Chapter 7 English Practice Test 2 Answers and Explanations

1. B The question asks you to find the answer choice that is NOT acceptable as a replacement for the underlined portion—remember, that means the passage is correct as written. Look at the answer choices—some change words, some change punctuation. In a case like this, you’ll need to check each answer choice. (A), (C), and (D) can all be inserted in place of the underlined portion without creating an error, but (B) makes the sentence When I woke up this morning, I made myself a bowl of cereal, sat listening to the traffic, which isn’t an appropriate way to join two complete ideas and therefore can NOT be used.

2. F When you see answer choices “stacked” like this, using all the same words with Stop and Go punctuation changing in the same spot, check for Complete/Incomplete on either side of that spot. In this case, It’s true that there’s always some kind of noise in my neighborhood is complete, and taxi drivers honking their horns, kids playing their radios so loud that the bass makes my teeth vibrate, or people yelling in the street is incomplete. Since Stop punctuation can only separate two complete ideas, eliminate (H). You definitely need some kind of pause after neighborhood, so (J) can be eliminated. Now you must choose between a comma and a dash. Using a comma would make it seem like the sentence is giving a list of things that are true, when the intention is to list the kinds of noises in the neighborhood. Remember a single dash is the same thing as a colon—it must follow a complete idea and must itself be followed by a list, definition or explanation of the first complete idea. That’s what the sentence has as written, so choose (F).

3. C The preceding sentence is I know that some people wouldn’t like it, but to me, these are the sounds of life. This is almost the exact opposite of what (A) says—the narrator is putting a positive spin on what many would find an annoyance. There is no trip to the park mentioned as in (B), and (D) is incorrect because this sentence is very much relevant to the essay—choose (C).

4. F None of the answer choices contains a grammatical error, and they all say roughly the same thing, so pick the one that says it with the fewest words—It’s.

5. C Careful—all of these answer choices may seem fit to use, but on the ACT, there is always a reason to choose the best answer choice. In this case the entire sentence reads When I ride the bus, you get to see so much more of the city. The underlined portion you select must have a pronoun that is consistent with the non-underlined you get, which is (C), you ride.

6. J Here you need to choose between sociable and sociably, but there’s punctuation changing as well—start easy! You need the adverb sociably because it’s describing how the people are chatting—eliminate (F) and (H). (G) is incorrect because there’s no need for a pause after sociably, so no comma is needed.

7. A The answer choices have “stacked” words with Stop and Go punctuation changing in one spot, so check for Complete/Incomplete on either side of that spot. Just like the traffic’s sounds, though, the noise on the bus represents people is complete (but awkward), and working, relaxing, and living is incomplete, so you need Go punctuation—eliminate (B) and (C). (D) is incorrect because you don’t need a comma after people—you only need commas to separate the items in the list of things the people are doing.

8. G Here you have a 3/1 split with three answer choices using pronouns and one that uses the noun kids, so check that one first. Kids makes sense in the context of the sentence and is consistent with the non-underlined their parents.

9. B In the answer choices you see Stop and Go punctuation changing after the word nearby, so check for Complete/Incomplete on either side of the punctuation. The city added the bench so kids could play while their parents sit nearby is complete, and, regardless of whether it begins with obviously, or not, I like to sit there because there’s a great big oak tree for shade is also complete. Two complete ideas must be connected with Stop punctuation—eliminate (A) and (C). While adding the word because in (D) makes the second idea incomplete and might make you think it’s okay to use a comma, it’s still incorrect: To use the word because, you need a causal relationship between the ideas, and there is none in this case.

10. H This question is testing proper comma placement. You don’t need a comma after either watching or listening, since the idea being expressed is watching and listening to the people around me—eliminate (F), (G), and (J).

11. C In the answer choices you see Stop and Go punctuation changing after the word do, so check for Complete/Incomplete on either side of the punctuation. People-watching is one of my favorite things to do is complete, and I like listening even better is complete as well. Two complete ideas must be connected with Stop punctuation—eliminate (A). You can also eliminate (B) and (D), because even though they respectively add nevertheless and however after the punctuation change, both of those are transition words that only indicate direction—they don’t make a complete idea incomplete. (C), which uses a comma + FANBOYS (but), is the only choice that gives you the Stop punctuation you’re looking for.

12. G The following sentence says That way, I can pay more attention to the sounds and not get distracted by what I see, so the most logical introduction would be one that has the narrator closing her eyes—(G).

