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Difficulty: HardSelecting Concluding Sentences and Transitions

In the late nineteenth century, Thomas Edison's phonograph introduced the wax cylinder, the first commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound. These fragile cylinders captured invaluable early musical performances, spoken-word recordings, and oral histories. However, because wax degrades rapidly when exposed to humidity and physical playback wears down the grooves, playing these recordings carries a high risk of destroying them forever.

To solve this, researchers developed IRENE, a non-contact optical scanning system that creates ultra-high-resolution digital images of the cylinders' grooves. Software then reconstructs the audio from these digital maps, bypassing the need for physical contact. [1] This non-contact system, that utilizes digital photography, will preserve the fragile cylinders for future generations.

Which choice most effectively concludes the paragraph by emphasizing how the digital scanning technology solves the problem of preserving fragile historical recordings?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. B
    Although Edison also invented the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph remained his favorite invention.
  3. By rescuing these voices from silence, this technology ensures that future generations can listen to the auditory heritage of the past.Answer
  4. D
    This technology allows researchers to play fragile cylinders, they no longer have to worry about scratching the wax surfaces.

Answer

By rescuing these voices from silence, this technology ensures that future generations can listen to the auditory heritage of the past.
The correct option successfully concludes the passage by highlighting the long-term benefit of the scanning technology (preserving and sharing auditory heritage) without introducing unrelated details or grammatical errors.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the passage's main thesis and paragraph flow.
The passage discusses the fragility of historical wax cylinders and how a new non-contact scanning technology is used to reconstruct the audio without physical damage.
An effective concluding sentence must summarize or reinforce this main idea without introducing unrelated details.
2
Evaluate the options for logical relevance and tone.
The option about Edison's other inventions introduces irrelevant information. The option about rescuing voices from silence directly reinforces the goal of preserving historical recordings using the scanning technology.
Concluding sentences must not introduce unsupported details.
3
Examine the remaining options for grammatical correctness.
The original sentence contains a restrictive clause error (commas around 'that'). The option about researchers playing cylinders contains a comma splice. The option about rescuing voices from silence is grammatically correct.
The correct answer must be grammatically correct and stylistically appropriate.

Key Concept

Selecting Concluding Sentences and Transitions
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Topics

Selecting Concluding Sentences and Transitions

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