Choice C is the best answer because it best describes how the underlined sentence functions in the text as a whole. The first sentence presents the implications of Veeraraghavan’s team’s study: sunshine exposure during work hours can cause overly optimistic behavior. The underlined sentence then describes the data the team consulted and how they were used (comparing predictions about earnings to what the companies actually earned), and the final sentence presents what the team found in their examination of the data. Thus, the underlined sentence mainly functions to explain part of the methodology used in the team’s study.
Choice A is incorrect because the underlined sentence explains in part how the team conducted their analysis of the effect of sunshine but doesn’t address what the team found; a broad summary is instead given in the other two sentences. Choice B is incorrect because the underlined sentence doesn’t present any specific examples from the team’s comparisons of 29,000 earnings predictions to actual earnings; it simply explains in part how the team conducted their analysis. Choice D is incorrect because the underlined sentence simply explains in part
how the team conducted their analysis; the text never mentions any challenges that the team encountered in their study.