13. D You need to emphasize the narrator’s curiosity and interest in the old men’s conversation, so the correct answer choice needs to incorporate the narrator’s point of view. Choices (A), (B), and (C) are all objective descriptions of the conversation itself or the old men. (D) characterizes the stories as entertaining, meaning entertaining to the narrator, and so is the best answer.

14. J Here apostrophes are being used to show possession. You know there are two old men having the conversation, so the laugh that comes in response to the story one of them is telling must come from his friend, not his friends. To show possession for a singular noun, all you have to do is add ’s—answer choice (J).

15. B This essay is definitely pro-city living, and really only explores one aspect of what the narrator likes about the city, so you can eliminate (C) and (D). (A) is incorrect, because although public transportation is mentioned, it isn’t the convenience the narrator enjoys—it’s the sounds and sights of the city.

Passage II

16. H When you see DELETE as an answer choice, try that first. In this case, taking out that causes a syntax error—you wouldn’t say…three times in seventy-year history. You need to find the correct pronoun, so the first step is to identify the noun that the pronoun replaces—it’s bridge. Since bridge is a singular noun, eliminate (G); you can’t replace a singular noun with a plural pronoun. The pronoun that in the sentence as written is incorrect; you can’t use it because there is no prior reference to the seventy-year history.

17. B The sentence is saying the amount of concrete was enough to construct a sidewalk five feet wide all the way from San Francisco to New York City. There isn’t a reason to use commas here, so eliminate (A) and (D). (C) has a dash (which is the same as a colon) after sidewalk, which creates an awkward and unclear construction afterwards.

18. G The sentence immediately following details the various reasons San Francisco Bay is a bad spot for bridge-building, so a logical introduction will introduce this theme. Neither (F), (G), nor (J) do this as well as (G).

19. D Here you see Stop and Go Punctuation changing after the word bond in each answer choice, so check for Complete/Incomplete on either side of the punctuation. After two years of discussion, the voters approved a bond is complete, and that would raise $35 million, all dedicated to building the bridge is incomplete, so eliminate (C). (A) has a colon after a complete idea, but the incomplete idea after it is awkward and unclear. (B) is incorrect because the phrase that would raise $35 million is necessary, and thus there is no need for a comma here, much less two.

20. H You have the option to DELETE the underlined portion, so try that first. That leaves Even then, there were many skeptics believed that it couldn’t be done, which is a bad sentence—eliminate (J). Now you have to choose the correct pronoun, so identify the noun that’s being replaced—it’s skeptics. You can’t use that to replace skeptics: It’s singular and that can’t be used to refer to people, so eliminate (G). If you have trouble deciding between who and whom, try substituting a different pronoun: There are multiple skeptics, so you can use “they” and “them.” You would use the subject-case “they believed it couldn’t be done,” not the object-case “them believed it couldn’t be done.” That means you need to use the subject-case who—answer choice (H).

21. D When DELETE is an option, you should always check that first—you know ACT likes things concise. Taking out the underlined portion leaves Construction began in 1933 and lasted a little more than four years. That’s a perfectly good sentence, and you’re not adding any new information with (A), (B), or (C)—(D) is the best (most concise) answer.

22. H The answer choices have “stacked” words with Stop and Go punctuation changing after 1937, so check for Complete/Incomplete on either side of that spot. On May 28, 1937 is an incomplete idea, so you know you can’t use Stop punctuation—that’s only for connecting two complete ideas—eliminate (F) and (G). (H) and (J) both give you the comma you need after 1937, but (J) goes a little too far by adding another that you don’t need after grandly.

23. A DELETE the underlined portion first, since that’s an option. That leaves More than 200,000 people walked across the bridge that day to celebrate, which is a complete idea, but is not as clear as it could be (celebrate what?) The better option is (A)—it’s a little less concise, but much more clear. (B) and (C) are much too wordy; neither says anything that (A) doesn’t.

24. J The answer choices are all transition words, which is usually a sign that the question is testing direction. The two sentences on either side are To top it off, it was beautiful and the Golden Gate Bridge is considered an artistic masterpiece—two similar ideas (although note the shift in tense between the two from past to present.) You can eliminate the two opposite-direction transitions, (F) and (H), and eliminate (G) because it’s still past-tense; you want a transition that will make the change to present tense, as Even today does.

