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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".

Wilma Rudolph

[§1] Wilma Rudolph was born a premature child in 1940, in Clarksville, Tennessee. Weighing <1> only four- and-a-half pounds. Wilma's mother did her best to care for her daughter, but the Rudolphs were very poor, and the local hospital would not care for Wilma. During her childhood, Wilma contracted measles, mumps, scarlet fever, chicken pox, pneumonia, and later, polio, a crippling disease which at that time had no cure. At the age of four, she was told she would never walk again.

[§2] But Wilma's mother refused to give up. She found an African American medical college fifty miles away that would give Wilma the care she needs. <2> Although it was difficult to make the trip, Mrs. Rudolph took Wilma to the college twice a week. After two years of treatment, Wilma could walk with a brace. With her family's help, Wilma was able to walk normally without the aid of a crutch or brace by age twelve.

[§3] But simply walking wasn't enough for Wilma, who wanted to be <3> an athlete. She decided to play basketball, and for three years, she practiced with the team but didn't play in a single game. Then, in her sophomore year of high school, Wilma became a starting guard. For scoring she broke the state records <4> and led her team to the state championship. At the age of sixteen, she traveled to Melbourne, Australia, to run track events in the 1956 Olympics. She earned a bronze medal as part of a relay team.

[§4] After the high school from which she graduated, <5>Wilma was awarded a full scholarship to Tennessee State University, and her track career went into high gear. Before she earned her degree in education, she took a year off from her studies to compete all over the world. In 1960, Wilma's career as a runner reached its apex. She set a world record in the 200-meter race at the Olympic trials, <6> at the Olympics in Rome, she won the 100-meters, the 200-meters, and ran the anchor leg on the winning 4×100-meter relay team.

[§5] Wilma was proudest of a different kind of victory, in conclusion. <7> When she returned from her triumphs in Rome, and she insisted that the homecoming parade held in her honor not be a segregated event. This parade was the first racially integrated event ever held in Clarksville. Wilma continued to participate in protests until Clarksville's segregation laws were finally changed. <8>

While revising, the writer realizes the passage needs an introduction to convey the main idea of the essay. Which of the following sentences should he use as the first sentence to best achieve that purpose?

  1. No one would have guessed that Wilma Rudolph, a crippled child, would someday become an Olympic track star.
  2. Wilma Rudolph owes a great deal to her family, who helped her survive several severe illnesses.
  3. Wilma Rudolph was a famous Olympic athlete who had a lot of health problems as a child.
  4. Wilma Rudolph suffered from diseases that few children contract today.

Answer(s): A

Explanation:

This choice best conveys the main idea of the passage. Choice B focuses only on Rudolph's family; choice C understates the physical handicaps she overcame; and choice D does not mention her athletic accomplishments.



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".

Wilma Rudolph

[§1] Wilma Rudolph was born a premature child in 1940, in Clarksville, Tennessee. Weighing <1> only four- and-a-half pounds. Wilma's mother did her best to care for her daughter, but the Rudolphs were very poor, and the local hospital would not care for Wilma. During her childhood, Wilma contracted measles, mumps, scarlet fever, chicken pox, pneumonia, and later, polio, a crippling disease which at that time had no cure. At the age of four, she was told she would never walk again.

[§2] But Wilma's mother refused to give up. She found an African American medical college fifty miles away that would give Wilma the care she needs. <2> Although it was difficult to make the trip, Mrs. Rudolph took Wilma to the college twice a week. After two years of treatment, Wilma could walk with a brace. With her family's help, Wilma was able to walk normally without the aid of a crutch or brace by age twelve.

[§3] But simply walking wasn't enough for Wilma, who wanted to be <3> an athlete. She decided to play basketball, and for three years, she practiced with the team but didn't play in a single game. Then, in her sophomore year of high school, Wilma became a starting guard. For scoring she broke the state records <4> and led her team to the state championship. At the age of sixteen, she traveled to Melbourne, Australia, to run track events in the 1956 Olympics. She earned a bronze medal as part of a relay team.

[§4] After the high school from which she graduated, <5>Wilma was awarded a full scholarship to Tennessee State University, and her track career went into high gear. Before she earned her degree in education, she took a year off from her studies to compete all over the world. In 1960, Wilma's career as a runner reached its apex.

She set a world record in the 200-meter race at the Olympic trials, <6> at the Olympics in Rome, she won the 100-meters, the 200-meters, and ran the anchor leg on the winning 4×100-meter relay team.

