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641

<p>I understand that this is a Writing Thread and I sincerely apologize for posting sentence-completion questions. But the questions below are highly difficult sentence completion questions which I have difficulty solving. I am kinda desperate now so apology again for posting these sentence completion questions. </p>

<p>The architects of New York’s early skyscrapers, hinting here at twelfth-century cathedral, there at a fifteenth-century palace, sought to legitimize the city’s striving by ___ a history the city did not truly__.</p>

<p>A. revealing…deserve
B. displaying… desire
C. evoking…possess
D. preserving… experience
E. flouting… believe.</p>

<p>Correct answer is C. I cannot understand the entire sentence at all and therefore couldn’t do the question. Any idea what the sentence mean and why C is correct?</p>

<p>Despite an agreement between labor and management to keep the print and electronic media___ developments, the details of the negotiations were ___ but a few journalists from the major metropolitan newspapers.</p>

<p>A. abreast of… disclosed to
B. involved in…leaded to
C. apprised of…withheld from
D. speculating about… denied to
E. ignorant of…suppressed by.</p>

<p>Correct answer is C. I Chose A because i thought for the second blank,“disclosed to” makes more sense because of the “but a few journalists.” “All disclosed to but a few journalist” means the negotiation’s detail is only revealed to a few journalists?</p>

<p>An obvious style, easily identified by some superficial quirk, is properly___ as a mere mannerism, whereas a complex and subtle style ___ reduction to a formula.</p>

<p>A. avoided…risks.
B. decried…resists
C. prized…withstands
D. identified…consists of
E. cultivated…demands.</p>

<p>Correct answer is B, which I have completely no idea what this sentence is about.</p>

<p>Although a few delegates gave the opposition’s suggestions a ___ response, most greeted the statement of a counter-position with __.</p>

<p>A. favourable…approval.
B. dispirited…reluctance.
C. surly…resentment.
D. halfhearted…composure
E. vitriolic…civility</p>

<p>Correct answer is E. I chose B and I thought my choice makes a greater sense, because of the fact that “Although” would establish a contrast between the 2 blanks, but there is also a contrast between “afew” and “most”…But B fits the best?</p>

<p>Some paleontologists debate whether the diversity of species has ___ since the Cambain period, or whether imperfections in the fossil record only suggest greater diversity today, while in actuality there has been either ___ or decreased diversity.</p>

<p>A. changed…escalation
B. increased…stasis.
C. expanded…discontinuity
D. declined…reduction
E. improved…derivation.</p>

<p>I chose A, but correct answer is B. Again, completely no idea on this question and need some serious explaination.</p>

<p>Imposing steep fines on employers for on-the-job injuries to workers could be an effective ___ to creating a safer workplace, especially in the case of employers with poor safety records.</p>

<p>A. antidote
B. alternative
C. addition
D. deterrent
E. incentive.</p>

<p>The answer is E incentive. I chose D. I mean, how can E be correct? Imposing steep fines can become an incentive? It doesn’t make sense to me. Pls explain.</p>

642

<p>A great gray owl [flying low] across a forest clearing, its [wings beating] quietly and its ultrasensitive ears tuned to the [faint sounds] made by small [creatures concealed] under leaves. No Error</p>

<p>The correct answer is A. I agree that A sounds weird, but I feel that B is also correct because ‘wings beating’ is not parallel with the “tuned to” as they are joined by ‘and’. </p>

<p>Anyone can explain?</p>

643

<p>heres a few from an old sat… </p>

<p>(Although the candidate promised both to cut taxes and improve services, he) failed to keep either of them after the election. </p>

<p>a. same
b. The candidate, having promised both to cut taxes and improve services,
c. Although the candidate made promises both to cut taxes and improve services, he
d. erroneous answer
e. erroneous answer </p>

<p>(Although) she considers her chemistry research (complete), she (has heeded) her professor’s advice and (is conducting) three additional experiments. (No error) </p>

<p>is it d. (is conducting) or NE?</p>

644

<p><a href=“Although%20the%20candidate%20promised%20both%20to%20cut%20taxes%20and%20improve%20services,%20he”>quote</a> failed to keep either of them after the election.</p>

<p>a. same
b. The candidate, having promised both to cut taxes and improve services,
c. Although the candidate made promises both to cut taxes and improve services, he
d. erroneous answer
e. erroneous answer

[/quote]
</p>

<p>The original sentence is grammatically incorrect because “either of them” has no antecedent (thing the pronoun refers back to). It would work if the candidate’s promises were expressed in noun form (i.e., “the candidate made promises to . . . , but failed to keep either of them–the promises”), but they are not. (C) is correct because it names the “promises” and refers back to them as “them”: “Although the candidate made promises both to cut taxes and [to] improve services, he failed to keep either of them after the election.” I inserted “to” (in brackets) because it is supposed to be there; the structures that follow “both” must be consistent: “both to cut taxes and to improve services.”</p>

