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Read the passage and select the option that best completes each sentence.
When I go to a concert, there's a sort of energy in the air unlike any other. I don't mean just excitement, but it's like the excitement of everyone in the room, felt at once. I think that may be why it's so fun to meet people at shows, \[Question 1\]. Once the band starts playing, I totally forget about everyone around me, and I'm just completely in the moment. Usually this is a great feeling, but \[Question 2\]. Most of the time, it's not a problem; since we're all so excited about the music, it's hard to stay mad at someone else for running into me. By the end of the set, I'm completely exhausted, but still buzzing from that group enthusiasm. Overall, \[Question 3\].
The beginning of the sentence is an independent clause, and so is the rest of the sentence in the way we are completing it. Because of this, it has to be separated with a comma and a conjunction, which is what "because" is doing. "And" doesn't make sense in the context of the sentence, and "because everyone disagrees about the band" does not reflect the main idea of the text. "Because were all feeling the same way" is incorrect because "were" needs to have an apostrophe to mean "we are."
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Read the passage and select the option that best completes each sentence.
When I go to a concert, there's a sort of energy in the air unlike any other. I don't mean just excitement, but it's like the excitement of everyone in the room, felt at once. I think that may be why it's so fun to meet people at shows, \[Question 1\]. Once the band starts playing, I totally forget about everyone around me, and I'm just completely in the moment. Usually this is a great feeling, but \[Question 2\]. Most of the time, it's not a problem; since we're all so excited about the music, it's hard to stay mad at someone else for running into me. By the end of the set, I'm completely exhausted, but still buzzing from that group enthusiasm. Overall, \[Question 3\].
The sentence starts with a good thing, then uses the conjunction "but," which tells us that the next thing is going to be negative in some way, and it starts with "usually," so we know the following part won't be frequent. These factors rule out "most of the time people...," "sometimes people high-five me," and "the energy in the room is amazing." The statement "this is why I don't like going to concerts" is the opposite of the main idea of the passage, leaving "sometimes people run into me without realizing" as the correct answer.
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Read the passage and choose the option that best completes each sentence.
When I go to a concert, there's a sort of energy in the air unlike any other. I don't mean just excitement, but it's like the excitement of everyone in the room, felt at once. I think that may be why it's so fun to meet people at shows, \[Question 1\]. Once the band starts playing, I totally forget about everyone around me, and I'm just completely in the moment. Usually this is a great feeling, but\[Question 2\]. Most of the time, it's not a problem; since we're all so excited about the music, it's hard to stay mad at someone else for running into me. By the end of the set, I'm completely exhausted, but still buzzing from that group enthusiasm. Overall, \[Question 3\].
This sentence should summarize the general idea of the passage, which we can tell by the word "overall". "You should use hearing protection at concerts" and "live music is a waste of money" both bring in new statements rather than summarizing the passage. "Be careful of other people when you're at a concert" mentions a smaller part of the text, but not the whole passage, and "seeing a live concert is a totally different experience than listening to music at home" refers to a comparison that wasn't made, leaving "the excitement and energy at a live concert is an amazing thing to experience" as the correct answer.
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1 Baby elephants have an extensive gestation period of around two years, \[Question One\]. 2 Although they can walk soon after they are born, baby elephants are quite feeble for the first few weeks of their lives. 3 Around three months after birth, baby elephants are capable of foraging for their own food \[Question 2\]. 4 They communicate with their mothers by intertwining or touching their trunks \[Question 3\]. 5 Young elephants are very intelligent, \[Question 4\]. 6 That is to say, all ages of elephants can communicate, interpret human behavior, use tools, and even mourn their dead.
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 1?
The use of “extensive” in Sentence 1 makes it clear that a two-year gestation is unusually long. It stands to reason that the rest of the sentence is explaining that this excessive gestation period allows the elephant fetus adequate time to develop.
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1 Baby elephants have an extensive gestation period of around two years, \[Question One\]. 2 Although they can walk soon after they are born, baby elephants are quite feeble for the first few weeks of their lives. 3 Around three months after birth, baby elephants are capable of foraging for their own food \[Question 2\]. 4 They communicate with their mothers by intertwining or touching their trunks \[Question 3\]. 5 Young elephants are very intelligent, \[Question 4\]. 6 That is to say, all ages of elephants can communicate, interpret human behavior, use tools, and even mourn their dead.
