Question 1

Choose the answer which best rewords the italicized portion. If you think the original wording is best, choose option A. "It was the precursor to the eventual constitutional amendment ratified two years later."

Accepted Answer

The best choice is "precursor"
"Precursor" is a noun that means something that comes before someone or something. "Starting," "forefront" and "catalyst" are also nouns, but they do not fit based on the context. Since the resolution came before the constitutional amendment, it was a precursor to the amendment.

Question 2

Choose the answer which best rewords the italicized portion. If you think the original wording is best, choose option A. "She attended public schools in Montana, and graduated from the University of Montana at Missoula in 1902 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology."

Accepted Answer

The best choice is "She attended public schools in Montana and"
Generally, commas are used before coordinating clauses such as "and" in sentences with two independent clauses. Periods and semicolons are inappropriate types of punctuation to use with this sentence. Since the clause after "and" cannot stand alone as a sentence, no punctuation is needed before the conjunction. If the second clause was "...and she graduated...." then Choice A would be correct. However, without a subject in the second clause, it cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and is thus not an independent clause. Therefore, the comma is not to be used.

Question 3

Choose the answer which best rewords the italicized portion. If you think the original wording is best, choose option A. "Although water covers approximately sixty-seven percent of the Earth's surface, less than three percent is fresh water."

Accepted Answer

The best choice is "Earth's surface, less than three percent"
Commas can be used between with two dependent clauses such as the ones ending with "surface" and beginning with "less." Colons, periods, and semicolons are inappropriate types of punctuation to use with this sentence.

Question 4

Choose the answer which best rewords the italicized portion. If you think the original wording is best, choose option A. "Some people thought that her campaign would sour the fight for women's voting rights."

Accepted Answer

The best choice is "hurt"
"Sour" is most associated with "taste," but can mean something that becomes bitter or unpleasant. "Excite" and "strengthen" have opposite connotations. "Hurt," which can mean to damage or to cause adverse affects, conveys a more appropriate meaning in context with the other words in the sentence.

Question 5

Choose the answer which best rewords the italicized portion. If you think the original wording is best, choose option A. "In the past, residents used the wood for cooking and heating, but recently, they have began to sell it in order to support their livelihoods."

Accepted Answer

The best choice is "heating. Recently, they have begun selling it"
"Began" is a past tense form of "begin." "Begun" is the past particle form of the verb. Joined with the auxiliary verb "have," it indicates something has happened for an unspecified time before the present and will continue to happen.

Question 6

Which course of action most improves the following sentence? "Neither side was completely happy with the mediator's judgment, but they agreed to abide by it nonetheless."

Accepted Answer

The sentence is most improved by changing mediator to arbitrator. A mediator facilitates negotiations but has no power to force an agreement. An arbitrator acts as a judge and is responsible for determining the final outcome.

Question 7

Choose the answer which best rewords the italicized portion. If you think the original wording is best, choose option A. "A key feature of the plan focused on protecting the monarch butterflies' habitat."

Accepted Answer

The best choice is "The plan focused"
Wordy phrases can affect a sentence's clarity. "Key features" and "focused" convey similar meanings. Since the subject is "plan" and the verb is "focused," setting aside the phrase "A key feature of" will strengthen the sentence.

Question 8

Which section of the following passage needs to be edited for incorrect spelling, incorrect grammar, inappropriate word choice or wordiness? "The boy is the spitting image of his father, differing with him only in height and the depth of his voice."

Accepted Answer

Corrected version: of his father, differing from him
Differing with should be changed to differing from. To differ with someone is to disagree with them, over politics for example. To differ from someone is simply to be different in a specific way. Different than, although commonly used in speech, is never correct in written English.

Question 9

Which course of action most improves the following sentence? "During the primaries, all three Democratic candidates levied serious allegations against each other, only to retract them during the general election."

Accepted Answer

The sentence is most improved by using the word levied instead of leveled. Taxes and fines are levied against a person. Level means to take aim and can be used figuratively like in the sentence above.

Question 10

Which course of action most improves the following sentence? "Tom Brady is one of the NFL quarterbacks who has won more than one Super Bowl."

