Modifiers

1. Despite being cheap, versatile, and easy to produce, ______ they are made from nonrenewable petroleum,
and most do not biodegrade in landfills.

A. there are two problems associated with commercial plastics:

B. two problems are associated with commercial plastics:
C. commercial plastics’ two associated problems are that
D. commercial plastics have two associated problems:

2. On April 5, 1977, Kitty Cone and 150 other disability rights activists entered a San Francisco federal
building. After pleading for years—to no effect—for the passage of key antidiscrimination legislation, ______
until their demands were addressed. Finally, on April 28, the legislation was signed.

A. pressure on lawmakers increased when the activists staged a sit-in protest

B. a sit-in protest staged by the activists increased pressure on lawmakers
C. lawmakers came under increased pressure when the activists staged a sit-in protest
D. the activists increased pressure on lawmakers by staging a sit-in protest

3. Entomologists Yash Sondhi and Samuel Fabian have tried to explain why moths fly erratically around light
sources at night. Knowing that flying insects keep their backs pointed toward sunlight during the day, ______

A. the researchers theorize that moths, mistaking nighttime lights for the Sun, continually try to reorient their
bodies while flying near such lights.
B. the researchers’ theory is that moths mistake nighttime lights for the Sun, continually trying to reorient
their bodies while flying near such lights.
C. moths mistake nighttime lights for the Sun and continually try to reorient their bodies while flying near
such lights, the researchers theorize.
D. moths continually try to reorient their bodies while flying near nighttime lights, the researchers theorize,
mistaking such lights for the Sun.

4. Rabinal Achí is a precolonial Maya dance drama performed annually in Rabinal, a town in the Guatemalan
highlands. Based on events that occurred when Rabinal was a city-state ruled by a king, ______ had once
been an ally of the king but was later captured while leading an invading force against him.

A. Rabinal Achí tells the story of K’iche’ Achí, a military leader who
B. K’iche’ Achí, the military leader in the story of Rabinal Achí,
C. the military leader whose story is told in Rabinal Achí, K’iche’ Achí,
D. there was a military leader, K’iche’ Achí, who in Rabinal Achí

5. In assessing the films of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, ______ have missed his equally deep
engagement with Japanese artistic traditions such as Noh theater.

A. many critics have focused on Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources but
B. Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources has been the focus of many critics, who
C. there are many critics who have focused on Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources, but they
D. the focus of many critics has been on Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources; they
Modifiers

6. Known as Earth’s “living skin,” biocrusts are thin layers of soil held together by surface-dwelling
microorganisms such as fungi, lichens, and cyanobacteria. Fortifying soil in arid ecosystems against erosion,
______

A. a recent study’s estimate is that these crusts reduce global dust emissions by 60 percent each year.
B. an estimated 60 percent reduction in global dust emissions each year is due to these crusts, according to a
recent study.
C. these crusts reduce global dust emissions by an estimated 60 percent each year, according to a recent
study.
D. a recent study has estimated that these crusts reduce global dust emissions by 60 percent each year.

7. Based on genetic evidence, archaeologists have generally agreed that reindeer domestication began in the
eleventh century CE. However, since uncovering fragments of a 2,000-year-old reindeer training harness in
northern Siberia, ______ may have begun much earlier.

A. researcher Robert Losey has argued that domestication

B. researcher Robert Losey’s argument is that domestication
C. domestication, researcher Robert Losey has argued,
D. the argument researcher Robert Losey has made is that domestication

8. Woven from recycled yarn and hand tufted using a carpet weaving technique passed down by the artist’s
Turkish grandmother, ______ so lush and tactilely inviting that you are tempted to reach out and touch them.

A. the topological tapestries of Argentine textile artist Alexandra Kehayoglou are

B. the Argentine textile artist Alexandra Kehayoglou creates topological tapestries that are
C. when she creates her topological tapestries, Argentine textile artist Alexandra Kehayoglou makes them
D. Alexandra Kehayoglou is an Argentine textile artist whose topological tapestries are

9. Wanting to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Alaska Purchase, ______ up with a motto that best
captured the state’s unique character. The commission selected “North to the Future,” submitted by Juneau
journalist Richard Peter, as its winning entry.

A. a contest sponsored by the Alaska Centennial Commission would award $300 to individuasl who come
B. an award of $300 would go to an individual in a contest sponsored by the Alaska Centennial Commission
for coming
C. $300 would be awarded to an individual by the Alaska Centennial Commission in a contest for coming
D. the Alaska Centennial Commission sponsored a contest that would award $300 to an individual who came

10. African American Percy Julian was a scientist and entrepreneur whose work helped people around the
world to see. Named in 1999 as one of the greatest achievements by a US chemist in the past hundred years,
______ led to the first mass-produced treatment for glaucoma.

