import { type PracticeQuestion } from "../../types/lesson";

export const FORM_STRUCTURE_EASY: PracticeQuestion[] = [
  {
    id: "0ff8477b",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Food and the sensation of taste are central to Monique Truong’s novels. In The Book of Salt, for example, the exiled character of Bình connects to his native Saigon through the food he prepares, while in Bitter in the Mouth, the character of Linda ______blank a form of synesthesia whereby the words she hears evoke tastes.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "experienced" },
      { label: "B", text: "had experienced" },
      { label: "C", text: "experiences" },
      { label: "D", text: "will be experiencing" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      "Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verbs to express tense. In this choice, the present tense verb “experiences” is consistent with the other present tense verbs (e.g., “connects” and “prepares”) used to describe the events in Truong’s novels. Furthermore, it’s conventional to use the present tense when discussing a literary work. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the past tense verb “experienced” isn’t consistent with the other present tense verbs used to describe the events in Truong’s novels. Choice B is incorrect because the past perfect tense verb “had experienced” isn’t consistent with the other present tense verbs used to describe the events in Truong’s novels. Choice D is incorrect because the future progressive tense verb “will be experiencing” isn’t consistent with the other present tense verbs used to describe the events in Truong’s novels.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "12bd5b75",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>With its towering, six-spired exterior of granitelike quartz monzonite, the Salt Lake Temple is one of the most instantly recognizable structures in the state of Utah. However, many people do not know that ______blank built over the course of forty years, with construction beginning in 1853 and ending in 1893.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "it was" },
      { label: "B", text: "one was" },
      { label: "C", text: "they were" },
      { label: "D", text: "both were" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      'Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is pronoun-antecedent agreement. The singular pronoun "it" agrees in number with the singular antecedent "the Salt Lake Temple."<br>Choice B is incorrect because the singular pronoun "one" is ambiguous in this context; the resulting sentence leaves unclear whether there is only one Salt Lake temple or multiple. Choice C is incorrect because the plural pronoun "they" doesn’t agree in number with the singular antecedent "the Salt Lake Temple." Choice D is incorrect because the plural pronoun "both" doesn’t agree in number with the singular antecedent "the Salt Lake Temple."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "15d6d837",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Literary agents estimate that more than half of all nonfiction books credited to a celebrity or other public figure are in fact written by ghostwriters, professional authors who are paid to write other ______blank but whose names never appear on book covers.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "people’s stories" },
      { label: "B", text: "peoples story’s" },
      { label: "C", text: "peoples stories" },
      { label: "D", text: "people’s story’s" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of plural and possessive nouns. The plural possessive noun “people’s” and the plural noun “stories” correctly indicate that there are multiple stories from multiple people. <br>Choice B is incorrect because the context requires the plural possessive noun “people’s” and the plural noun “stories,” not the plural noun “peoples” and the singular possessive noun “story’s.” Choice C is incorrect because the context requires the plural possessive noun “people’s,” not the plural noun “peoples.” Choice D is incorrect because the context requires the plural noun “stories,” not the singular possessive noun “story’s.”",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "166efaa2",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Public-awareness campaigns about the need to reduce single-use plastics can be successful, says researcher Kim Borg of Monash University in Australia, when these campaigns give consumers a choice: for example, Japan achieved a 40 percent reduction in plastic-bag use after cashiers were instructed to ask customers whether ______blank wanted a bag.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "they" },
      { label: "B", text: "one" },
      { label: "C", text: "you" },
      { label: "D", text: "it" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is pronoun–antecedent agreement. The plural pronoun “they” agrees in number with the plural antecedent “customers.” <br>Choice B is incorrect because the singular pronoun “one” doesn’t agree in number with the plural antecedent “customers.” Choice C is incorrect because the second person pronoun “you” isn’t conventional as a substitute for “customers.” It suggests that the audience (“you”) is the customer. Choice D is incorrect because the singular pronoun “it” doesn’t agree in number with the plural antecedent “customers.”",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "175df826",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In the 2011 documentary The Barber of Birmingham, civil rights activist James Armstrong recounts how his barbershop in Birmingham, Alabama, ______blank as a political hub for members of the Black community during the 1950s.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "serving" },
      { label: "B", text: "having served" },
      { label: "C", text: "served" },
      { label: "D", text: "to serve" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      'Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verb forms within a sentence. Relative clauses, such as the one beginning with "how," require a finite (tensed) verb, a verb that can function as the main verb of a clause. This choice correctly supplies the clause with the finite past tense verb "served."<br>Choice A is incorrect because it results in an ungrammatical sentence. The nonfinite participle "serving" doesn’t supply the clause with a finite verb. Choice B is incorrect because it results in an ungrammatical sentence. The nonfinite participle "having served" doesn’t supply the clause with a finite verb. Choice D is incorrect because it results in an ungrammatical sentence. The nonfinite to-infinitive "to serve" doesn’t supply the clause with a finite verb.',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "1d971f75",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Photographer Ansel Adams’s landscape portraits are iconic pieces of American art. However, many of the ______blank of landscapes were intended not as art but as marketing; a concessions company at Yosemite National Park had hired Adams to take pictures of the park for restaurant menus and brochures.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "photographer’s early photo’s" },
      { label: "B", text: "photographers early photo’s" },
      { label: "C", text: "photographer’s early photos" },
