Question

Difficulty: EasyMeeting Specific Rhetorical Goals

Passage Excerpt:
In 1943, marine engineer Richard James was working in a shipyard when he accidentally knocked a tension spring off a shelf. To his amazement, the spring did not merely fall; it "walked" down a stack of books, onto a table, and then coiled itself neatly on the floor. James immediately realized the toy potential of this simple steel coil. [blank]

The writer wants to add a sentence at the end of the paragraph that highlights the immediate, widespread popularity of the Slinky after its public debut. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

  1. Within minutes of its first retail demonstration in 1945, shoppers eagerly purchased all 400 Slinkys in stock.Answer
  2. B
    The name of the toy, Slinky, was chosen by James's wife after she searched the dictionary for a word describing sleek movement.
  3. C
    James went on to establish a manufacturing facility to produce the toys in large quantities.
  4. D
    James demonstrated the coiled spring at a Philadelphia department store, it became a massive success.

Answer

Within minutes of its first retail demonstration in 1945, shoppers eagerly purchased all 400 Slinkys in stock.
The correct option directly addresses the prompt's request to highlight the immediate, widespread popularity of the Slinky after its debut by describing how all 400 units in stock were sold within minutes of its first demonstration.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the specific rhetorical goal in the prompt.
The prompt asks for a sentence that highlights the immediate, widespread popularity of the Slinky after its public debut.
Understanding the precise criteria of the prompt is necessary to evaluate the options.
2
Evaluate each option against the rhetorical goal and grammatical correctness.
The option about the retail demonstration in 1945 shows immediate popularity (all 400 units sold in minutes) and is grammatically correct. The option about the name's origin and the option about the manufacturing facility do not address popularity. The option ending in 'massive success' contains a comma splice.
Eliminating options that do not meet the rhetorical goal or contain grammatical errors helps isolate the correct answer.

Key Concept

Meeting Specific Rhetorical Goals
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