****The
National Museum of American History owns Harley-Davidsons of various vintages
on account of having evolved into an American touchstone.
A.
on account of having
B.
on account of their having
C.
because they have
D.
because of having
E.
because it has
The
best answer is C. As used in choices A, B, and D, the phrases on account of and because of are unidiomatic. Choice
E has a subject-verb agreement problem.
****The U.S. Forest Service, then five years old, decided to put out
every fire in its domain, and within three decades the agency formulated
what it called the 10 A.M. policy, directing that fires be extinguished
quicker than they had been in the past.
A)Within three decades the agency formulated what it called the
10A.M. policy directing that fires be extinguished quicker than they had been
in the past
B.
within three decades the agency has formulated what it called the 10 A.M.
policy, directing that fires be extinguished quicker than they had been in the
past.
C.
within three decades the agency had formulated what it called the 10 A.M.
policy, directing that fires be extinguished quicker than they had been in the
past.
D.
within three decades the agency formulated what it called the 10 A.M. policy, directing
that fires be extinguished more quickly than they had been in the past.
E.
within three decades the agency has formulated what it called the 10 A.M.
policy, directing that fires be extinguished more quickly than they had been in
the past.
The
best answer is D. Choices D and E correctly use the adverbial phrase more quickly than. E is
incorrect because of the unwarranted use of the present perfect tense.
****Able
to out-navigate other vehicles on rutted roads, it was decided that the police chief
would allot motorcycles to some of her staff.
A.
it was decided that the motorcycle would by the police chief to allot
motorcycles to some of her staff.
B.
the decision of the police chief was to allot to some of her staff motorcycles
C.
the police chief decided to allot to her staff motorcycles
D.
some of her staff was allotted motorcycles by the police chief
E.
motorcycles were allotted to some of the staff by the police chief.
The
best answer is E. Grammatically, the participial phrase beginning with able to must modify the subject
of the main clause.
******
If a latter-day Robinson Crusoe was marooned on an island with an eclectic
mix of palms, he could eat dates and coconut meat, relax in a palm recliner in
his palm-post bungalow under a palm thatch roof, buff his palm-plank
surfboard with carnauba palm wax and watch a palm-fringed sunset.
A.
If a latter-day Robinson Crusoe was marooned on an island with an eclectic mix of
palms, he could eat dates and coconut meat, relax in a palm recliner in his
palm-post
bungalow under a palm-thatch roof,
B.
If a latter-day Robinson Crusoe was marooned on an island with an eclectic mix
of palms, he could eat dates and coconut meat, relaxing in a palm recliner in
his palm-post bungalow under a palm-thatch roof,
C.
If a latter-day Robinson Crusoe were marooned on an island with an eclectic mix
of palms, he could eat dates and coconut meat, relax in a palm recliner in his
palm-post
bungalow under a palm-thatch roof,
D.
If a latter-day Robinson Crusoe were marooned on an island with an eclectic mix
of palms, he could eat dates and coconut meat, relaxing in a palm recliner in
his palm-post bungalow under a palm-thatch roof,
E.
If a latter-day Robinson Crusoe was marooned on an island with an eclectic mix
of palms, he could eat dates and coconut meat, to relax in a palm recliner in
his palm-post bungalow under a palm-thatch roof,
The
best answer is C. The sentence starts with the word if setting up a conditional
situation.
The correct form of to be with
a conditional is were.
**********What was as remarkable as the development of the after-school
enrichment programs has been New York City's nonprofit Chess-in-the-Schools
initiative, giving more girls than ever before the opportunity to learn the
rules of the game.
A.
What was as remarkable as the development of the after-school enrichment programs
B.
The thing that was as remarkable as developing the after-school enrichment programs
C.
No less remarkable than the development of the after-school enrichment programs
D.
Developing the after-school enrichment programs has been none the less remarkable
than
E.
Development of the after-school enrichment programs has been no less remarkable
as
The
best answer is C. Besides being wordy, the beginnings of Choices A and B cause inconsistencies
in verb tense: the development of the after-school programs
cannot logically be described by both the
present perfect and the past. The phrases none the less… than in choice
D and no less… as in E are unidiomatic
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