25. A The answer choices all have Stop and Go punctuation (and a dash) changing after the word air, so check for Complete/Incomplete before and after the punctuation. Before the punctuation is At its highest point, the bridge rises 746 feet into the air, which is complete, and afterward is 191 feet taller than the Washington Monument, an incomplete idea. Eliminate (B)—you can’t use Stop punctuation here. We can do without the extra rising, so eliminate (D). We do, however, need some kind of pause after air, so eliminate (C).

26. F The answer choices are all different word combinations—you just have to pick the correct one. The idiomatic expression for “environment” is natural surroundings—answer choice (F). If you’re not sure here, you can try substituting each answer choice into the sentence; you should at least be able to eliminate one or two answer choices. Always keep in mind that NO CHANGE is going to be correct about 25 percent of the time it appears, so don’t be afraid to pick it—especially if you can’t identify an error in the sentence as it’s written.

27. D The whole sentence says The color, called “International Orange,” was chosen partly because it matched the natural surroundings and partly because it would allow the bridge to remain visible on foggy days. Saying on foggy days provides a detail about when the bridge might be hard to see, so if you take out that portion, you would lose that detail. That most closely matches (D).

28. J You need to emphasize the wide variety of the bridge’s uses here, so the correct answer choice must do that. (F) only talks about commuter traffic, (G) describes the bridge itself, not how it is used, and (H) talks about how some people cross the bridge—none of which describe a wide variety of uses. (J) talks about the bridge’s multiple uses for commuters and travelers and as a tourist destination in its own right, so it is the best answer choice.

29. A The added sentence talks about the original idea for building the bridge, so it belongs somewhere very early in the discussion of its construction—eliminate (C) and (D). Between (A) and (B), the more logical choice for the placement of the original idea for the bridge would be (A), just before the decision to actually build it.

Passage III

30. J Here you have nicely “stacked” answer choices with Stop (comma + FANBOYS) and Go punctuation changing after single—check for Complete/Incomplete on either side. The Italian language wasn’t always the single is incomplete, as is unified, language that it is today. You’ll need Go punctuation to connect these two—eliminate (H). Remember your comma rules; there’s no reason to use a comma after unified—eliminate (F) and (G), leaving (J) as the best answer choice.

31. A The phrase during the thirteenth century introduces the time period the passage will be talking about, so that’s what you lose if you take it out—there’s no confusion created as in (B), no interruption as in (C), and it’s not grammatically necessary as (D) claims; (A) is the best answer.

32. H Remember that less is more on the ACT; any time you have the option to add anything, make sure you have a compelling reason to do so. In this case, the sentence (not to mention the passage as a whole) is talking about Dante Alighieri, so adding a list of other writers doesn’t add anything necessary to the essay. If you’re still unsure, you can check the reasons given in the answer choices and eliminate those that don’t agree with the passage: You can eliminate (F) as previously stated, there’s no discussion of the creation of Italian as (G) states, and the reason you aren’t adding the list isn’t because it’s not exhaustive, as (J) claims—it’s because it’s unnecessary.

33. B The underlined portion acts as the subject of the singular verb was in the non-underlined portion. Choices (A) and (C) are plural. Choice (D) doesn’t fit the context of the sentence.

34. J The meaning of the sentence is not to say that literature was not written in the local languages and also not in Latin; the idea is that high literature was written in Latin instead of the local languages. To express that, you need to say literature was written not in the various local languages but in Latin—answer choice (J).

35. D DELETE is an answer choice, so try that first. Taking out the underlined portion leaves Dante believed that literature should be available not only to the educated elite but also to the common people. That is a complete sentence, and the meaning hasn’t changed, so (D) is the best answer.

36. H Three of the answer choices use called and one uses calling, so you should check that one first, but remember that ACT doesn’t really like the “-ing” form of verbs, and you should only pick it when all the other answer choices have an actual error. In this case, however, it doesn’t make sense in the sentence—Dante was not literally calling out the word “Italian”—you can eliminate (J), and also (F) and (G), which make the sentence read the same way.

37. B Three of the answer choices use spoken and one uses speak, so you should check that one first. However, to speak doesn’t make sense in the context of the sentence, so eliminate (D). There’s no need to include to be or if as in (A) and (C); (B) makes the most sense—and it’s the most concise—so it’s the best answer choice.

