All practice questions

Hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor host thriving communities of organisms in complete darkness. Because these communities exist deep underwater, they cannot rely on photosynthesis for survival. Instead, chemosynthetic bacteria convert toxic chemicals from the vents into nutrients, forming the base of the food web. A variety of unique species [underlined portion].

Given the context of the passage, the writer wants to revise the underlined portion to provide the most specific, concrete detail that supports the claim that these species rely on the chemical energy produced by the bacteria. Which of the following choices best accomplishes this goal?

[underlined portion] = "cluster around these vents"

Before Alan Turing's famous work at Bletchley Park, a team of Polish mathematicians cracked the early military Enigma cipher. Marian Rejewski solved the mathematical equations underlying the machine's rotor permutations. The card catalog that Rejewski compiled during his research, which contained over 100,000 permutations, allowed the team to decrypt messages in minutes.

Which choice best punctuates the underlined portion of the sentence?

[1] In the late 1920s, writer and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston traveled throughout the American South to document African American oral traditions. [2] Hurston believed that folklore was not a static relic of the past but rather a dynamic, living art form that shaped community identity. [3] To capture the true vitality of these stories, she knew she had to record them in their natural settings rather than in academic isolation. [4] Her field research relied on immersive methods that allowed her to integrate fully into the daily lives of the people she studied.

The writer wants to revise Sentence 4 (reproduced above) to provide the most specific, concrete details that support the claim that Hurston integrated herself into the daily lives of the people she studied. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

Following a lengthy investigation into the misuse of campaign funds, the committee recommended that the chamber formally censor the representative for her actions.

Which option is the best replacement for the underlined word?

Biologists studying the isolated Tepui tablelands of South America have observed a rare ecological phenomenon: evolutionary stasis, which is the preservation of ancestral traits over millions of years.

Which of the following options best replaces the underlined portion of the sentence?

The sentence below contains a list of items that have internal commas. What punctuation mark should be placed in both blank spaces to clearly separate the items in this list?

Many masterpieces of modernist music premiered in Paris during the early twentieth century. The composition, that Stravinsky wrote for the Ballets Russes, which featured jarring rhythms and dissonant chords, provoked a riot at its premiere. Critics and audiences alike were unprepared for such avant-garde sounds.

Which of the following options most effectively punctuates the underlined portion of the sentence?

Many tourists visit the Grand Canyon to see its famous red rock layers; others prefer to hike down to the Colorado River.

Which choice best punctuates the underlined portion of the sentence?

[1] In the 1840s, British botanist Anna Atkins recognized that traditional hand-drawn illustrations were inadequate for capturing the intricate, hair-like structures of British algae. [2] To address this limitation, she turned to the newly invented cyanotype process, which used light-sensitive chemicals to produce precise blue-and-white silhouettes of botanical specimens. [3] Atkins painstakingly placed wet algae directly onto treated paper and exposed it to sunlight, producing images that served as direct physical imprints of the plants. [4] Her resulting self-published work, British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions, is widely considered the first book illustrated with photographs.

The writer wants to add a sentence after Sentence 3 that provides the most specific, concrete visual detail demonstrating the precise botanical features captured by Atkins's cyanotypes. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

[1] To protect themselves from predators, members of the glass frog family (Centrolenidae) rely on a unique form of camouflage known as translucency. [2] While many animals use solid colors to blend in with their environments, these frogs possess gelatinous, see-through skin on their limbs and undersides. [3] When perched on a leaf, the frog's body becomes less noticeable. [4] This effect, researchers have discovered, makes it difficult for hunting birds and wasps to detect the frogs under natural lighting conditions.

The writer wants to revise sentence 3 (reproduced below) to provide the most specific, concrete visual detail that illustrates how the frog's translucency functions as camouflage.

*When perched on a leaf, the frog's body becomes less noticeable.*

Which of the following versions of the sentence best achieves this goal?

The following sentences are from a draft of an essay about mathematician Gladys West. To ensure the paragraph logically builds its claim with supporting evidence, arrange the sentences in the most logical order.

