Deck 23: Revising for Language Awareness

Question 1

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the answer that correctly identifies the underlined portion of the sentence as wordy or trite. When you look at the sky on a clear night, you will not see the exact same sky that the ancient Greeks saw thousands of years ago when they looked at the night sky .

A) wordy
B) trite

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the answer that correctly identifies the underlined portion of the sentence as wordy or trite. There are billions of stars in each galaxy, and there are billions of galaxies in the universe. Stars are bodies of gas that range in size, weight, and temperature, and can be hot or cold .

A) wordy
B) trite

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Instructions: Select the sentence that contains concise, fresh language. Which sentence contains concise, fresh language?

A) The truth is that when it comes to electronic equipment, Toby is as sharp as a tack.
B) Toby knows a great deal about electronic equipment.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the answer that correctly identifies the underlined portion of the sentence as wordy or trite. Ancient people believed that stars were motionless, that they did not move .

A) wordy
B) trite

Question 5

Instructions: In each of the sentences below, select the letter for the word that most exactly and vividly completes the sentence. The driving hail ____ our faces as we ran for the car.

A) was on
B) hit
C) stung

Question 6

Instructions: Select the sentence that contains concise, fresh language. Which sentence contains concise, fresh language?

A) My mother teaches physics at the local college.
B) My maternal parent functions in the capacity of a professor of physics at the local college.

Question 7

Instructions: In each group below, select the letter of the sentence that uses concise, fresh, and exact language. Which sentence uses concise, fresh, and exact language?

A) Some emergency services personnel tended to the accident victims while others directed traffic.
B) The paramedics tended to the accident victims while the police officers directed traffic.
C) The paramedics treated the accident victims' injuries while police officers directed traffic around the crash.

Question 8

Instructions: In each of the sentences below, select the letter for the word that most exactly and vividly completes the sentence. After lying to his best friend about the business deal, James felt ____.

A) remorse
B) a kind of sadness
C) bad feelings

Question 9

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the answer that correctly identifies the underlined portion of the sentence as wordy or trite. The sun is an example of a medium heat, medium weight star. The hottest stars are blue in color , and the coolest stars are red.

A) wordy
B) trite

Question 10

Instructions: In each of the sentences below, select the letter for the word that most exactly and vividly completes the sentence. In her singing debut at Carnegie Hall, Constance gave a ____ performance.

A) good
B) stunning
C) superduper

Question 11

Instructions: In each of the sentences below, select the letter for the word that most exactly and vividly completes the sentence. Sam ____ on the sofa reading a murder mystery.

A) was
B) slouched
C) sat

Question 12

Instructions: Select the sentence that contains concise, fresh language. Which sentence contains concise, fresh language?

A) Elizabeth is at this very moment engaged in creating a work on canvas with paint.
B) Elizabeth is painting right now.

Question 13

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the answer that correctly identifies the underlined portion of the sentence as wordy or trite. Actually, the stars do move through space, but they are so far away that we cannot see the movement in our lifetimes. It's anyone's guess how many stars there are in the universe.

A) wordy
B) trite

Question 14

Instructions: Select the sentence that contains concise, fresh language. Which sentence contains concise, fresh language?

A) Shall we meet at that restaurant at the time we agreed on?
B) Shall we gather together at that eating establishment at the time at which we came to an agreement about?

Question 15

Instructions: Select the sentence that contains concise, fresh language. Which sentence contains concise, fresh language?

A) In Don's opinion, he thinks that the Royals of our fair city of Kansas City are a shoo-in to win the pennant, and I think he's right as rain.
B) Don thinks that the Kansas City Royals are sure to win the pennant, and I agree.

Question 16

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the answer that correctly identifies the underlined portion of the sentence as wordy or trite. Enormous stars, called red giants, can be fifty times more massive than the sun. The smallest stars, called white dwarfs, are small, usually no larger than Earth.

A) wordy
B) trite

Question 17

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the answer that correctly identifies the underlined portion of the sentence as wordy or trite. Clearly, then, stars are not cool and distant as they seem at first glance, but dynamic, evolving spheres of energy that never stop changing .

A) wordy
B) trite

Question 18

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the answer that correctly identifies the underlined portion of the sentence as wordy or trite. Stars glow like a light bulb , even from a distance, because of the nuclear fusion going on continually exploding in the star's center.

A) wordy
B) trite

Question 19

Instructions: In each group below, select the letter of the sentence that uses concise, fresh, and exact language. Which sentence uses concise, fresh, and exact language?

A) There were crumbs all over the keyboard.
B) There were cookie crumbs on the computer keyboard.
C) There were cookie crumbs stuck in the keys of the computer keyboard.

Question 20

Instructions: In each of the sentences below, select the letter for the word that most exactly and vividly completes the sentence. ____ boards make the porch dangerous.

A) Wooden
B) Rotting
C) Crummy

Question 21

Instructions: Select the sentence that uses concise, fresh, and exact language. Which sentence uses concise, fresh, and exact language?

A) We went to the post office, bought stamps, and left.
B) We walked to the post office, bought two rolls of stamps, and went home.
C) We went to the post office, bought two rolls of stamps, and left.

Question 22

Instructions: In each group below, select the letter of the sentence that uses concise, fresh, and exact language. Which sentence uses concise, fresh, and exact language?

A) On Thursday, nurses at Beth Israel Hospital met with administrators to request more vacation time.
B) The nurses asked the hospital administrators for more vacation time.
C) The nurses asked their bosses for more time off.

Question 23

Instructions: Select the sentence that uses concise, fresh, and exact language. Which sentence uses concise, fresh, and exact language?

A) I groove to the beat while I work out.
B) I play 70's disco songs on my iPod while I jog.
C) I listen to music while I exercise.

Question 24

Instructions: In each group below, select the letter of the sentence that uses concise, fresh, and exact language. Which sentence uses concise, fresh, and exact language?

A) On Saturdays, Faris completes his homework assignments and prepares for the next week's classes.
B) On Saturdays, Faris completes his assigned exercises and writing assignments and reads the chapters related to the next week's lessons.
C) On Saturdays, Faris completes his schoolwork.

Question 25

Instructions: Select the sentence that uses concise, fresh, and exact language. Which sentence uses concise, fresh, and exact language?

A) Chloe is a talented person.
B) Chloe is a talented person; she can play the violin, write poetry, and program computers.
C) Chloe has many skills.

Question 26

Instructions: In each group below, select the letter of the sentence that uses concise, fresh, and exact language. Which sentence uses concise, fresh, and exact language?

A) We boarded the shuttle that would take us to Charleston, South Carolina.
B) We boarded the shuttle, stowed our belongings in the overhead compartment, and prepared for our flight to Charleston, South Carolina.
C) We got on the plane and flew to South Carolina.

Question 27

Instructions: Select the sentence that uses concise, fresh, and exact language. Which sentence uses concise, fresh, and exact language?

A) The kitten sat on the arm of the couch.
B) The gray kitten perched on the arm of the couch.
C) The cat sat on the couch.

Question 28

Instructions: Select the sentence that uses concise, fresh, and exact language. Which sentence uses concise, fresh, and exact language?

A) Luis piled ripe mangoes, oranges, and bananas into the large red bowl.
B) Luis filled the bowl with mangoes, oranges, and bananas.
C) Luis filled the bowl with fruit.