Victory for the ACT Student Text 15e

V ICTORY P RACTICE T EST A NSWERS AND E XPLANATIONS • 445

MULTIPLE-CHOICE EXPLANATIONS

Section 1: English 1. (C) (p. 363) English/Knowledge of Language/Vocabulary . The most obvious problem with the original is the choice of the word “respectfully.” The author really means to say “respectively,” (C). As for the other choices, (B) fails to correct the error, and (D) incorrectly places a comma between the subject (who) of the relative clause and the verb (are). 2. (H) (p. 363) English/Conventions of Standard English/Grammar and Usage/Subject-Verb Agreement . “Who” introduces a relative clause, and the clause needs a main verb. “Bringing” is a participle, which can be used as an adjective but not a main verb. The main verb has to show tense. (H) makes the needed correction. “Who” is the subject, and “brings” is the verb. (G) fails to solve the problem, and (J) tries to use “that,” a relative pronoun, but “who” is preferred as a pronoun to refer to people. 3. (B) (p. 363) English/Knowledge of Language/Style/Tone . While the passage is written in fairly direct prose (the language is not academic or otherwise ponderous), “divvy up” is informal usage that falls below the otherwise grammatically precise and correct level of the writing. (B) substitutes a neutral and grammatical phrase. (C) introduces a new error with “between.” “Between” would be used if there were two people; “among” is needed for three or more. Finally, “apportion,” (D), means to divide but not in equal parts. 4. (J) (p. 364) (QJOLVK &RQYHQWLRQV RI 6WDQGDUG (QJOLVK 6HQWHQFH 6WUXFWXUH 0LVSODFHG 0RGLÀHUV . The error in the original is not egregious, but the sentence is considerably improved by changing the wording to that given in (J). The problem with the original is the placement of “except Rodolfo.” The relative clause that begins with “who ‹•dz ‹• ‹–‡†‡† –‘ ‘†‹ˆ› Dz ‘†‘Žˆ‘ǡdz „—– –Š‡…Žƒ—•‡ ‹• •‡’ƒ”ƒ–‡† ˆ”‘ –Š‡ ™‘”† ‹– ‘†‹ϐ‹‡• „› –Š‡ ƒ‹ ˜‡”„ ‘ˆ –Š‡ ‹†‡’‡†‡–…Žƒ—•‡ ’Ž—• ‹–• ’”‡’‘•‹–‹‘ƒŽ ‘†‹ϐ‹‡”Ǥ ȋ Ȍ ‹’”‘˜‡• –Š‡ •–”—…–—”‡ „› ‘˜‹‰ Dz ‘†‘Žˆ‘dz ‡š– –‘ Dz™Š‘dz •‘ that the connection is obvious. (G) completely destroys the logic of the sentence: it is not Rodolfo who goes out with the others. And (H) eliminates the relative clause and tries to turn the word grouping into a main clause. But the result would be, at best, a comma-splice and, at worst, gibberish. 5. (A) (p. 364) English/Conventions of Standard English/No Change . “Their” is a plural possessive pronoun. It’s used here to say whose love (their love). “They’re,” (B), and “there,” (C), are words commonly confused with “their.” “That,” (D), is a demonstrative pronoun used to point out one among many, a usage not appropriate here. 6. (F) (p. 364) English/Production of Writing/Style/Appropriate Supporting Material . The information in parentheses is a †‡ϐ‹‹–‹‘ ‘ˆ Dz‰ƒ””‡–ǡdz •‘ ‹– •Š‘—Ž† „‡ ’Žƒ…‡† Œ—•– ˆ‘ŽŽ‘™‹‰ –Šƒ– ™‘”† •‘ –Š‡ ”‡ƒ†‡” ‹• ‰‹˜‡ –Š‡ ‹ˆ‘”ƒ–‹‘ ‹ ƒ –‹‡Ž› fashion. The other possible locations also relate to the idea of the apartment or building, but the parenthetical remark ™‘—Ž† ‘– ’”‘˜‹†‡ ƒ †‡ϐ‹‹–‹‘ ‘ˆ –Š‡ ™‘”† ƒ••‘…‹ƒ–‡† ™‹–Š –Š‘•‡ ’‘‹–•Ǥ Dzȋ†‹•ƒŽ ƒ––‹…ƒ’ƒ”–‡–Ȍdz †‘‡• ‘– †‡ϐ‹‡ ‘” explain “rent” or “building” or “apartment.” 7. (B) (p. 364) English/Conventions of Standard English/Grammar and Usage/Pronoun Usage and Subject-Verb Agreement . This item tests a couple of conventions of standard, written English. First, the test will occasionally throw ƒ– ›‘— –Š‡ ‘Ž† ™Š‘Ȁ™Š‘ ’”‘„Ž‡Ǥ —•– ”‡‡„‡” –Šƒ– Dz™Š‘dz ‹• —•‡† ƒ• –Š‡ •—„Œ‡…– ‘ˆ ƒ ˜‡”„ǡ ƒ† Dz™Š‘dz ‹• —•‡† ˆ‘” objects of verbs and prepositions: Who is at the door? Jan is the one who is at the door. Whom do you prefer? I prefer the incumbent. Of whom are you speaking? I am speaking of the incumbent, Jan. So “who” is the correct pronoun here. Second, there is also a question of the agreement between subject and verb. In this sentence, “who” refers to “Musetta.” “Musetta” is singular, so you need the singular verb “has.”