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ACT: English Question #5 |
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The following paragraphs may or may not be in the most logical order. The numbers following each underlined segment refer to the question about that segment.
Ask people if they have ever heard, of vaudeville, and (1) most of them will have no idea what the word even means. However, around 100 years ago, vaudeville was the most popular form of entertainment in the United States. Between the years 1875 and 1932, it was vaudeville bringing laughter and joy throughout the country to millions of people. (2)
The fact that vaudeville had something for everyone led to its wonderful (3) appeal. The variety of the acts was (4) impressive. Each show featured jugglers, horseback riders, musicians, and puppeteers to entertain the crowd. The audience would laugh at the clowns and comedians, joining the singers in song, and in amazement of the magic tricks and acrobats. (5) Since acts like magic, mime, and dancing required little to no verbal communication or speaking, (6) many of the new immigrants to this country did not need to speak English to join in the fun. In addition, tickets to vaudeville shows were relatively inexpensive. Making (7) it possible for people with limited means to purchase them. Another reason for vaudeville's popularity was the family-oriented nature of the acts. (8) Vulgarity was not allowed, so when parents took their children, we could (9) enjoy the show without worrying about exposing them to improper language or behavior.
(10) The word vaudeville comes from the French phrase voix de ville, or "voices of the town." In France, people would gather in the valleys to amuse each other with song and dance. Gradually, vaudeville spread to America, into the saloons of the Wild West. There, performers delighted the audience with acts like singing and rope spinning. As the acts became more creative and diverse, they attracted a wider audience. When vaudeville reached its peak in the 1920's, there were over 600 theatres showcasing 60,000 acts.
Question:
Choose the choice that forms the most effective sentence. If the original is best, choose "NO CHANGE."
Choices:
Correct Answer: (B)
A. There is an error in the sentence as written. The three verbs in this sentence should have parallel structure. Eliminate.
B. The original sentence suffered from poor construction in that it lacked parallelism. The audience takes three basic actions in the sentence: laughing, joining, and watching. Notice how in this case, all of the verbs end in ing. That is an example of parallelism. The structure of each verb is parallel to the structure of the other verbs. This answer choice states that the audience would laugh, join, and watch. The verbs are all in the same tense, controlled by the helping verb would. This corrects the parallelism problem.
C. This is an improvement over the original, but it is still a poorly constructed sentence. Although laugh and join are parallel, being is not. Eliminate.
D. In addition to incorrectly changing would to would have indicating a conditional), this sentence lacks parallel structure. Eliminate.
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