Given below are sentences that use discourse markers/expressions to make them complete. Identify the most appropriate discourse marker and mark your answer accordingly on the Answer Sheet. __________, women are healthier and are living longer than ever before: indeed on an average, they can expect to live five years longer than men.

Step-by-step solution

The phrase 'To a large extent' means 'mostly' or 'in a substantial way', which fits perfectly at the beginning of the sentence to introduce the general statement about women's health and longevity. 'As regards' and 'As far as' require an object or a clause to follow them (e.g., 'As regards women's health' or 'As far as women are concerned'). 'Turning now' requires the preposition 'to' (e.g., 'Turning now to women'). Therefore, 'To a large extent' is the only grammatically correct and contextually appropriate discou