81
The voluminous personal papers of Thomas Alva Edison reveal that his inventions typically sprang to life not in a flash of inspiration but evolved slowly from previous works.
(A) sprang to life not in a flash of inspiration but evolved slowly
(B) sprang to life not in a flash of inspiration but were slowly evolved
(C) did not spring to life in a flash of inspiration but evolved slowly
(D) did not spring to life in a flash of inspiration but had slowly evolved
(E) did not spring to life in a flash of inspiration but they were slowly evolved
答案：C
解析：C, the best choice, places not and but in such a way that the distinction between springing to life in a flash of inspiration and evolving slowly is logically and idiomatically expressed. A and B are faulty because, for grammatical parallelism, not in a flash... must be followed by but in..., not by a conjugated form of the verb. Moreover, were slowly evolved is incorrect in B because evolve, in this sense of the word, cannot be made passive. Choices C, D, and E all correctly place not before spring. D, however, contains inconsistent verb tenses; E contains the faulty passive and an intrusive they.
82
A Labor Department study states that the numbers of women employed outside the home grew by more than a thirty-five percent increase in the past decade and accounted for more than sixty-two percent of the total growth in the civilian work force.
(A) numbers of women employed outside the home grew by more than a thirty-five percent increase
(B) numbers of women employed outside the home grew more than thirty-five percent
(C) numbers of women employed outside the home were raised by more than thirty-five percent
(D) number of women employed outside the home increased by more than thirty-five percent
(E) number of women employed outside the home was raised by more than a thirty-five percent increase
答案：D
解析：Because a count of women employed outside the home at any given time will be expressed by a single number, the use of the plural noun numbers in choices A, B, and C is illogical. In A, the phrase grew by more than a thirty-five percent increase is redundant and wordy, since the sense of increase is implicit in the verb grew. In C and E, the passive verb forms were raised and was raised are inappropriate because there is no identifiable agent responsible for the raising of the number of women employed. In choice E, was raised by ... increase is redundant. Choice D, which presents the comparison logically and idiomatically, is the best answer.
83
The first decision for most tenants living in a building undergoing being converted to cooperative ownership is if to sign a no-buy pledge with the other tenants.
(A) being converted to cooperative ownership is if to sign
(B) being converted to cooperative ownership is whether they should be signing
(C) being converted to cooperative ownership is whether or not they sign
(D) conversion to cooperative ownership is if to sign
(E) conversion to cooperative ownership is whether to sign
答案：E
解析：In A, B, and C, the phrase being converted is awkward and redundant, since the sense of process indicated by being has already been conveyed by undergoing. A and D can be faulted for saying if rather than whether, since the sentence poses alternative possibilities, to sign or not to sign. Only E, the best choice, idiomatically completes whether with an infinitive, to sign, that functions as a noun equivalent of decision. Choice E also uses the noun conversion, which grammatically completes the phrase begun by undergoing.
84
The end of the eighteenth century saw the emergence of prize-stock breeding, with individual bulls and cows receiving awards, fetching unprecedented prices, and excited enormous interest whenever they were put on show.
(A) excited
(B) it excited
(C) exciting
(D) would excite
(E) it had excited
答案：C
解析：Choice C is best. The third verb phrase in the series describing bulls and cows should have the same grammatical form as the first two. Only choice C has a present participle (or "-ing" form) that is parallel with the two preceding verbs, receiving and fetching. Instead of the present participle, choices A and B use the past tense (excited), choice D uses an auxiliary verb (would excite), and choice E uses the past perfect tense (had excited). Additionally, the incorrect verb tenses in B and E are introduced by a pronoun, it, that lacks a logical noun referent.
85
Of all the possible disasters that threaten American agriculture, the possibility of an adverse change in climate is maybe the more difficult for analysis.
(A) is maybe the more difficult for analysis
(B) is probably the most difficult to analyze
(C) is maybe the most difficult for analysis
(D) is probably the more difficult to analyze
(E) is, it may be, the analysis that is most difficult
答案：B
解析：Choice B is the best answer. The sentence compares one thing, an adverse change in climate, to all other things in its class-- that is, to all the possible disasters that threaten American agriculture, therefore, the sentence requires the superlative form of the adjective, most difficult, rather than the comparative form, more difficult, which appears in choices A and D. In A and C, the use of maybe is unidiomatic, and difficult should be completed by the infinitive to analyze. Choice E is awkwardly phrased and, when inserted into the sentence, produces an illogical structure: the possibility ... is... the analysis that.
86
Published in Harlem, the owner and editor of the Messenger were two young journalists. Chandler Owen j and A. Philip Randolph, who would later make his reputation as a labor leader.