38. G The answer choices all have Stop and Go punctuation (plus a colon) changing after the word people, so check for Complete/Incomplete on either side to see which you need. In this case, By writing it in the language spoken by the Italian people is incomplete, and since Stop punctuation can only connect two complete ideas, you can now eliminate (F) and (H). You can also eliminate (J), since a colon can only follow a complete idea. That leaves (G) as the only possible choice.

39. C All of the answer choices use the exact same words, just in different orders—you’ll need to select the one that is most clear. Dante thought literature should be available to everyone, and was criticized for that opinion. The answer choice that expresses that idea in the most clear fashion is (C).

40. G Remember when ACT gives you a task to accomplish with an answer choice, you must read very literally—an answer choice that does the thing you want is a better choice than one that “could” do the thing you want. In this case, we need an answer choice that will imply that illiteracy changed from more common to less common. Be careful! If you just look at the words in the answer choices, diminished might seem the perfect candidate, but the passage is talking about literacy, not illiteracy. Therefore, you want the answer choice that says that literacy became more common, which would imply that illiteracy became less common—answer choice (G). Both (H) and (J) might conceivably accompany an increase in literacy, neither state that as clearly as (G) does.

41. C A good place to start here is to decide which verb form you need—always keeping in mind ACT’s opinion of the “-ing” form. Confuses agrees with the subject, title, so eliminate (A) and (B). The use of that in (D) makes the sentence an incomplete idea, so the best answer choice is (C).

42. J There are transition words changing in the answer choices, but not punctuation, which will typically mean ACT is testing direction. Make sure you read enough to get the proper context! The two ideas we have to connect are The Divine Comedy wasn’t written in Latin and it was considered a comedy. The sentence prior to this says the label of “comedy” was attached to any work not written in Latin, so you’re going to need a same-direction transition—eliminate (F). (G), (H), and (J) are all same-direction transitions, but (G) and (H) have the relationship wrong—The Divine Comedy wasn’t written in Latin as a result of being considered a comedy; it was the other way around. Note that in this case, (G) and (H) are “same” answer choices: since and because mean the exact same thing in this context, which means one cannot be more correct than the other; therefore, you cannot select either one.

43. C The answer choices all feature different transition words, but there’s some punctuation changing as well. In fact, three of the answer choices use a comma and one doesn’t—start there. In this instance, and causes an error, so eliminate (B). All the other answer choices end in a comma, which means the phrase in defiance of the common beliefs of his time is unnecessary since it’s set off by a pair of commas—it may help to cross it out or simply ignore it to help answer the question. Without the unnecessary phrase (and its commas), the sentence now reads Dante’s brave decision, while demonstrated that it was not necessary for a literary masterpiece to be written in Latin, paved the way for future writers and readers alike. That’s not correct, so eliminate (A), and substituting so that for while doesn’t help either—eliminate (D). That leaves answer choice (C), which as the correct answer.

44. J You have the option to DELETE the underlined portion, so try that first. You’re left with a complete sentence, so it’s at least possible to take out that word without creating an error. However, notice that the other choices are all transition words, so it may be a good idea to assess whether a transition is needed here. The prior sentence (now) reads Dante’s brave decision, which, in defiance of the common beliefs of his time, demonstrated that it was not necessary for a literary masterpiece to be written in Latin, paved the way for future writers and readers alike, and then you have The Divine Comedy remains a symbol of both literature and innovation today. No transition is really needed here, and even if one were, it wouldn’t be an opposite-direction one, as are (F), (G), and (H).

Passage IV

45. B The answer choices are all different arrangements of the same three modifying phrases. On the ACT, (and in good writing in general), a modifying phrase must be placed next to the thing it’s modifying. In this case, the words right before the underlined portion are We would sit, and the phrase that most directly modifies that is on the couch, so the correct answer choice must start with that phrase. Only (B) matches that description.

46. H You have possessive pronouns changing in the answer choices, so to choose the correct one, you’ll need to find the context in the non-underlined part of the passage. The answers being called out belong to the narrator and her grandmother, and since the passage is written in the first person, you need to use our, answer choice (H). If you’re still unsure, notice that using our is consistent with the following sentence: When our answers were right….

47. A You need to find the answer choice that is NOT a suitable replacement for the correctly-written underlined portion in the passage. The answer choices all have Stop and Go punctuation changing after the word excitement, so you should check for Complete/Incomplete on either side. Notice the sentence as written uses Stop punctuation (comma + FANBOYS), so you know the two ideas are complete. (B) and (C) both use different forms of Stop punctuation, and so can be used as replacements, and (D), even though it uses Go punctuation, inserts the word or into the second idea, making it incomplete, and so is also correct. What can NOT be used as a replacement is (A), which uses a comma to separate two complete ideas.