Accepted Answer

The sentence is most improved by substituting have for has. Think of it this way; Tom Brady is a member of a group, the group of quarterbacks who have won more than one Super Bowl.

Question 11

Which course of action most improves the following sentence? "There is a huge amount of people flying in and out of Heathrow Airport every day."

Accepted Answer

The sentence is most improved by changing amount to number. The word amount is usually reserved for uncountable quantities, like water or milk. Since people can be counted, we refer to the number of them.

Question 12

Which course of action most improves the following sentence? "Some people have called for an end to the US boycott of Cuban goods."

Accepted Answer

The sentence is most improved by changing boycott to embargo. Consumers who choose not to buy a product are boycotting it; governments that forbid trade have placed an embargo on another country. Both actions inhibit trade.

Question 13

Choose the answer which best rewords the italicized portion. If you think the original wording is best, choose option A. "He does face opposition from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces since they have put limitations on the authority of the president and other elected officials."

Accepted Answer

The best choice is "it has"
Since there is one Supreme Council of the Armed Force, the singular pronoun "it" is the appropriate form to use in this sentence. The verb "has" agrees with the subject "it."

Question 14

Choose the answer which best rewords the italicized portion. If you think the original wording is best, choose option A. "Because of the preemptive strike, Japan was able to carry out its plans for Southwest Asia and the Indonesian Archipelago."

Accepted Answer

The best choice is "Because of the preemptive strike"
The adverbial clause "Because of the preemptive strike" tells why Japan was able to carry out its plans. The other answer choices do not properly complete the sentence.

Question 15

Choose the answer which best rewords the italicized portion. If you think the original wording is best, choose option A. "They believe labeling will drive food costs and will confuse consumers."

Accepted Answer

The best choice is "increase"
"Drive" can mean to direct in a particular direction. One of the meanings of "hamper" is to "hold back," which is inappropriate based on the context of the passage. "Enforce" implies that the law will apply to food cost. "Increase" fits best within the sentence because it means to "expand or make larger."

Question 16

Choose the answer which best rewords the italicized portion. If you think the original wording is best, choose option A. "The oil embargo caused the most resentment, among the Japanese, because Japan did not have any oil of its own. Japan wanted freedom from its dependency on the United States."

Accepted Answer

The best choice is "resentment among the Japanese because"
Commas can separate parenthetical expressions (nonessential words or phrases) in a sentence. "Among the Japanese" is significant because it describes who resented the United States and why. Therefore, no punctuation is necessary to separate the phrase from the rest of the sentence.

Question 17

Choose the answer which best rewords the italicized portion. If you think the original wording is best, choose option A. "The North Vietnamese and supportive rebel communists in South Vietnam, called the Viet Cong, started fighting."

Accepted Answer

The best choice is "Vietnam, called the Viet Cong, started"
The words "called the Viet Cong" from an appositive because they identify the rebel communists. Appositives are set off by commas. The dash, colon, and semicolon are not appropriate within the context of this sentence.

Question 18

Choose the answer which best rewords the italicized portion. If you think the original wording is best, choose option A. "France colonized the country Vietnam in the mid-19th century."

Accepted Answer

The best choice is "Vietnam"
"Vietnam" and "the country" refer to the same noun. Omitting "the country" does not change the sentence's meaning. A comma is unnecessary after "Vietnam."

Question 19

Choose the answer which best rewords the italicized portion. If you think the original wording is best, choose option A. "Despite the support of the United States, the Vietnamese was able to defeat France in 1954."

Accepted Answer

The best choice is "were"
"Was" is inconsistent with the plural noun "Vietnamese." "Where" indicates location and "will" does not fit within the context of the sentence." "Were" is consistent with "Vietnamese."

Question 20

Choose the answer which best rewords the italicized portion. If you think the original wording is best, choose option A. "In 1969, the United Nations reported that there was a possibility of large oil reserves in the East China Sea near the islands location."

Accepted Answer

The best choice is "islands'"
An apostrophe can show the possessive case of nouns by using an apostrophe and s. An apostrophe after the s can indicate a plural noun or a noun that ends in s.Since the passage refers to more than one island, the plural form of the word should have an apostrophe after s.

Quiz 3: GED: Writing