<p><a href=“Although”>quote</a> she considers her chemistry research (complete), she (has heeded) her professor’s advice and (is conducting) three additional experiments. (No error)</p>

<p>is it d. (is conducting) or NE?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>The answer is No error. “Has heeded” is in the present perfect form. The fact that she is conducting three additional experiments (in the present) means that she has heeded her professor’s advice.</p>

645

<p>(For example, if you just completed a project, you are able to say, “I have completed the project.” If someone recommends that you start another project, then you have heeded that person’s advice as soon as you start the project.)</p>

646

<p>Although his rating were falling, the mayor, against the will of his advisors, ignored public opinion and announced that he would severely cut educational spending.</p>

<p>Why wouldn’t it be wills of his advisors instead of will of his advisors? Shouldn’t the advisors be considered as individual people instead of a whole?</p>

647

<p>^ There are two main senses of the noun form of will:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>The conceptual sense: determination (e.g., “They had the will to carry on.”)</p></li>
<li><p>The physical sense: a document about what to do with a dead person’s possessions (e.g., “They read his will.”)</p></li>
</ul>

<p>In the second sense of the word, will is a count noun, which means that we can pluralize it. In the first sense, however, will is a noncount noun; it cannot be pluralized. Many conceptual words associated with mental processes are this way: for example, one would not say, “The people all had significant determinations.”</p>

648

<p>Aside from the whole “will” thing, which I agree with silverturtle on, isn’t the sentence supposed to be:
Although his rating was falling, the mayor, against the will of his advisors, ignored public opinion and announced that he was to cut educational spending severely.</p>

<p>Just seems better that way. Maybe it’s just me though.</p>

649

<p>^ I assumed that there was a typo (either “rating” should have been singular or “was” should have been “were”).</p>

650

<p>it was ratings, my mistake. thanks</p>

651

<p>I also thought the whole second part of the sentence was wrong. May have been gramatically correct, not sure, but it’s not easy on the ears. I think it’s wrong anyway.</p>

652

<p>^ No, it’s fine.</p>

653

<p>Looked it over again.
“The mayor… announced that he would severely cut educational spending.”
Again, I’m not completely sure as to the rule for “would”, and it probably works, but “he was to severely…” would fit better here, at least in my opinion.</p>

654

<p>“would” in this case is the past tense of “will.” it roughly translates to “was going to.” He said he was going to do something. He said he would do it.</p>

<p>so, if you made a promise to do something in the past, then you said you would do something. if you make a promise in the present, then you say you will do something. this is one of the many definitions/usages of “would.” it is arguably the simplest.</p>

<p>“the mayor announced that he was to do something” is incorrect. the form implies that he was supposed to do something, a stance that can really only exist after we know that the mayor didn’t do it. “the mayor announced he was going to do something” puts us in the position in which we do not know if he was (is) going to do it yet.</p>

655

<p>i am not sure about the last part. just regard it as speculation. the point is that the original sentence (with “would”) is perfectly normal.</p>

656

<p>thanks a lot crazybandit</p>

657

<p>As children mature, they develop “an independence” that their parents, who have been responsible for them since they were born, often find difficult to accept.</p>

<p>Should “an independence” be “independences”…</p>

<p>Not sure why it is no error…</p>

658

<p>Traffic was so heavy, so by the time Brianne finally (arrived at) the theater, we (waited) for her for an hour, (missing) the (entire) first act of the play.</p>

<p>The answer is waited… Shouldn’t “missing” be “and missed”.</p>

659

<p>For your first sentence: independence is a non-countable noun, and can’t be pluralized. You can’t say “many independences” - if you were to use that form you’d have to say “much independence” though I doubt that’s useable either.</p>

<p>In the second one: Well first, “Traffic was so heavy that” no “so” - and second, missing is fine. You could technically delete the comma and put “and missed”, but it would be wrong, because “waited” is wrong. Waited should be “had been waiting”, I believe, and if that were true, either “missing” or “and had missed” would work, though missing fits better.
Also - missing works here as a gerund. I don’t remember the exact rule for this sort of thing, but it serves to describe a sort of consequence. “We did X, [resulting] in Y.”
Of course, I’d appreciate it if someone looked over the 2nd sentence - not sure of it. Plus the whole thing seems like it could use restructuring.</p>

660

<p>1.) The artist’s [repeated use] of pale colors and amorphous forms, intended [to imbue] his paintings with a [sense of ambiguity], only makes the paintings [look weakly].</p>

<p>The answer is supposed to be [look weakly] because it should read “look weak.” I know that “look weak” is a better way of stating it, but is there anything technically wrong with saying “look weakly”?</p>

<p>2.) Around [the year 1643], the Florentine Torricelli [invented] the barometer, a device [that] measures the weight of the atmosphere, in order [to predict] the weather.</p>

<p>The answer is supposed to be [the year 1643] because “the year” is redundant and unnecessary. But just because it’s unnecessary doesn’t make it incorrect. Thus, shouldn’t the answer be No Error?</p>

<p>I’d really appreciate any input. Thanks!</p>