Victory for the ACT Student Text 15e

V ICTORY P RACTICE T EST A NSWERS AND E XPLANATIONS • 449

36. (H) (p. 369) English/Conventions of Standard English/Grammar and Usage/Adjectives versus Adverbs . This item has two elements. One is the choice of the part of speech. Here you need an adjective to modify the noun “formation,” so both (G) and (J) are wrong. Second, the chosen word must correctly express the relationship between the two events: eruption and formation. “Consequent,” (H), shows the causal connection between the two, but there is nothing in the text to suggest that the connection is “fortunate,” (F). 37. (A) (p. 369) English/Production of Writing/Organization/Paragraph-Level Structure . The original paragraph is organized chronologically, from earliest to latest events, and that ordering makes sense in describing the geological history of Yellowstone Park. Changing the order disrupts the story. Also, a different order creates different transitional problems. For example, the Mesa Falls Tuff is labelled as the “second” event to occur. That wording does not make •‡•‡ ‹ˆ ‡–‡…‡ ʹ ‹• ’Žƒ…‡† ϐ‹”•– ‘” Žƒ•– ‹ –Š‡ ’ƒ”ƒ‰”ƒ’ŠǤ 38. (G) (p. 369) English/Conventions of Standard English/Grammar and Usage/Subject-Verb Agreement . The original has a problem with the agreement between subject and verb: “Sequence” is singular but “were” is plural. (G) eliminates the mistake. (H) reduces the word grouping to a fragment without a main verb, and as for (J), the future tense “will be” is inconsistent with the other tenses in the paragraph. 39. (B) (p. 370) English/Conventions of Standard English/Grammar and Usage/Verb Tense . The original uses the present tense “is trapped,” but the other events in the sequence, which all occur in the same time frame, are described as events that occurred in the past using the past tense. (B) brings this part of the sentence into line with the tense in the rest of the sentence. (C) and (D) do not make the needed change. 40. (H) (p. 370) English/Conventions of Standard English/Sentence Structure/Faulty Parallelism. The structure of the original sentence is unclear. It’s not obvious whether “caused” is intended to be a third element in a series including “exceeded,” “stretched,” and “caused” or an adjective modifying the sequence of events. (H) resolves the uncertainty. (G) also makes a clear choice between the two interpretations but is punctuated incorrectly. (G) would need a comma following “crust.” And (J) seems to set up “causes” as the third element in the series but uses the wrong verb tense. 41. (B) (p. 370) English/Conventions of Standard English/Grammar and Usage/Verb Tense . “Burst,” (B), and not “busted” is the past tense of “to burst.” 42. (H) (p. 370) English/Conventions of Standard English/Grammar and Usage/Sequence and Verb Tense . This item is looking for the right word to create a logical connection between two ideas. The form “have taken place” is called the perfect (or present perfect) tense and implies that the action took place partly in the past but continues into the present, like “I have always enjoyed movies.” “Since,” however, implies a completed action, so the two are inconsistent. (G) and (J) make the same error, but “over,” (H), indicates that the time period still continues. 43. (A) (p. 370) Englis /Conv ntions of Standard English/No C ange . Here you have a test of usage. “They’re” is a contraction of “they are,” a plural pronoun that agrees with “eruptions” with its plural verb “are.” “Their,” (B), is a possessive pronoun and cannot be used as a subject, though “they’re” and “their” are frequently confused. “Its,” (C), is also a possessive pronoun and is singular, as is “it is,” (D). 44. (F) (p. 370) English/Production of Writing/Strategy/Effective Concluding Sentence . (F) provides the best conclusion „‘–Š ˆ‘” –Š‡ ϐ‹ƒŽ ’ƒ”ƒ‰”ƒ’Š ƒ† –Š‡ ‡••ƒ› ƒ• ƒ ™Š‘Ž‡ „‡…ƒ—•‡ ‹– ƒ††”‡••‡• –Š‡ ’‘••‹„Ž‡ ‡š– ‡˜‡– ‹ –Š‡ ‰‡‘Ž‘‰‹…ƒŽ •‡“—‡…‡Ǥ Š‡ ‘–Š‡”…Š‘‹…‡• ƒ‡ •–ƒ–‡‡–• –Šƒ– ƒ”‡ ‰‡‡”ƒŽŽ› ”‡Žƒ–‡† –‘ –Š‡ ‡••ƒ› –‘’‹…„—– †‘ǯ– •’‡…‹ϐ‹…ƒŽŽ› ϐ‹– ‹ ™‹–Š –Š‡ †‡˜‡Ž‘’‡– ‘ˆ –Š‡ ’‹‡…‡ ƒ† ‡•’‡…‹ƒŽŽ› †‘ ‘– ϐ‹– ƒ• ’‘••‹„Ž‡…‘…Ž—•‹‘•Ǥ 45. (B) (p. 371) English/Production of Writing/Strategy/Main Idea . The essay is a quasi-academic paper about geology. It doesn’t mention activities such as hiking or camping. 46. (J) (p. 371) English/Production of Writing/Strategy/Effective Transitional Sentence . Š‡ ‘”‹‰‹ƒŽ †‘‡• ‘– ”‡ϐŽ‡…– the logical connection between the “old” and the “new.” The necessity of constructing low-rise structures did not cause the inventions mentioned. The writer means to say that the “old” situation existed but the “new” replaced it. “Until,” (J), has this meaning. “If,” (G), expresses contingency or possibility, but the writer intends to show a sequence. “Because of,” (H), implies that the “old” is somehow dependent on the “new,” an illogical proposition.