[§5] Wilma was proudest of a different kind of victory, in conclusion. <7> When she returned from her triumphs in Rome, and she insisted that the homecoming parade held in her honor not be a segregated event. This parade was the first racially integrated event ever held in Clarksville. Wilma continued to participate in protests until Clarksville's segregation laws were finally changed. <8>

The writer wishes to add the following sentence to highlight how impressive Rudolph's achievements are:

She was the first American woman ever to win three gold medals at a single Olympics.

The most logical place to insert this sentence would be:

  1. After the new introductory sentence.
  2. At the end of paragraph 3.
  3. At the end of paragraph 4.
  4. At the beginning of paragraph 5.

Answer(s): C

Explanation:

The most logical place is after the sentence that lists the three gold medals that Rudolph won.



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".

Science Fiction

[§1] One of the most famous novels of all time, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, marked not only the highpoint of a young woman's literary career. But <1> also the beginning of a brand-new genre of literature begins science fiction. <2> In her remarkable tale, Shelley explores what might happen if a scientific possibility ­ the ability to restore life to the dead ­ were to become a reality. This exploration of how what-might-be would affect our world is the essence of science fiction.

[§2] What Shelley began, H. G. Wells perfected in dozens of science fiction works including The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds. While Shelley's Frankenstein created a living creature from the body parts of the dead, Wells' characters traveled through time; created half-animal, half-human creatures; made themselves invisible; and having been attacked by Martians. <3> In all of his novels, Wells; like Shelly <4> used scientific possibilities to analyze and often criticize his own society. War of the Worlds, for example, is a thinly disguised attack on the British colonialism of his time.

[§3] Science fiction flourished in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s with "pulp" magazines that for the masses churned out science fiction stories. <5> Meanwhile, in Europe, science fiction writers were using science fiction to help bring about political change. Yevgeny Zamyatin's classic novel We, for example, is against <6> the Soviet Union's Communist agenda.

[§4] Today, science fiction writers around the world continue to explore possibilities ­ possibilities that are fast becoming realities. Much of what science fiction writers only dreamed of a century ago, such as cloning and space travel, have already come to pass. What is ahead? How will we handle these and other upcoming advances? Let us hope that science fiction writers are wrong, for all too often, characters in science fiction stories, like they're <7> forefather Victor Frankenstein, are unable to handle <8> the responsibility of having so much power over nature.

<1>:

  1. NO CHANGE
  2. career; but,
  3. career, but
  4. career, and

Answer(s): C

Explanation:

This choice corrects the sentence fragment and keeps the not only ... but also construction intact.



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".

Science Fiction

[§1] One of the most famous novels of all time, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, marked not only the highpoint of a young woman's literary career. But <1> also the beginning of a brand-new genre of literature begins science fiction. <2> In her remarkable tale, Shelley explores what might happen if a scientific possibility ­ the ability to restore life to the dead ­ were to become a reality. This exploration of how what-might-be would affect our world is the essence of science fiction.

[§2] What Shelley began, H. G. Wells perfected in dozens of science fiction works including The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds. While Shelley's Frankenstein created a living creature from the body parts of the dead, Wells' characters traveled through time; created half-animal, half-human creatures; made themselves invisible; and having been attacked by Martians. <3> In all of his novels, Wells; like Shelly <4> used scientific possibilities to analyze and often criticize his own society. War of the Worlds, for example, is a thinly disguised attack on the British colonialism of his time.

[§3] Science fiction flourished in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s with "pulp" magazines that for the masses churned out science fiction stories. <5> Meanwhile, in Europe, science fiction writers were using science fiction to help bring about political change. Yevgeny Zamyatin's classic novel We, for example, is against <6> the Soviet Union's Communist agenda.

[§4] Today, science fiction writers around the world continue to explore possibilities ­ possibilities that are fast becoming realities. Much of what science fiction writers only dreamed of a century ago, such as cloning and space travel, have already come to pass. What is ahead? How will we handle these and other upcoming advances? Let us hope that science fiction writers are wrong, for all too often, characters in science fiction stories, like they're <7> forefather Victor Frankenstein, are unable to handle <8> the responsibility of having so much power over nature.

<2>:

  1. NO CHANGE
  2. literature: science fiction
  3. literature, that was, science fiction
  4. literature (science fiction)

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

Choice A incorrectly uses being; choice C includes superfluous commas and uses the past tense, though the genre still exists; and choice D sets off what is important in the sentence ­ the name of the new genre ­ in parentheses, indicating that it is not important.






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