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Difficulty: MediumEvaluating Relevance for Adding or Deleting Content

In April 1860, the Pony Express began its brief but legendary run, promising to deliver mail across the American West in just ten days. The service relied on a relay system of young riders and fast horses stationed at intervals along a 1,900-mile trail. Riders would gallop from one station to the next, quickly transferring the mailbags to a fresh mount before speeding off again. Despite its fame, the Pony Express was a financial failure and operated for only nineteen months. It was officially rendered obsolete by the completion of the transcontinental telegraph line, which allowed for instantaneous communication.

The writer is considering deleting the underlined sentence from the passage. Should the sentence be kept or deleted?

  1. Kept, because it provides a transition between the description of the relay system's operation and the explanation of why the service ended.Answer
  2. B
    Kept, because it supports the claim that the Pony Express was the most popular and profitable mail service of its time.
  3. C
    Deleted, because it shifts the focus of the paragraph from the history of mail delivery to the details of nineteenth-century economics.
  4. D
    Deleted, because it introduces a tone of skepticism that is inappropriate for a passage celebrating American innovation.

Answer

Kept, because it provides a transition between the description of the relay system's operation and the explanation of why the service ended.
The sentence should be kept because it functions as a crucial bridge in the paragraph's narrative. The preceding sentences detail how the Pony Express operated, while the subsequent sentence explains why it became obsolete. The underlined sentence introduces the fact that it operated for only nineteen months, which logically explains the transition to its replacement.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the main focus of the paragraph.
The paragraph describes the operation, short lifespan, and eventual obsolescence of the Pony Express.
Understanding the paragraph's purpose helps determine how the underlined sentence contributes to its coherence.
2
Analyze the function of the underlined sentence in context.
The sentence introduces the service's financial failure and brief nineteen-month run, which directly sets up the mention of its obsolescence by the transcontinental telegraph in the next sentence.
This establishes whether the sentence is a digression or a necessary transition.
3
Select the option that correctly identifies the decision to keep the sentence and its rhetorical function.
The sentence must be kept because it bridges the operational mechanics and the service's end.
This confirms the correct choice.

Key Concept

Evaluating Relevance for Adding or Deleting Content
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Topics

Evaluating Relevance for Adding or Deleting Content

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