1.Listening to good storybooks sharpen children’s awareness and appreciation for the sounds of spoken language.
(A) sharpen children’s awareness
(B) sharpens children’s awareness of
(C) are what sharpens the awareness of children
(D) sharpens the awareness of children
(E) is to sharpen children’s awareness
2.The finest quality raw silk comes from the commonly domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori, it feeds on the leaves of the mulberry tree.
(A) it feeds
(B) feeding
(C) they feed
(D) which feeds
(E) having fed
3.The finest quality raw silk comes from the commonly domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori, it feeds on the leaves of the mulberry tree.
(A) it feeds
(B) feeding
(C) they feed
(D) which feeds
(E) having fed
4.For both his shorter and longer works of fiction, Gabriel García Márquez achieves the rare feat of being accessible to the common reader while satisfying the most demanding of sophisticated critics.
Answer Choices
(A) For both his shorter and longer
(B) For both his shorter, and in his longer,
(C) In both his shorter and his longer
(D) Both in his shorter and his longer
(E) Both his shorter and longer
5.All of the ingredients for Pablo’s secret chocolate chip cookie recipe, which included the special dark chocolate, was available in his mother’s pantry.
(A) which included the special dark chocolate, was
(B) which included the special dark chocolate, they were
(C) including the special dark chocolate that was
(D) including the special dark chocolate, being
(E) including the special dark chocolate, were
6.After serving two terms in the Texas State Senate, Barbara Jordan’s election to the United States House of Representatives, where she served from 1973 to 1979.
Answer Choices
(A) Barbara Jordan’s election
(B) it was Barbara Jordan who was elected
(C) it was Barbara Jordan’s election
(D) Barbara Jordan had been elected
(E) Barbara Jordan was elected
Explanation
1.The correct answer is B
Choice (B) is correct. It avoids the subject-verb agreement error of the original by using the singular verb “sharpens” to agree with the singular subject “Listening.”
2.The correct answer is D
Choice (D) is correct. It avoids the comma splice error of the original by providing the appropriate modifying phrase “which feeds on the leaves of the mulberry tree.”
3.The correct answer is D
Choice (D) is correct. It avoids the comma splice error of the original by providing the appropriate modifying phrase “which feeds on the leaves of the mulberry tree.”
4.The correct answer is C
Choice (C) is correct. It avoids the error of the original by following both parts of the “both … and” construction with the pronoun “his” (“In both his … and his … ”).
5.The correct answer is E
Choice (E) is correct. It avoids the subject-verb agreement error of the original by replacing the singular verb “was” with the plural verb “were” to agree with the plural subject “All.” It also provides the present participle “including” to avoid any potential ambiguity associated with the relative pronoun “which.”
6.The correct answer is E
Choice (E) is correct. It avoids the error of the original by placing the appropriate subject (“Barbara Jordan”) immediately after the modifying phrase (“After serving two terms in the Texas State Senate”).