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 3?
You may be able to hear the correct answer by reading it aloud in the sentence, or you may notice that only the options preceded by the comma would fit grammatically. Colons precede lists, and semicolons separate two independent clauses. Neither of those situations applies here.
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1 Baby elephants have an extensive gestation period of around two years, \[Question One\]. 2 Although they can walk soon after they are born, baby elephants are quite feeble for the first few weeks of their lives. 3 Around three months after birth, baby elephants are capable of foraging for their own food \[Question 2\]. 4 They communicate with their mothers by intertwining or touching their trunks \[Question 3\]. 5 Young elephants are very intelligent, \[Question 4\]. 6 That is to say, all ages of elephants can communicate, interpret human behavior, use tools, and even mourn their dead.
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 4?
The relationship between the two parts of this sentence is one of agreement, not opposition. That rules out the choices beginning with “while” and “whereas.” The option beginning with “they are” is ungrammatical, as a comma cannot separate two independent clauses. “Which they are generally social animals even as adults” is a mixed construction.
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1 Baby elephants have an extensive gestation period of around two years, \[Question One\]. 2 Although they can walk soon after they are born, baby elephants are quite feeble for the first few weeks of their lives. 3 Around three months after birth, baby elephants are capable of foraging for their own food \[Question 2\]. 4 They communicate with their mothers by intertwining or touching their trunks \[Question 3\]. 5 Young elephants are very intelligent, \[Question 4\]. 6 That is to say, all ages of elephants can communicate, interpret human behavior, use tools, and even mourn their dead.
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 5?
Reading Sentence 6 makes it clear that young elephants and adults are both very intelligent. The only choice that expresses this relationship grammatically is “as are adults.” (The choice beginning with “however” is incorrectly punctuated and should be preceded by a semicolon, not a comma.)
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1 Over the past few decades, an abundance of new cooking techniques \[Question 1\]. 2 A combination of internet tutorials, popular cooking shows, and celebrity chefs \[Question 2\]. 3 Today, professional and amateur cooks alike have access to information and tools that allow them to explore everything from fire-roasting vegetables \[Question 3\]. 4 Some chefs \[Question 4\], a strategy they say allows them to respect tradition while maintaining innovation. 5 Among these old techniques \[Question 5\] pickling, fermenting, and smoking, for instance. 6 Whether you’re interested in X, Y, or Z \[Question 6\].
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 1?
Knowing the correct diction for this sentence will help you eliminate choices. New cooking techniques can “proliferate,” or spread, across the world; they cannot “peruse.” “Profligated” is not a word; “profligate” means spendthrift. You should also note that “abundance,” a singular noun, requires the verb conjugation “has” and not “have.”
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1 Over the past few decades, an abundance of new cooking techniques \[Question 1\]. 2 A combination of internet tutorials, popular cooking shows, and celebrity chefs \[Question 2\]. 3 Today, professional and amateur cooks alike have access to information and tools that allow them to explore everything from fire-roasting vegetables \[Question 3\]. 4 Some chefs \[Question 4\], a strategy they say allows them to respect tradition while maintaining innovation. 5 Among these old techniques \[Question 5\] pickling, fermenting, and smoking, for instance. 6 Whether you’re interested in X, Y, or Z \[Question 6\].
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 2?
Note that the subject of this sentence is “combination,” a singular noun that requires the verb “is.” This allows us to rule out all but two of the answers. Of the remaining options, “is responsibly rising its popularity” is very awkward, leaving us with “is responsible for this rise in popularity.”
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1 Over the past few decades, an abundance of new cooking techniques \[Question 1\]. 2 A combination of internet tutorials, popular cooking shows, and celebrity chefs \[Question 2\]. 3 Today, professional and amateur cooks alike have access to information and tools that allow them to explore everything from fire-roasting vegetables \[Question 3\]. 4 Some chefs \[Question 4\], a strategy they say allows them to respect tradition while maintaining innovation. 5 Among these old techniques \[Question 5\] pickling, fermenting, and smoking, for instance. 6 Whether you’re interested in X, Y, or Z \[Question 6\].
