In the passage below, a punctuation mark is missing. Fill in the blank with the correct punctuation mark (such as a comma, semicolon, colon, or dash) that should be placed in the sentence to ensure it is grammatically correct and internally consistent.
Answer:Although Michael Ventris is often credited with deciphering Linear B, the historic breakthrough relied heavily on the meticulous preparation of classicist Alice Kober. For years, Kober cataloged the symbols on hand-cut index cards—which she stored in cardboard boxes due to wartime paper shortages 【—】 to identify patterns in the script's inflected grammatical endings. Her rigorous analysis ultimately proved that Linear B represented an inflected Indo-European language, setting the stage for its final decipherment.
Answer
An em dash (—) is required to close the nonessential parenthetical clause that was introduced by the preceding em dash.
A dash is required to maintain consistency with the em dash that introduces the nonessential parenthetical clause ('which she stored in cardboard boxes due to wartime paper shortages'). In English grammar, parenthetical elements must be set off by matching punctuation marks: either a pair of commas, a pair of parentheses, or a pair of dashes. Since the clause begins with a dash after 'cards', it must end with a dash before 'to identify'.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Consistent punctuation for nonessential clauses using dash pairs
Estimated Time:1m 0s