1) Harpsichords, their sound made by quills plucking strings (A) that are stretched over a soundboard, dominated European music (B) in the 1700’s, (C) they were replaced late in the century by the fortepiano, in (D) which hammers struck the strings. (E) No error
2) Vanilla is (A) currently one (B) of the most popular (C) of all spices and flavorings, and is found not only in foodstuffs (D) and also in perfumes and cosmetics. (E) No error
3) The electricity transmission grid (A) consisting of 200,000 miles of high-voltage lines that (B) carry power across the United States, northern Mexico, and most of Canada, a grid (C) divided into two (D) loosely connected sections called interconnects. (E) No error
4) The first signs in six months of a pickup in consumer spending (A) are emerging, (B) which reduces the chances (C) that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates when (D) it meets next month. (E) No error
5) The explosions of the volcano Krakatoa in 1883 hurled rock and ash (A) more than 20 miles high, (B) and it (C) could be heard 3,000 miles (D) away. (E) No error
6) (A) During the whole period of the westward overland emigration from 1840 (B) and 1860, well over half of the emigrants’ wagons (C) were pulled (D) by oxen. (E) No error
7) The steam-propelled locomotive on rails (A) was invented (B) in the early nineteenth century by George (C) Stephenson moving coal from the coal mines near Newcastle, England, to shipping stations on the (D) nearby Tyne River. (E) No error
8) Each year the television industry takes in billions of dollars in (A) advertising revenue (B) annually based on ratings information, (C) but it can owe advertisers tens of millions of dollars in free commercials (D) when ratings fall short of expectations. (E) No error
9) No one is exactly sure (A) when modern rain forests first (B) appeared, (C) and fossil evidence suggests that they were already present (D) at the end of the age of the dinosaurs, some 60 million years ago. (E) No error
10) Crocodiles spend (A) much of their lives in the water, but (B) as turtles, they must lay their eggs (C) on land, (D) because reptile embryos must respirate through the egg’s permeable shell. (E) No error
11) In 1996 the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, installed a public sculpture (A) in honor of (B) its two (C) most (D) celebrated literary residents - Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost. (E) No error
12) (A) One usually thinks of a sword as a long strip of metal, (B) either iron or steel, with a handle, (C) and the first swords (D) were made of wood. (E) No error
13) Elephants use (A) various methods to combat excessive heat, such as fanning (B) themselves with their ears and (C) to protect their skin from the sun (D) with layers or mud and dust. (E) No error
14) (A) Beginning in the 1830’s, walking footraces in England, the United States, and continental Europe became mass spectator sports (B) that sometimes (C) attract (D) over 25,000 people. (E) No error
Answer Keys
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
C | D | A | B |
5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
B | B | C | B |
9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
C | B | E | C |
13 | 14 | ||
C | C |