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 3?
Based on the middle of Sentence 3, we can see that we have a “everything from _____________ to _______________” construction. This construction can’t have other prepositions substituted in it; you must use “from” and “to” to write it correctly. The construction also does not require any punctuation before the “to.”
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1 Over the past few decades, an abundance of new cooking techniques \[Question 1\]. 2 A combination of internet tutorials, popular cooking shows, and celebrity chefs \[Question 2\]. 3 Today, professional and amateur cooks alike have access to information and tools that allow them to explore everything from fire-roasting vegetables \[Question 3\]. 4 Some chefs \[Question 4\], a strategy they say allows them to respect tradition while maintaining innovation. 5 Among these old techniques \[Question 5\] pickling, fermenting, and smoking, for instance. 6 Whether you’re interested in X, Y, or Z \[Question 6\].
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 4?
Since the second half of Sentence 4 is a dependent clause, the missing part of the sentence must supply the subject and verb to make it an independent clause. The only choices here that do so are “are also resurrecting old techniques” and “, were also resurrecting old techniques.” The latter choice is incorrect because of the comma and the past tense verb “were.”
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1 Over the past few decades, an abundance of new cooking techniques \[Question 1\]. 2 A combination of internet tutorials, popular cooking shows, and celebrity chefs \[Question 2\]. 3 Today, professional and amateur cooks alike have access to information and tools that allow them to explore everything from fire-roasting vegetables \[Question 3\]. 4 Some chefs \[Question 4\], a strategy they say allows them to respect tradition while maintaining innovation. 5 Among these old techniques \[Question 5\] pickling, fermenting, and smoking, for instance. 6 Whether you’re interested in X, Y, or Z \[Question 6\].
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 5?
Since the beginning of Sentence 5 introduces a list, the correct punctuation mark is a colon. Since several techniques are being listed, the correct verb conjugation is “are” (present tense and plural). This eliminates all but one of the choices.
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1 Over the past few decades, an abundance of new cooking techniques \[Question 1\]. 2 A combination of internet tutorials, popular cooking shows, and celebrity chefs \[Question 2\]. 3 Today, professional and amateur cooks alike have access to information and tools that allow them to explore everything from fire-roasting vegetables \[Question 3\]. 4 Some chefs \[Question 4\], a strategy they say allows them to respect tradition while maintaining innovation. 5 Among these old techniques \[Question 5\] pickling, fermenting, and smoking, for instance. 6 Whether you’re interested in X, Y, or Z \[Question 6\].
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 6?
The beginning of Sentence 6 is a dependent clause, so we know that the rest of the sentence must be an independent clause. We also know that the two must be separated with a comma. Lastly, “certainly it is being an exciting time as a chef” is too convoluted to be the best choice.
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1 Learning a new musical instrument can be frustrating, challenging, rewarding, and exhilarating. 2 While some experts recommend jumping in on your own \[Question 1\]. 3 For example \[Question 2\] or you might pay a pianist to show you scales. 4 It’s important to remember that \[Question 3\] the payoff will be well worth it. 5 If you find yourself on the brink of giving up \[Question 4\]. 6 Of course, some instruments have a steeper learning curve \[Question 5\]. 7 Learning the bagpipes, for instance, may be a process that \[Question 6\].
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 2?
Since the first half of Sentence 2 is a dependent clause, we know the second half of the sentence must be an independent clause. We also know that a comma will separate these two halves. No comma is necessary between “a few lessons” and “to learn,” since the entire clause is necessary to convey the meaning here.
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1 Learning a new musical instrument can be frustrating, challenging, rewarding, and exhilarating. 2 While some experts recommend jumping in on your own \[Question 1\]. 3 For example \[Question 2\] or you might pay a pianist to show you scales. 4 It’s important to remember that \[Question 3\] the payoff will be well worth it. 5 If you find yourself on the brink of giving up \[Question 4\]. 6 Of course, some instruments have a steeper learning curve \[Question 5\]. 7 Learning the bagpipes, for instance, may be a process that \[Question 6\].
