Answer Key

Choose the best explanation...

You answered 0 of 5 questions correctly in this part of the test.

  1. "It is a sad but familiar story for many young people who have attended a university." There is no comma in this sentence because:  [The following information tells us which young people are meant.]
  2. "What follows could be just one more example of a story that is common enough." In this sentence "that": [Replaces story in the following clause.]
  3. "What follows could be just one more example of a story that is common enough." In this sentence "what": [Means "the thing or things that.”]
  4. "These young people, who were rather idealistic" Why is there a comma after people? [It separates an extra information clause.]
  5. One relative clause, "that were spoken there,” has a relative pronoun. The other, "said existed there,” does not need one. Why not?  [The relative pronoun can be dropped when it stands for a direct object.]
Are the following statements about the article correct?

You answered 0 of 5 questions correctly in this part of the test.

1.   The narrator thinks the young people behaved foolishly.That is correct.

2.   In this story Samarkand is a symbol, not a place.That is correct.

3.   It was not hard for the people in the story to find places to live.That is incorrect. Correct is: Look in the text to find out.

4.   The narrator thinks the story is common but significant.That is correct.

5.   The narrator takes sides in the quarrel she describes.That is incorrect. Correct is: Look in the text to find out.