48. J The first decision to make here is whether you need regular or regularly. The verb watch is being modified, so you need the adverb regularly—eliminate (F) and (G). (H) is incorrect because it uses the correct adverb but the wrong conjunction—the narrator and her grandmother don’t watch the shows as regularly as they did prior to school starting.

49. A The sentence That was okay with me, though, because the one thing I liked better than watching game shows with my grandmother was helping her bake introduces the main idea of the essay, and so serves as a transition between the discussion of the two activities the narrator enjoys with her grandmother. That’s not unnecessary or detracting information as in (B), and (C) and (D) can be eliminated because they only talk about watching television.

50. J You need to find the answer choice that is NOT a suitable replacement for the correctly-written underlined portion in the passage. (F), (G), and (H) all keep the original meaning of the sentence, but help along has a different meaning, and help along the easy parts doesn’t really make sense; therefore (J) is NOT a suitable replacement.

51. C (C) describes the narrator as awed and eager to taste, which accomplishes both tasks: expressing both respect and enjoyment. (A) and (D) express lack of understanding and confusion, and (B) talks about homework.

52. J The three sentences describe a progression in the amount of help the narrator was allowed to give her grandmother in the kitchen: At first she only sat and watched (sentence 2). As [she] got older, she helped with the easier tasks (sentence 1). Finally, she reaches the pinnacle of success when she gets to separate the eggs (sentence 3).

53. D Whenever DELETE is an option, you should try that first. In this case, taking out because I didn’t need someone to keep an eye on me anymore does not create an error or change the meaning; in fact, it gets rid of redundancy because the narrator has already said my parents decided that I could take care of myself. (B) and (C) are both redundant and wordy as well—pick (D).

54. G You need to find the answer choice that is NOT a suitable replacement for the correctly-written underlined portion in the passage. (F), (H), and (J) can all be used in place of burned in this context, but (G), burnted, far from being a replacement, can NOT be used—it’s not even a word.

55. C The answer choices all have different pairs of words; notice the second word in each is a preposition. When you see prepositions changing, that’s a good sign that ACT may be testing idioms. In this case, in order to express the idea of “attempted something for the first time,” you need to use tried out, answer choice (C).

56. H You need to find the answer choice that is NOT a suitable replacement for the correctly-written underlined portion in the passage. Notice the answer choices all have different pairs of words, and the second word in each is a preposition: That’s a good sign that ACT is testing idioms. In the context of the sentence, flipped through means, “quickly read the contents of a book.” (F), (G), and (J) all convey that same meaning, but tossed out in (H) would imply she threw the book away, and so can NOT be used as a replacement.

57. C The answer choices all have Stop and Go punctuation changing after the same word: voice. Check for Complete/Incomplete on both sides. As I flipped through the pages, I thought for a moment I could hear her voice is complete, as is although she’s gone, I know that in the way that matters most, she’ll never really be gone at all. You need to use Stop punctuation to separate two complete ideas—eliminate (A) and (D). (B) is incorrect because the transition word but makes the second idea incomplete, so you can’t use it with a semicolon.

58. H When you see pronouns changing in the answer choice, find the noun that’s being replaced: She (referring to the narrator’s grandmother). Eliminate (F) because you can’t use which to refer a person. (J) is the possessive pronoun whose, so look at the word that follows it; only nouns can be possessed. You can’t possess taught, so eliminate (J). In this case, the pronoun is the subject of the verb taught, so you need who—answer choice (H).

59. D The main focus of the passage isn’t baking; it’s the relationship between the narrator and her grandmother—eliminate (A). (B) and (C) have the same problem. (D) is the only answer choice that mentions the narrator’s grandmother.

60. H This sentence doesn’t fit in the narrative of either paragraph 1 or 2, so eliminate (F) and (G). It should also come before the narrator says Although she’s gone so that it’s clear to the reader that her grandmother has passed away—(H) is the better answer choice for that reason.

Passage V

61. D You have helping verbs changing in the answer choices, and recall the helping verbs need to agree with the subject, just like regular verbs. In this case, the subject of the sentence is relationship, which is singular, so eliminate (A), which is plural. (B) is an incorrect construction: It’s “should have,” not “should of.” (C) makes the sentence seem to imply that the relationship was only complicated in the past, and isn’t anymore, but there’s no support for the latter in the passage. (D) is the best answer choice: The relationship has always been complicated.