(A) Published in Harlem, the owner and editor of the Messenger were two young journalists. Chandler Owen and A. Philip Randolph, who would later make his reputation as a labor leader.
(B) Published in Harlem, two young journalists, Chandler Owen and A. Philip Randolph, who would later make his reputation as a labor leader, were the owner and editor of the Messenger.
(C) Published in Harlem, the Messenger was owned and edited by two young journalists, A. Philip Randolph, who would later make his reputation as a labor leader, and Chandler Owen.
(D) The Messenger was owned and edited by two young journalists. Chandler Owen and A. Philip Randolph, who would later make his reputation as a labor leader, and published in Harlem.
(E) The owner and editor being two young journalists, Chandler Owen and A. Philip Randolph, who would later make his reputation as a labor leader, the Messenger was published in Harlem.
答案：C
解析：Choices A and B present dangling modifiers that illogically suggest that Owen and Randolph, rather than the Messenger, were published in Harlem. In D, the phrase and published in Harlem is too remote from the Messenger to modify it effectively. In E, being produces an awkward construction, and the placement of the main clause at the end of the sentence is confusing. Only in C, the best answer, is Published in Harlem followed immediately by the Messenger. Also, C makes it clear that the clause beginning who refers to Randolph.
87
The rise in the Commerce Department's index of leading economic indicators suggest that the economy should continue its expansion into the coming months. but that the mixed performance of the index's individual components indicates that economic growth will proceed at a more moderate pace than in the first quarter of this year.
(A) suggest that the economy should continue its expansion into the coming months, but that
(B) suggest that the economy is to continue expansion in the coming months, but
(C) suggests that the economy will continue its expanding in the coming months, but that
(D) suggests that the economy is continuing to expand into the coming months, but that
(E) suggests that the economy will continue to expand in the coming months, but
答案：E
解析：In choices A and B, the verb suggest does not agree with its singular subject, rise. In context, the phrase into the coming months in A and D is not idiomatic; in the coming months is preferable. In A, C, and D, the that appearing after but creates a subordinate clause where an independent clause is needed for the new subject, mixed performance. Choice E includes the correct verb form, suggests, eliminates that, and properly employs the future tense, will continue to expand. That this tense is called for is indicated both by the future time to which the coming months refers and by the parallel verb form will proceed in the non-underlined part of the sentence. Choice E is best.
88
In three centuries--from 1050 to 1350--several million tons of stone were quarried in France for the building of eighty cathedrals, five hundred large churches, and some tens of thousands of parish churches.
(A) for the building of eighty cathedrals, five hundred large churches, and some
(B) in order that they might build eighty cathedrals, five hundred large churches, and some
(C) so as they might build eighty cathedrals, five hundred large churches, and some
(D) so that there could be built eighty cathedrals, five hundred large churches, and
(E) such that they could build eighty cathedrals, five hundred large churches, and
答案：A
解析：Choice A is best. The other choices are unidiomatic or unnecessarily wordy, and the pronoun they, which appears in B, C, and E, has no grammatical referent.
89
What was as remarkable as the development of the compact disc has been the use of the new technology to revitalize, in better sound than was ever before possible, some of the classic recorded performances of the pre-LP era.
(A) What was as remarkable as the development of the compact disc
(B) The thing that was as remarkable as developing the compact disc
(C) No less remarkable than the development of the compact disc
(D) Developing the compact disc has been none the less remarkable than
(E) Development of the compact disc has been no less remarkable as
答案：C
解析：Besides being wordy, the clauses beginning What was in A and The thing that was in B cause inconsistencies in verb tense: the use of the new technology cannot logically be described by both the present perfect has been and the past was. In B and D, developing the compact disc is not parallel to the use of new technology to revitalize ... performances; in C, the best answer, the noun development is parallel to use. The phrases none the less ... than in D and no less... as in E are unidiomatic; the correct form of expression, no less ... than, appears in C, the best choice.
90
The North American continent, first colonized by people from Siberia, crossing the now sunken land bridge between Siberia and Alaska about 15,000 years ago.
(A) The North American continent, first colonized by people from Siberia, crossing
(B) People from Siberia first colonized the North American continent, who crossed
(C) First colonized by people from Siberia was the North American continent, they crossed
(D) First colonized by people from Siberia, who crossed the North American continent,
(E) The North American continent was first colonized by people from Siberia, who crossed
答案：E
解析：Choice (E) is correct. It avoids the sentence fragment error of the original by providing a main verb (“was”) to indicate the action taking place in the sentence.