having the last laugh. ___(2)___. It may be a tad more complicated than that. A study published last week, which you may have already seen while scrolling at 1am, suggests that staying up late could be good for brain power. ___(3)___. Is this study a thinly veiled PR exercise conducted by a caffeine-pill company? Nope, it’s legit. ___(4)___. Research led by academics at Imperial College London studied data on more than 26,000 people and found that “self-declared ‘night owls’ generally tend to have higher cognitive scores”.

D) Option 2 is the correct answer.

The given sentence effectively bridges the opening complaints with the positive news about the benefits of being a night owl, reinforcing the idea that science supports the idea of night owls being "superior." This creates a smooth transition to the explanation of the study that follows.

A) Option 4: Placing the sentence at the end of the paragraph would seem a bit disconnected. The paragraph is already wrapping up with the mention of the study, and adding a bold claim of "superiority" at the end feels less impactful.

B) Option 3: This would place the sentence just before the study is mentioned. However, the sentence about "scientific superiority" would disrupt the flow here. The study is the moment when the night owl's position is validated, so introducing the idea of "superiority" immediately before the study would feel forced and out of place.

C) Option 1: This would place the sentence at the beginning of the paragraph, right after the opening line. However, the sentence about scientific superiority seems premature here, as the paragraph is still setting up the context for the night owls’ grievances. It would be too early in the paragraph to claim "superiority" without first addressing the negative stereotypes, making this placement less effective.