Explanation: This question asks you to recognize that sentence 5 is an expansion of the thought introduced in sentence 2 and properly belongs immediately after that sentence in the paragraph. To place the idea later in the paragraph disrupts the progress of ideas that the writer is developing. The correct paragraph reads:

   Advertisements are present wherever we go. They enter our houses in newspapers, magazines, and on our television screens. They interrupt most television programs every few minutes. Television advertisements are used not to sell products but, more importantly, to sell ideas. It is in selling ideas that ads have the most significant impact. Many ads imply that if we buy specific products then we will be happy. An example of this strategy is an ad in which a woman is shown driving her family in a new car. She has a smile on her face; the new car has supposedly brought her happiness.

question 5 of 7

Passage: (The paragraphs below are the first two paragraphs of a passage that appeared in the test.)
   (1) I have just read an excellent book called "Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years." (2) Usually I do not enjoy autobiographies. (3) I could hardly put this one down. (4) It is about Sadie Delany, who is 103 years old, and her "little" sister Bessie, she is 101.

   (5) The sisters grew up in North Carolina in times that were not easy for African Americans. (6) Around 1916 they moved to New York City and went to Columbia University at their father's urging. (7) He tells them, "You are college material. (8) And if you don't go, shame on you!" (9) Sadie became a teacher and Bessie a dentist. (10) The second Black woman dentist in New York.

Question: In context, which is the best version of "He tells them" in sentence 7?

(A) (As it is now)
(B) Their father tells them,
(C) This is because he tells them,
(D) He had told them,
(E) His suggestion was:


(from the October 20, 1998 test)

Correct Answer: D
Explanation: The words "in context" at the beginning of the question alert the reader to consider the material in the sentences immediately preceding sentence 7. Sentences 5 and 6 present descriptive material about the Delany sisters' past. The verbs in those sentences are in the past tense. The verb in sentence 7 should therefore be in the past perfect tense because the father had encouraged the sisters before they went to Columbia. The correct version of sentences 5, 6, 7, and 8 reads:

   (5) The sisters grew up in North Carolina in times that were not easy for African Americans. (6) Around 1916 they moved to New York City and went to Columbia University at their father's urging. (7) He had told them, "You are college material. (8) And if you don't go, shame on you!"

question 6 of 7

Passage: (The paragraphs below are the first two paragraphs of a passage that appeared in the test.)
   (1) Jazz is a satisfying and creative form of music. (2) The freedom it allows the musician is in no other form of music. (3) Improvisation is the reason. (4) With jazz, musicians can compose music as they play. (5) Jazz, more than any other music, can evoke so many moods and feelings. (6) The soulful wailing of a saxophone in a bluesy ballad can bring tears to a listener's eyes, and the soaring notes of a jazz trumpet can inspire joy.

   (7) Jazz is often played with a vocalist. (8) It is so expressive, that many jazz enthusiasts believe words are unnecessary. (9) Jazz goes beyond words. (10) Unfortunately, purely instrumental jazz may not appeal to some people because of this; they need words to associate with feelings.

Question: In context, which of the following words are the most logical to insert at the beginning of sentence 9 (reproduced below)?

Jazz goes beyond words.

(A) I have found that
(B) On the other hand
(C) And yet, for others
(D) As a result,
(E) For them,


(from the October 12, 1999 test)

Correct Answer: E
Explanation: The words "in context" at the beginning of the question alert the reader to consider the material in the sentence immediately preceding sentence 9. Sentence 8 describes the belief of many jazz enthusiasts that words are unnecessary. Sentence 9 is a continuation of the idea held by enthusiasts. Thus choice E, which ties this idea to the enthusiasts, is the best choice.

question 7 of 7

Passage: (The paragraph below is the first paragraph of a passage that appeared in the test.)
   (1) Until the discovery of the Rosetta stone, the hieroglyphic writing of the ancient Egyptians was indecipherable to scholars. (2) Egyptian hieroglyphic writing died out in the third century A.D. (3) The ancient Egyptian religion died out. (4) Priests were the ones who mostly used this type of writing. (5) For centuries afterward, no one knew how to read the many inscriptions on Egyptian temple walls. (6) Nevertheless, in 1799, the Rosetta Stone was found near the town of Rashid (called Rosetta by the English) in the Nile Delta in Egypt. (7) Here was the key to deciphering hieroglyphic writing.

Question: Which of the following is the best way to combine sentences 2, 3, and 4 (reproduced below) in order to convey clearly the relationship of the ideas?

Egyptian hieroglyphic writing died out in the third century A.D. The ancient Egyptian religion died out. Priests were the ones who mostly used this type of writing.

(A) Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, used mainly by priests, died out in the third century A.D. along with the ancient Egyptian religion.
(B) The ancient Egyptian religion died out in the third century A.D., as did Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, and it had been used mainly by priests.
(C) Egyptian hieroglyphic writing and the ancient Egyptian religion died out in the third century A.D., being used primarily by the priests.
(D) In the third century A.D., Egyptian hieroglyphic writing died out, but the ancient religion's priests were who used it most, and it ceased.
(E) Dying out in the third century A.D. was Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, the same time as the ancient Egyptian religion and its priests, the primary users.


(from the October 16, 1999 test)

Correct Answer: A
Explanation: The correct answer is choice A, which presents the information most smoothly, connecting all of the ideas logically. The other choices fail in this effort, and each concludes with a phrase that seems to dangle or be tacked on awkwardly. Choice A unites most successfully the idea about the priests' use of hieroglyphic writing with the information about the demise of the ancient Egyptian religion.