DIRECTIONS: In the passage below, certain phrases are underlined and numbered <x>. The question will present alternatives for the underlined part. In most cases, you are to choose the one that best expresses the idea, makes the statement appropriate for standard written English, or is worded most consistently with the style and tone of the passage as a whole. If you think the original version is the best, choose "NO CHANGE". Read the passage and answer question <5>. Haiti -Although my friends and family were skeptical of whether <1> I would be safe, I boarded the plane in New York boldly <2> and flew to Haiti. My college roommate had agreed to take medical supplies to a rural clinic where his brother was a physician, and I agreed to go and help.
When me and my roommate <3> landed at the airport in the capital Port au Prince, the chaos inside the airport was frightening. Dozens of men approached us while gesturing to our luggage, and yelling at us in Creole. They wanted us to select their taxis. I was thrilled <4> when my roommate smiled at someone who called our names through the crowd. Papi, our designated transporter, was a Haitian man in his early twenties who works <5> for the physician. He warmly welcomed us to his country, and seemed to have a great sense of humor.<6> He laughed nonstop during our ride through the capital city. Once we were on the open highway, Papi taught us basic Creole greetings to pass the time during our excessively long four-hour commute. <7>
The mountainous town where we would spend the week was beautiful, and I immediately fell in love with the place and its people. The views rocked! <8> Even though I could not fluently speak Creole, I made the most of my time with the land and its inhabitants. Several daily tasks kept me busy that week. The medical clinic was a modest two-room building, and their <9> staff needed help reorganizing the supply pantry. I removed, counted, sorted, and restocked supplies, <10> before adding the additional resources we brought from the United States. After I cleaned and organized the supply pantry, I assisted a visiting nutritionist with distributing vitamins to the locals. <11> Each evening, two dozen young children would sit on the porch where my roommate and I stayed. They laughed constantly, they <12> always found joy in the simplest of things. They did teach <13> us to count in Creole and read children's stories to us in French. They invited us to kick balls with them and chase yard chickens. Even though they did not have many toys, the children entertained one another with conversation, laughter and storytelling.
When it was time to leave Haiti and return to New York, I was sad to say goodbye. Although my roommate and I delivered medical supplies to their community, the people gave us memories that will last the rest of our lives.<14>
- NO CHANGE
- worked
- will work
- work
Answer(s): B
Explanation:
Why option B (“worked”) is the best choice
The sentence in question is “He warmly welcomed us to his country, and seemed to have a great sense of humor <5> .” The surrounding context uses past-tense verbs throughout the paragraph (e.g., “was frightening,” “approached,” “yelled,” “wanted,” “smiled,” “taught,” “laughed”). This creates a consistent narrative in the simple past. To maintain tense consistency, the verb that follows “seemed” must also be in the past tense. “worked” is the simple past form of work and therefore aligns with the other past-tense actions. “will work” (future) introduces an unnecessary future reference that breaks the temporal flow of the passage; the reader is being told about an event that already happened, not about a future plan. “work” (present) would clash with the past-tense narrative and would be grammatically inappropriate because the subject (“He”) is being described as having performed the action in the past. “NO CHANGE” would leave the original form “work” in the sentence, which is present-tense and therefore inconsistent with the surrounding past-tense constructions.
Why the other options are unsuitable
Option A (NO CHANGE) – Leaves the verb in the present tense (“work”), which disrupts the paragraph’s past-tense narrative and creates a tense mismatch. Option C (will work) – Shifts the verb to future tense, implying that the action has not yet occurred. The passage is recounting a completed experience; a future form is therefore illogical and stylistically jarring. Option D (work) – Uses the base form of the verb without tense marking. In standard written English, a finite verb is required after “seemed,” and the base form cannot serve as a past-tense action; it would be ungrammatical in this context.
Hence, “worked” is the only choice that preserves tense consistency, grammatical correctness, and stylistic coherence with the rest of the passage.
Reference:
The Elements of Style – Strunk & White, 4th ed., Chapter 5, “A Few Matters of Form.”
Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) – “Verb Tense Consistency” – https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/verb_tense.html
These sources support the rule that verb tense should be consistent within a narrative and that past-tense verbs are required when describing completed actions.