To form a coherent paragraph, sentences must be arranged logically for a natural flow of ideas. Let's analyze each sentence:
- Sentence 3: "Museums in Europe today are struggling to come to terms with their colonial legacy, some taking steps to return artefacts but not wanting to lose their prized collections." - This sentence establishes the core issue: European museums grappling with their colonial past, balancing restitution with collection preservation.
- Sentence 2: "This is in response to countries like Nigeria, which are pressurising European museums to return their precious artefacts looted by colonisers in the past." - This sentence provides the external impetus for the struggle mentioned in Sentence 3, highlighting the pressure from countries demanding the return of looted artefacts.
- Sentence 1: "Restitution of artefacts to original cultures could face legal obstacles, as many Western museums are legally prohibited from disposing of their collections." - This sentence details a specific challenge to restitution, pointing out legal restrictions on Western museums regarding their collections.
- Sentence 4: "Legal hurdles notwithstanding, politicians and institutions in France and Germany would now like to defuse the colonial time bombs, and are now backing the return of part of their holdings." - This sentence offers a potential path forward, indicating a shift in political will in France and Germany to address the issue despite legal impediments.
Synthesizing these points, the logical sequence that creates a coherent paragraph is:
- Sentence 3
- Sentence 2
- Sentence 1
- Sentence 4
The correct order is therefore 3214.