62. G The answer choices are all similar-sounding, so your ear isn’t going to help much on this question. Expand out (F)—it means “they are,” which doesn’t make sense here. You need a word that shows the buffalo was the favored animal of the tribes, and in this context, that’s the possessive pronoun their, answer choice (G).

63. A The passage says the hunts were carried out according to such strict rules…the hunt seemed more like a religious ritual. When you use the word such in this context, you have to pair it with that, answer choice (A). If you chose (D), you may have misunderstood the relationship; the rules weren’t strict as a result of the hunts seeming like a religious ritual—it’s the other way around.

64. J You need to choose an answer choice that makes a clear allusion to a story later in the essay. The only answer choice that even mentions a story is (J): folklore and stories relating to humans’ relationship with animals.

65. C You need to find the answer choice that is NOT a suitable replacement for the correctly-written underlined portion in the passage. (A), (B), and (D) all mean the same thing as the underlined word, stories. Narrator does NOT mean the same thing—it refers to someone who tells stories—so (C) is the correct choice.

66. G You have three answer choices with regularly and one with regular, so check that one first. You need an adverb to modify the verb interact, so eliminate (H). In both (A) and (C), the verb interact has no subject, so eliminate them—(G), which joins the two verbs live and interact with and, giving them both a subject, is correct.

67. D The answer choices all have Stop (comma + FANBOYS) and Go punctuation changing after the same word: world, so check for Complete/Incomplete on either side. Human-rat coexistence may be common all around the world is complete, and so is the part after the underlined portion: different cultures respond to that closeness in different ways. (A) has Go punctuation and adds with, which makes the second idea incomplete, but also doesn’t make sense. (B) joins two complete ideas with a comma—eliminate it. (C) has the FANBOYS conjunction you’re looking for, but like (A), adds with, which makes no sense. (D) is the best answer choice—it uses Stop punctuation to separate the two complete ideas.

68. F All four answer choices say the same thing in slightly different ways, and none contains a grammatical error. Therefore, pick the one that is the most concise: (F), NO CHANGE.

69. B The answer choices mostly have commas changing around, but one uses a colon, so start there. The colon follows a complete idea, They don’t, which is proper, but what follows the colon is not a list, definition, or expansion of that idea (not to mention it’s an extremely awkward construction), so eliminate (B). To choose the correct comma placement, remember your comma rules: at least not directly is unnecessary information, so you need to set it off with commas—the only answer choice that does that is (B).

70. H In the end of the sentence you have the statement rats cause such a problem that a town has to hire a piper to call them all away and you need to find the word to describe how rats have been portrayed that agrees with that most closely. (H), negative, agrees with the notion of the rats being a problem better than different, mystical, or juvenile.

71. B Aside from being the most concise, (B) avoids the problems found in the other choices. Remember, there’s no slang on the ACT! (A) and (C) are too informal, besides being far too wordy. (D) might be tempting, but it’s not concise as well as being a bit too strong; remember the author has already told you different cultures respond to that [human-rat] closeness in different ways, so an example of one of those ways shouldn’t really shock you.

72. F The correct answer choice has to provide a physical detail about rats, so (G) and (H) can be eliminated—neither of those is a physical detail. (J) certainly is a physical characteristic, but probably has less to do with the rat’s association with teeth than a description of the rat’s very strong teeth.

73. A The underlined portion introduces a new paragraph and the sentence attitude toward the rat can be seen in the Chinese zodiac. (B) and (C) cause redundancy in the sentence: The phrase Chinese zodiac already tells you you’re talking about mysticism in China. (D) is temptingly concise, but the pronoun their has no noun to refer to, so you can’t use it. (A) is the best answer since it both makes sense in the sentence and acts as an effective transition to the new paragraph after the discussion of a different example of people’s attitude toward rats in the previous paragraph.

74. H Remember your comma rules here: This isn’t a list, introductory idea, or unnecessary information, so there’s really no reason to use a comma between any of the underlined words—eliminate (F), (G), and (J); the only choice you have is (H).

75. C If you want to divide the last paragraph into two based on a non-cultural frame of reference, you’ll need to begin after the rat’s description based on the Chinese zodiac—eliminate (A) and (B). The most logical place to begin the new paragraph, then, is (C), which begins talking about the rat’s cleverness.