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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".

Annie Smith Peck

[§1] Since a hundred years, <1> the highest mountains in South America have lured climbers from all over the world. But until 1908, Peru's Mt. Huascaran resisted the efforts of all those who attempted to reach its summit. One mountaineer, Annie Smith Peck, vowed to overcome the obstacles and be the first to the top of Mt. Huascaran. In order to succeed, she would have to organize expeditions ­ deal with reluctant companions ­ survive bad weather, and <2> climb steep cliffs of ice and rock.

[§2] Peck was born in the United States in 1850. Although she didn't start mountain climbing until she was in her thirties, it <3> soon became clear that she had found her life's work. A natural mountaineer, Peck was soon setting records on expeditions in North America and Europe. She traveled to Bolivia in 1903 and found Mount Huascaran, which had yet to be surmounted, a challenge she simply could not resist. <4>

[§3] (1) Peck mounted four expeditions and made five attempts before she finally conquered Mt. Huascaran. (2) Between those expeditions, Peck returned to the United States to raise money. (3) She received help from many scientific organizations, including the Museum of Natural History. (4) The Museum had also supported Admiral Peary on his trip to the North Pole. (5) Still, Peck struggled at least as much to raise money as she did climbing <5> her beloved mountains.

[§4] In 1908, Peck scraped together the funds for yet another expedition to Mt. Huascaran. This time, she hired two Swiss guides to assist <6> her with the climb. On their first trip up the mountain's slopes, one of the guides became ill, and the entire team was forced to turn back even though they were very close to the top. Being so close to success was very frustrating for Peck, who could not even prove how close they had come because she had accidentally brought the wrong kind of film and was unable to photograph the climb.

[§5] The team rested for a few days, the guide recovered, and on August 28th, they set off again. The climb was extremely difficult. Steps had to be cut <7>one by one into the steep ice; snow bridges and crevasses had to be carefully crossed. The weather was so cold that everyone suffered from frostbite. When Peck and her two guides were just a short distance from the top, they stopped to determine the exact height of the mountain.

[§6] At that moment, one of the guides took advantage of Peck's distraction and climbed the few remaining feet to the summit so that he was the first to reach the peak. What a jerk! <8>Although Peck was understandably angry, she <9> focused on the triumph of achieving her goal: standing at last on the top of Mt. Huascaran.

<9>:

  1. NO CHANGE
  2. angry; she
  3. angry ­ she
  4. angry. She

Answer(s): A

Explanation:

This is correct as it stands. Choice D would create a sentence fragment.



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".

Annie Smith Peck

[§1] Since a hundred years, <1> the highest mountains in South America have lured climbers from all over the world. But until 1908, Peru's Mt. Huascaran resisted the efforts of all those who attempted to reach its summit. One mountaineer, Annie Smith Peck, vowed to overcome the obstacles and be the first to the top of Mt. Huascaran. In order to succeed, she would have to organize expeditions ­ deal with reluctant companions ­ survive bad weather, and <2> climb steep cliffs of ice and rock.

[§2] Peck was born in the United States in 1850. Although she didn't start mountain climbing until she was in her thirties, it <3> soon became clear that she had found her life's work. A natural mountaineer, Peck was soon setting records on expeditions in North America and Europe. She traveled to Bolivia in 1903 and found Mount Huascaran, which had yet to be surmounted, a challenge she simply could not resist. <4>

[§3] (1) Peck mounted four expeditions and made five attempts before she finally conquered Mt. Huascaran. (2) Between those expeditions, Peck returned to the United States to raise money. (3) She received help from many scientific organizations, including the Museum of Natural History. (4) The Museum had also supported Admiral Peary on his trip to the North Pole. (5) Still, Peck struggled at least as much to raise money as she did climbing <5> her beloved mountains.

[§4] In 1908, Peck scraped together the funds for yet another expedition to Mt. Huascaran. This time, she hired two Swiss guides to assist <6> her with the climb. On their first trip up the mountain's slopes, one of the guides became ill, and the entire team was forced to turn back even though they were very close to the top. Being so close to success was very frustrating for Peck, who could not even prove how close they had come because she had accidentally brought the wrong kind of film and was unable to photograph the climb.

