Chapter Seven

English Practice Set IV

Practice Set

2. Directions

   In the following passage, certain words and phrases have been underlined and numbered. You will find alternatives for each underlined portion in the column to the right. Select the one that best expresses the idea, that makes the statement acceptable in standard written English, or that is phrased most consistently with the style and tone of the entire passage. If you feel that the original version is best, select “NO CHANGE.” You will also find questions asking about a section of the passage or about the entire passage. For these questions, decide which choice gives the most appropriate response to the given question. For each question in the test, select the best choice. You may wish to read each passage through before you begin to answer the questions associated with it. Most answers cannot be determined without reading several sentences around the phrases in question. Make sure to read far enough ahead each time you choose an alternative.

3. I’ve lived, in New York City for my entire life. I’m not happy to leave even though my mom got a great new job three states away. Theirs a lot about my life here that I’ll miss. It will be awful having to complete senior year in a strange place without my friends. That’s only part of it, though. Being that cell phones and computers are so common, it’s easier than ever to communicate over a distance. I know my buddies and I will stay in touch.

   Moving means leaving more than my friends. I’ll be leaving and abandoning my childhood home behind. It may be hard for someone who’s never lived in a city to perceive a city community as intimate, but my neighborhood is far from impersonal. It really does have the feel of a village. There are lots of people who, though they are not exactly friends are a regular part of my life. Unlike my friends, these aren’t people I know well enough staying in contact with after I move. This may sound odd, but I’ll miss them.

   There’s Joe, the old guy who’s been the superintendent of my apartment building ever since I can remember. He’s always out sweeping the hallway or cleaning the laundry room, and also he’s just a call away to fix a clogged sink or change a lightbulb in a tall fixture. Joe has a warm smile and is incredibly nice. I have to admit, I love that he always keeps a few fun-size chocolate bars in his tool box, and he’s happy to share his stash with my sister and I as well. Sure, I can come back and check on Joe when I visit New York, and it just won’t be the same.

   I’ll also miss Gen, the quiet woman which runs the green grocer on the corner. I think most New Yorkers would agree that the corner grocery is indispensable. Whenever I run in for a drink or a snack, it seems she’s there at the cash register with her lively kindergarten son, Tang, and now her new baby. I feel like I’ve watched Tang grow up. How old when I come back to visit, who knows, will his baby sister be? Will the family even still be here? It’s so strange to think that people who are seen by me every day may just vanish from my life. I’ll miss these small connections with people almost as much as I’ll miss my friends.

4. 1. It’s the Little Things That Matter

   2. 1. NO CHANGE
      2. lived, in New York City, for my entire life
      3. lived in, New York City, for my entire life
      4. lived in New York City for my entire life
   3. 1. NO CHANGE
      2. the reason being
      3. being for the reason
      4. because of the reason
   4. 1. NO CHANGE
      2. Their’s a great deal
      3. There’s a lot
      4. Theres a lot

   5. All of the following choices would appropriately convey the writer’s concerns about a new school EXCEPT:

      1. it will be awful without my friends.
      2. it’s a place where I won’t know anyone.
      3. it’s in a different state.
      4. it’s a new place with unfamiliar classmates.
   6. 1. NO CHANGE
      2. Cell phones and the computer being so common,
      3. Among cell phones and the computer,
      4. Between cell phones and the computer,
   7. 1. NO CHANGE
      2. saying goodbye to
      3. leaving
      4. parting with and leaving
   8. 1. NO CHANGE
      2. never having lived
      3. who hadn’t ever lived
      4. which hasn’t ever lived
   9. 1. NO CHANGE
      2. who, though they are not exactly friends, are
      3. who, though they are not exactly, friends, are
      4. who though they are not exactly friends, are
   10. 1. NO CHANGE
       2. to stay in contact
       3. so that staying in contact
       4. for the keeping in touch
   11. 1. NO CHANGE
       2. room. And
       3. room;
       4. room,
   12. 1. NO CHANGE
       2. me and my sister
       3. my sister and I
       4. I and also my sister
   13. 1. NO CHANGE
       2. so
       3. but
       4. despite that
   14. 1. NO CHANGE
       2. who runs
       3. who had run
       4. which had been running
   15. 1. NO CHANGE
       2. For most New Yorkers, the corner grocery store is a great convenience.
       3. The average New Yorker probably could not live with the convenient corner grocery.
       4. OMIT the underlined portion.
   16. 1. NO CHANGE
       2. Who knows how old his baby sister will be when I come back to visit?
       3. When his baby sister comes back to visit, who knows how old I will be?
       4. Who knows, when his baby sister comes back to visit, how old I will be?
   17. 1. NO CHANGE
       2. people I have been seeing
       3. people I see
       4. I’m seeing people

   18. Question 17 asks about the preceding passage as a whole.

   19. 2. For the sake of logic and coherence, paragraph 3 should be placed:

          1. where it is now.
          2. before paragraph 1.
          3. after paragraph 1.
          4. after paragraph 4.