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 3?
Since “For example” is an introductory clause, it must be followed by a comma. Since “you might pay a pianist to show you scales” is an independent clause preceded by a conjunction, a comma must come before “or.” Considering both these rules, only “, you might ask a guitar player to teach you basic chords and strumming techniques,” works grammatically.
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1 Learning a new musical instrument can be frustrating, challenging, rewarding, and exhilarating. 2 While some experts recommend jumping in on your own \[Question 1\]. 3 For example \[Question 2\] or you might pay a pianist to show you scales. 4 It’s important to remember that \[Question 3\] the payoff will be well worth it. 5 If you find yourself on the brink of giving up \[Question 4\]. 6 Of course, some instruments have a steeper learning curve \[Question 5\]. 7 Learning the bagpipes, for instance, may be a process that \[Question 6\].
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 4?
Sentence 4 is constructed in a way that suggests that the missing piece is a parenthetical clause. Such clauses are always separated from the main body of the sentence by commas and are always dependent clauses. With this in mind, the only option that works grammatically is “, while the learning process may be exasperating,”.
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1 Learning a new musical instrument can be frustrating, challenging, rewarding, and exhilarating. 2 While some experts recommend jumping in on your own \[Question 1\]. 3 For example \[Question 2\] or you might pay a pianist to show you scales. 4 It’s important to remember that \[Question 3\] the payoff will be well worth it. 5 If you find yourself on the brink of giving up \[Question 4\]. 6 Of course, some instruments have a steeper learning curve \[Question 5\]. 7 Learning the bagpipes, for instance, may be a process that \[Question 6\].
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 5?
Other than a comma to separate the first half of the sentence (a dependent clause) from the second half (an independent clause), no punctuation is necessary here. It’s good to note that the use of second person (“you” and “your”) is fine in this context, since it appears consistently in the rest of the passage.
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1 Learning a new musical instrument can be frustrating, challenging, rewarding, and exhilarating. 2 While some experts recommend jumping in on your own \[Question 1\]. 3 For example \[Question 2\] or you might pay a pianist to show you scales. 4 It’s important to remember that \[Question 3\] the payoff will be well worth it. 5 If you find yourself on the brink of giving up \[Question 4\]. 6 Of course, some instruments have a steeper learning curve \[Question 5\]. 7 Learning the bagpipes, for instance, may be a process that \[Question 6\].
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 6?
Although the sentence is simply constructed, it’s easy to confuse the correct answer. Comparisons are always made with “than,” never “then.” Likewise, “others” is sufficient; “other ones” and “others’ ones” is unnecessarily redundant.
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1 Learning a new musical instrument can be frustrating, challenging, rewarding, and exhilarating. 2 While some experts recommend jumping in on your own \[Question 1\]. 3 For example \[Question 2\] or you might pay a pianist to show you scales. 4 It’s important to remember that \[Question 3\] the payoff will be well worth it. 5 If you find yourself on the brink of giving up \[Question 4\]. 6 Of course, some instruments have a steeper learning curve \[Question 5\]. 7 Learning the bagpipes, for instance, may be a process that \[Question 6\].
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 7?
This tongue-in-cheek conclusion only works grammatically with the future tense: “will only earn you applause when you finally stop playing.” All of the other choices will result in a mixed construction, which is incorrect. No punctuation is necessary in this part of the sentence, either.
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1 Reason and emotion are often seen \[Question 1\] in other words, people believe the two can’t coexist. 2 Pure rationality is often considered \[Question\].3 Emotion, on the other hand \[Question 3\]. 4 However, scientists have recently discovered that the reason-emotion binary is in fact a false dichotomy. 5 \[Question 4\] the two are not mutually exclusive, and emotion often aids reason in filtering out poor, dangerous, or distracting choices. 6 This symbiosis is particularly obvious in decision making \[Question 5\]. 7 All in all, one should strive to make choices using \[Question 6\].
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 1?
Both halves of this sentence are independent clauses (complete sentences in their own right). This means that either a period or a semicolon is required to separate them. It’s also important to note that reason and emotion aren’t themselves doing any opposing; they’re oppositional forces.
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