[§5] The team rested for a few days, the guide recovered, and on August 28th, they set off again. The climb was extremely difficult. Steps had to be cut <7>one by one into the steep ice; snow bridges and crevasses had to be carefully crossed. The weather was so cold that everyone suffered from frostbite. When Peck and her two guides were just a short distance from the top, they stopped to determine the exact height of the mountain.

[§6] At that moment, one of the guides took advantage of Peck's distraction and climbed the few remaining feet to the summit so that he was the first to reach the peak. What a jerk! <8>Although Peck was understandably angry, she <9> focused on the triumph of achieving her goal: standing at last on the top of Mt. Huascaran.

In revising paragraph 3, the writer would be wise to:

  1. switch sentences (2) and (3)
  2. eliminate sentence (4)
  3. combine sentences (3) and (4)
  4. explain why Peck's previous attempts to climb Mt. Huarascan had failed

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

Sentence (4) is off topic and should be eliminated to maintain the focus of the paragraph.



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".

The Gateway Arch

[§1] The skyline of St. Louis, Missouri, is fairly unremarkable, with one huge exception, the <1> Gateway Arch that stands on the banks of the Mississippi. Part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, the Arch is a really cool monument <2> built to honor St. Louis' role as the gateway to the West.

[§2] Construction on the 630-foot high structure began, in 1961, <3> and was completed four years later in 1965. The monument includes an underground visitor center that explores westward expansion through galleries and a theater. Two passenger trams take visitors to the Observation Room and the Museum of Westward Expansion at the top.

[§3] In 1947, a group of interested citizens known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association held a nationwide competition to select a design for a new monument that would celebrate <4> the growth of the United States. Other U.S. monuments are spires, statues, or imposed buildings, <5> but the winner of this contest was a plan for a completely unique structure. The man that <6> submitted the winning design, Eero Saarinen, later became a famous architect. In designing the Arch, Saarinen wanted to "create a monument which would have lasting significance and would be a landmark of our time."

[§4] The Gateway Arch is a masterpiece of engineering, a monument even taller than the Great Pyramid in Egypt, and on its own way, <7> at least as majestic. The Gateway is an inverted catenary curve, the same shape that a heavy chain will form if suspended between two points. Covered from top to bottom with sleek stainless steel coating, <8> the Arch often reflects dazzling bursts of sunlight. In a beautiful display of symmetry, the height of the arch is the same as the distance between the legs at ground level.

<1>:

  1. NO CHANGE
  2. exception: the
  3. exception; the
  4. exception. The

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

The colon is the most correct punctuation mark here. Colons introduce s.



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".

The Gateway Arch

[§1] The skyline of St. Louis, Missouri, is fairly unremarkable, with one huge exception, the <1> Gateway Arch that stands on the banks of the Mississippi. Part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, the Arch is a really cool monument <2> built to honor St. Louis' role as the gateway to the West.

[§2] Construction on the 630-foot high structure began, in 1961, <3> and was completed four years later in 1965. The monument includes an underground visitor center that explores westward expansion through galleries and a theater. Two passenger trams take visitors to the Observation Room and the Museum of Westward Expansion at the top.

[§3] In 1947, a group of interested citizens known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association held a nationwide competition to select a design for a new monument that would celebrate <4> the growth of the United States. Other U.S. monuments are spires, statues, or imposed buildings, <5> but the winner of this contest was a plan for a completely unique structure. The man that <6> submitted the winning design, Eero Saarinen, later became a famous architect. In designing the Arch, Saarinen wanted to "create a monument which would have lasting significance and would be a landmark of our time."

[§4] The Gateway Arch is a masterpiece of engineering, a monument even taller than the Great Pyramid in Egypt, and on its own way, <7> at least as majestic. The Gateway is an inverted catenary curve, the same shape that a heavy chain will form if suspended between two points. Covered from top to bottom with sleek stainless steel coating, <8> the Arch often reflects dazzling bursts of sunlight. In a beautiful display of symmetry, the height of the arch is the same as the distance between the legs at ground level.

<2>:

  1. NO CHANGE
  2. a structure that inspires amazement
  3. an amazing structure
  4. OMIT the underlined portion

Answer(s): C

Explanation:

This choice has the most appropriate and concise word choice. It could be omitted without ruining the sentence (choice D), but it would take out an idea central to the essay: that the monument is amazing.






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