London's Subterranean Pioneer

[1]
In the mid-nineteenth century, London faced unprecedented street congestion. The city’s population had exploded, and horse-drawn omnibuses, cabs, and carts choked the narrow thoroughfares, making daily commutes a grueling ordeal. In response, a visionary solicitor named Charles Pearson proposed an audacious solution: transporting passengers beneath the city streets. Despite widespread skepticism and fears that the tunnels would collapse or suffocate passengers, Pearson campaigned tirelessly for his idea, eventually securing the support of the City of London.

[2]
In 1860, construction began on the Metropolitan Railway using the 'cut-and-cover' method. Workers excavated a deep trench along existing roadways, built brick archways over the tracks, and then repaved the street above. This approach disrupted surface traffic enormously but allowed for the creation of the world's first underground passenger line. The locomotives utilized were steam-powered, specially designed to condense their own steam to keep the tunnels relatively clear of smoke, though passengers still complained of the coal-scented atmosphere.

[3]
When the railway opened on January 10, 1863, it was an immediate sensation, carrying over thirty thousand passengers on its very first day. The success of the Metropolitan Railway demonstrated the viability of subterranean transit, paving the way for the extensive network known today as the London Underground. Pearson's dream of relieving street traffic by utilizing the space beneath the city had transformed from a ridiculed fantasy into a template for modern urban transportation worldwide.

Suppose the writer's goal had been to write an essay that details the specific engineering challenges and building materials used in constructing the London Underground throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Is it true that the essay successfully accomplishes this goal?

The following sentence contains two independent clauses that are closely related. What punctuation mark should be placed in the blank to grammatically join these two clauses into a single sentence?

[1] In 1995, the reintroduction of gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park initiated a dramatic ecological transformation known as a trophic cascade. [2] Decades of wolf absence had allowed the elk population to explode, leading to severe overgrazing of willow and aspen trees along riverbanks. [3] Once the wolves returned, their predation and presence forced the elk to avoid open valleys, where they were vulnerable. [4] Consequently, the streamside vegetation began to recover rapidly, stabilizing the soil and reducing erosion. [5] This regrowth of trees attracted songbirds and beavers, who used the wood to build dams, creating habitats for fish, amphibians, and waterfowl. [6] The wolves' return ultimately reshaped not just the animal populations, but the physical geography of the park itself.

At this point, the writer is considering adding the following sentence:
'Beavers are known for their ability to significantly alter river ecosystems by building complex lodges and dams.'

Should the writer make this addition after Sentence 4?

The following sentences are from a draft of an essay about the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation. To ensure the paragraph logically builds its claim that scientific discovery relies on systematically ruling out alternative explanations before accepting a cosmological conclusion, what is the most logical order of the sentences?

The restorers worked under a tight deadline to clean the exceedingly, rare, oil, paintings, and they documented each step of the conservation process.

Which choice best punctuates the underlined portion of the sentence?

In 1912, Alfred Wegener introduced a revolutionary idea that would reshape our understanding of Earth. Wegener, the meteorologist who proposed the theory of continental drift, faced intense skepticism from his peers. Decades later, the discovery of seafloor spreading finally vindicated his vision.

Which of the following choices is the correct punctuation for the underlined portion of the passage?

In the early twentieth century, German mathematician Emmy Noether proved a theorem that fundamentally linked symmetry and conservation laws. Although her work laid the cornerstone for modern theoretical physics, she initially faced immense institutional barriers due to her gender. The university administration that governed Göttingen, which refused to grant her a formal faculty position allowed her to lecture only under David Hilbert's name.

Which choice best punctuates the underlined portion of the sentence to conform to the conventions of standard written English?

In the mid-twentieth century, researchers mapped the ocean floor using sonar. The maps that Tharp created, which she drafted by hand, proved the existence of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This discovery supported the theory of continental drift and revolutionized modern geology.

Which of the following choices best punctuates the underlined portion of the sentence?

Before the tournament, each players' jersey has it's number printed on the back.

Which of the following is the correct spelling and punctuation of the underlined portion of the sentence?