<p>The gong, believed to have originated in Western Asia, reached China in the sixth century, where it continues to be used for a wide range of purposes, (including as) a military signal, a rhythmic accompaniment for vocal performance, and a ritual instrument.</p>
<p>a) including as
b) which include
c) which includes
d) including
e) they including</p>
<p>The answer is apparently A, but I feel that C is a better answer (...wide range...which includes...)</p>
<p>Could somebody explain this to me? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>if i saw this post about 6 hours ago, i'd agree completely.. i also thought C was the better answer.. it seemed less awkwardly worded</p>
<p>but i figured out why it is A (A in itself is poorly worded, but it is the only one that fits grammatically - remember, it may not be the best way to say it, but it is the most grammatically sound when compared to the other ones):</p>
<p>It says it's used for a wide range of purposes... unless you say the "as" with that, it is meaningless.. for example, substitute "It can" before every purpose -- It can be used AS a military signal.. it can be used AS a rhythmic accompaniment for vocal performance.. it can be used AS a ritual instrument</p>
<p>Or look at is this way: separate the sentence -- "The gong, believed to have originated in Western Asia, reached China in the sixth century, where it continues to be used for a wide range of purposes. This wide range includes its use AS yadda yadda yadda.. The as has to be there, and that was something that I didn't catch until I read it over and over again. I've never seen anything like this question on the SAT.. this one is just really hard... after I figured it out, i went to my english teacher and asked her is she could tell me what the answer was (i didn't tell her anything about the question. she answered this on her own). After she spent about 45 seconds reading it over a couple times and the answers, she said "I believe the answer has to be A because of the way the sentence is constructed. A in itself is not the best way of writing it, and I would never write it like that. But based on the other choices, A works the best."</p>
<p>ohhhh yeah it would have to be something along the lines of "which includes being used as..." which is just so awkward.</p>
<p>damn it...need to go study some more</p>
<p>thanks :)</p>