Which word indicates a time relation in the sentence about when tea bags started to become popular outside America?

• A. Before
• B. After
• C. Since
• D. While

Answer: (A)

This item tests your ability to spot a word that shows when something happened relative to another event. In the sentence about tea bags becoming popular outside America, the word that marks the timing is before. It signals that the growth outside America happened earlier than the other event being referenced, giving a clear sequence on the timeline. After would push the event later, which isn’t what the sentence aims to express; since points to a starting time or a reason in some contexts and can imply continuity, not a simple past relationship; while suggests two actions happening at the same time, which again isn’t the intended sense here. So before best captures the intended time relationship.