1. Directions
Each passage in this section is accompanied by a number of questions. For some questions, you will consider how the passage might be revised to improve the expression of ideas. For other questions, you will consider how the passage might be edited to correct errors in sentence structure, usage, or punctuation. A passage or a question may be accompanied by one or more graphics (such as a table or graph) that you will consider as you make revising and editing decisions.
Some questions will direct you to an underlined portion of a passage. Other questions will direct you to a location in a passage or ask you to think about the passage as a whole.
A pair of brackets containing an uppercase Q and a number — for example, [Q1] — indicates that an associated question refers to that location in the passage or to the following underlined portion of the passage. The number in brackets is the number of the associated question. The bracketed element is hyperlinked to the associated question, and the question heading is hyperlinked back to the related location or portion of the passage.
There are two ways to follow a link. One is to move the flashing text cursor, or caret, into the hyperlinked text and press the Enter key; the other is to place the mouse cursor, or pointer, over the hyperlinked text and press Ctrl+leftclick (that is, press and release the left button on the mouse while holding down the Ctrl key on the keyboard).
After reading each passage, choose the answer to each question that most effectively improves the quality of writing in the passage or that makes the passage conform to the conventions of standard written English. Many questions include a “NO CHANGE” option. Choose that option if you think the best choice is to leave the relevant portion of the passage as it is.
In questions that ask you to consider potential revisions, the list of answer choices is followed by a presentation of each revision in context. A set of revisions in context is surrounded by “Begin skippable content” and “End skippable content” labels formatted as level6 headings. If a question includes a “NO CHANGE” option, that option in the skippable content will present the relevant context of the passage in its original form with the original underlined text. For the following options, the same context will be repeated with the underlined portion replaced by each revision to be considered.
Punctuation is essential to some questions in this test, so we suggest that you either activate the punctuationreading function of your software or utilize the characterbycharacter capabilities.
Questions 1 through 11 are based on the following passage.
Survival in the Hostile Environment of N W Rota1
Sixty miles north of Guam and more than 1,700 feet under the ocean’s surface is the summit of N W Rota1, an undersea volcano discovered in 2003. Surprisingly, the volcano appears to have been continuously active; it even grew 130 feet in height between 2006 and 2009. Yet despite the hostile environment created by the constant volcanic activity, life is thriving there. Special adaptations are the key to survival. At that depth, water pressure suppresses the explosive force of the volcano’s eruptions, allowing scientists to [Q1] watch and observe them up close via remotely operated vehicles. [Q2]
N W Rota1 is far below the ocean’s photic zone where sunlight drives photosynthesis; [Q3] nevertheless, bacteria supporting a unique food web have adapted to this perpetually dark environment. The bacteria have evolved to use hydrogen sulfide instead of sunlight for the energy that drives their metabolic processes, and hydrothermal venting is the source of the chemical soup necessary to support [Q4] him or her. Seawater seeping into fissures in the ocean floor is heated by underlying magma, and the heat drives chemical reactions that remove oxygen, sulfates, [Q5] and remove other chemicals from the water. Once the superheated water (up to 750 degrees Fahrenheit) rises through vents in the ocean floor, additional reactions cause minerals and compounds to precipitate onto the seafloor, where bacteria feed on them.
Loihi shrimp—originally thought to exist only around an undersea volcano near [Q6] Hawaii, survive by using tiny, shearlike claws to harvest rapidly growing bacterial filaments covering rocks near N W Rota1’s hydrothermal vents. The Loihi shrimp spend most of their time grazing on the bacteria and evading another, previously unknown, species of shrimp. Shrimp of that species also graze on bacterial filaments as juveniles, [Q7] resulting from their ability to cope with the noxious environment around the volcano. They feed on the Loihi shrimp and other organisms that are overcome by the toxic plumes of volcanic gas and ash.
During an underwater eruption, steam quickly [Q8] condenses. The steam leaves only carbon dioxide bubbles and droplets of molten sulfur. This means that the water near N W Rota1 is more acidic than [Q9] that of stomach acid, presenting yet another challenge to lifeforms living nearby. As the carbon dioxide level in Earth’s atmosphere rises, the [Q10] worlds’ ocean’s absorb more carbon [Q11] dioxide. Organisms flourishing near the volcano may help biologists understand how life adjusts to very acidic conditions. In addition, N W Rota1 is a natural laboratory where scientists can study conditions that may be similar to those that gave rise to life on Earth and perhaps even other worlds.
Question 1.
Answer choices in context:
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A. At that depth, water pressure suppresses the explosive force of the volcano’s eruptions, allowing scientists to watch and observe them up close via remotely operated vehicles.
B. At that depth, water pressure suppresses the explosive force of the volcano’s eruptions, allowing scientists to watch them up close via remotely operated vehicles.
C. At that depth, water pressure suppresses the explosive force of the volcano’s eruptions, allowing scientists to observe to see them up close via remotely operated vehicles.
D. At that depth, water pressure suppresses the explosive force of the volcano’s eruptions, allowing scientists to visually watch them up close via remotely operated vehicles.
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