A. Julian synthesized the alkaloid physostigmine in 1935; it

B. in 1935 Julian synthesized the alkaloid physostigmine, which
C. Julian’s 1935 synthesis of the alkaloid physostigmine
D. the alkaloid physostigmine was synthesized by Julian in 1935 and
Modifiers

11. Far from being modern inventions, ______ more than 5,000 years ago.

A. Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia used drinking straws

B. drinking straws were used by Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia
C. the use of drinking straws by Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia happened
D. ancient Mesopotamia was home to Sumerians who used drinking straws

12. In the canon of North African literature, Moroccan author Driss Chraïbi’s 1954 novel The Simple Past (Le
Passé simple) looms large. A coming-of-age story, a social meditation, and a sober gaze into the dark maw of
French colonialism, ______ interrogates systemic power with memorable intensity.

A. Morocco gained its independence two years before the publication of Chraïbi’s debut novel, which
B. Chraïbi’s debut novel, published two years before Morocco gained its independence,
C. Chraïbi wrote a debut novel that, published two years before Morocco gained its independence,
D. published two years before Morocco gained its independence, Chraïbi wrote a debut novel that

13. Compared to that of alumina glass, ______ silica glass atoms are so far apart that they are unable to re-
form bonds after being separated.

A. silica glass is at a significant disadvantage due to its more dispersed atomic arrangement:
B. silica glass has a more dispersed atomic arrangement, resulting in a significant disadvantage:
C. a significant disadvantage of silica glass is that its atomic arrangement is more dispersed:
D. silica glass’s atomic arrangement is more dispersed, resulting in a significant disadvantage:

14. In 2016, engineer Vanessa Galvez oversaw the installation of 164 bioswales, vegetated channels designed
to absorb and divert stormwater, along the streets of Queens, New York. By reducing the runoff flowing into
city sewers, ______

A. the mitigation of both street flooding and the resulting pollution of nearby waterways has been achieved
by bioswales.
B. the bioswales have mitigated both street flooding and the resulting pollution of nearby waterways.
C. the bioswales’ mitigation of both street flooding and the resulting pollution has been achieved.
D. both street flooding and the resulting pollution of nearby waterways have been mitigated by bioswales.

15. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, automobiles were commonly referred to as horseless
carriages after the older technology they still resembled. Known as the Brass Era, this period in automotive
design is remembered for its grandeur and artistry, its vehicles ______ by collectors for their ornate detailing
and gleaming brass fittings.

A. are highly prized

B. had been highly prized
C. highly prized
D. were highly prized

16. A government body officially known as the Althing, ______

A. the world’s oldest parliaments include one which first met in 930 CE, Iceland’s.
B. Iceland’s parliament is one of the oldest in the world, first meeting in 930 CE.
C. the first meeting of one of the oldest parliaments in the world, Iceland’s, was in 930 CE.
D. 930 CE was the year when Iceland’s parliament, one of the oldest parliaments in the world, first met.
Modifiers

17. Nuhād al-Ḥaddād, known as Fairuz, was one of the most beloved Lebanese singers of the twentieth
century. Her broad singing repertoire—which included traditional forms, such as the Arabic qasida and
maqam, alongside modern pop and jazz styles—lent Fairuz a timeless, cross-generational appeal, ______ her
the moniker “the soul of Lebanon.”

A. earned
B. had earned
C. earning
D. earn

18. In 2015, a team led by materials scientists Anirudha Sumant and Diana Berman succeeded in reducing the
coefficient of friction (COF) between two surfaces to the lowest possible level—superlubricity. A nearly
frictionless (and, as its name suggests, extremely slippery) state, ______

A. when their COF drops below 0.01, two surfaces reach superlubricity.
B. two surfaces, when their COF drops below 0.01, reach superlubricity.
C. reaching superlubricity occurs when two surfaces’ COF drops below 0.01.
D. superlubricity is reached when two surfaces’ COF drops below 0.01.

19. In 1453, English King Henry VI became unfit to rule after falling gravely ill. As a result, Parliament
appointed Richard, Third Duke of York, who had a strong claim to the English throne, to rule as Lord Protector.
Upon recovering two years later, ______ forcing an angered Richard from the royal court and precipitating a
series of battles later known as the Wars of the Roses.

A. Henry resumed his reign,

B. the reign of Henry resumed,
C. Henry’s reign resumed,
D. it was Henry who resumed his reign,

20. A pioneer in the field of taphonomy (the study of how organic remains become fossils), ______ may be
just as prevalent in the fossil record as those of thick-shelled organisms.

A. fossils of thin-shelled organisms, Anna Behrensmeyer demonstrated in a 2005 analysis,

B. Anna Behrensmeyer demonstrated in a 2005 analysis that fossils of thin-shelled organisms
C. it was demonstrated in a 2005 analysis by Anna Behrensmeyer that fossils of thin-shelled organisms
D. a 2005 analysis—by Anna Behrensmeyer—demonstrated that fossils of thin-shelled organisms

21. One of the few African American global explorers during the turn of the 20th century, ______

A. Matthew Henson made several treks across Greenland between 1891 and 1909.
B. 1891 and 1909 were the years between which Matthew Henson made several treks across Greenland.
C. Greenland was where Matthew Henson made several treks between 1891 and 1909.
D. several treks across Greenland were made by Matthew Henson between 1891 and 1909.