      { label: "D", text: "photographers early photos" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      'Choice C is the best answer. There’s only one photographer (Adams), and the photos are his, so the singular possessive "photographer’s" is correct. There’s more than one photo, and nothing belongs to the photos, so the simple plural "photos" is correct.<br>Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses the singular possessive "photo’s," which isn’t correct. There’s more than one photo, and they don’t possess anything, so the noun should be the simple plural "photos." Choice B is incorrect. This choice uses the simple plural "photographers" and the singular possessive "photo’s," which aren’t correct. There’s only one photographer (Adams) and there’s more than one photo. Choice D is incorrect. This choice uses the simple plural "photographers," which isn’t correct. There’s only one photographer (Adams).',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "29c9be28",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>To survive when water is scarce, embryos inside African turquoise killifish eggs ______blank a dormant state known as diapause. In this state, embryonic development is paused for as long as two years—longer than the life span of an adult killifish.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "enter" },
      { label: "B", text: "to enter" },
      { label: "C", text: "having entered" },
      { label: "D", text: "entering" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is finite and nonfinite verb forms within a sentence. A main clause requires a finite verb to perform the action of the subject (in this case, “embryos”), and this choice supplies the clause with the finite present tense verb “enter” to indicate how the embryos achieve diapause. <br>Choice B is incorrect because the nonfinite to-infinitive “to enter” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb. Choice C is incorrect because the nonfinite participle “having entered” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb. Choice D is incorrect because the nonfinite participle “entering” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "2ee50d41",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>The classic children’s board game Chutes and Ladders is a version of an ancient Nepalese game, Paramapada Sopanapata. In both games, players encounter “good” or “bad” spaces while traveling along a path; landing on one of the good spaces ______blank a player to skip ahead and arrive closer to the end goal.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "allows" },
      { label: "B", text: "are allowing" },
      { label: "C", text: "have allowed" },
      { label: "D", text: "allow" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject–verb agreement. The singular verb “allows” agrees in number with the singular subject “landing.” <br>Choice B is incorrect because the plural verb “are allowing” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “landing.” Choice C is incorrect because the plural verb “have allowed” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “landing.” Choice D is incorrect because the plural verb “allow” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “landing.”",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "31362d2d",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>If simple sugars such as ribose and glycolaldehyde ______blank Earth from elsewhere and survived impact—a possibility astrophysicist Nicolle Zellner outlined in a 2020 study—the sugars could have reacted with other molecules that were already present on the planet to form the nucleotides that are the structural components of RNA and DNA.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "reach" },
      { label: "B", text: "had reached" },
      { label: "C", text: "will reach" },
      { label: "D", text: "are reaching" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      "Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verbs to express tense. In this choice, the past perfect verb “had reached” is used correctly to describe a past action that was completed before another action in the past. Specifically, in this hypothetical scenario about the origins of RNA and DNA on Earth, the simple sugars had to have reached Earth before they could react with other molecules on the planet. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the present tense verb “reach” doesn’t indicate that the simple sugars reached Earth before reacting with other molecules on the planet. Choice C is incorrect because the future tense verb “will reach” doesn’t indicate that the simple sugars reached Earth before reacting with other molecules on the planet. Choice D is incorrect because the present progressive verb “are reaching” doesn’t indicate that the simple sugars reached Earth before reacting with other molecules on the planet.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "35360da9",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>The US Geological Survey wants to map every human-made structure in the United States, and it is asking volunteers to help. Cassie Tammy Wang and Ashish D’Souza are just two of the many volunteer map editors who ______blank to the project since it began in 2012.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "contribute" },
      { label: "B", text: "will contribute" },
      { label: "C", text: "have contributed" },
      { label: "D", text: "will be contributing" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      "Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verbs to express tense in a sentence. In this choice, the present perfect tense verb “have contributed,” used in conjunction with the phrase “since it began in 2012,” correctly indicates that map editors have contributed in the past and continue to do so in the present. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the present tense verb “contribute” is inconsistent with the phrase “since it began in 2012,” which suggests that the contributions occurred in the past and continue into the present. Choice B is incorrect because the future tense verb “will contribute” is inconsistent with the phrase “since it began in 2012,” which suggests that the contributions occurred in the past and continue into the present. Choice D is incorrect because the future tense verb “will be contributing” is inconsistent with the phrase “since it began in 2012,” which suggests that the contributions occurred in the past and continue into the present.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "3580533b",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In recent years, economists around the world have created new tools that quantify the overall well-being of a country’s citizens. Economists in India, for example, use an Ease of Living Index. This tool ______blank economic potential, sustainability, and citizens’ quality of life.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "measures" },
      { label: "B", text: "had measured" },
      { label: "C", text: "would have measured" },
      { label: "D", text: "will have been measuring" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      'Choice A is the best answer. The previous sentence tells us how economists in India "use" a certain tool, while this sentence describes general facts about that tool. To express general facts (and also to match the simple present tense of "use"), we should use the simple present tense form "measures."<br>Choice B is incorrect. This choice uses the past perfect tense, but the previous sentence tells us that the tool is currently used to measure things, so the past tense doesn’t make sense for this verb. Choice C is incorrect. This choice uses the future perfect conditional tense, but the previous sentence tells us that the tool is currently used to measure things, so the future tense doesn’t make sense for this verb. Choice D is incorrect. This choice uses the future perfect continuous tense, but the previous sentence tells us that the tool is currently used to measure things, so the future tense doesn’t make sense for this verb.',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "3a35ddd1",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Like other amphibians, the wood frog (Rana sylvatica) is unable to generate its own heat, so during periods of subfreezing temperatures, it ______blank by producing large amounts of glucose, a sugar that helps prevent damaging ice from forming inside its cells.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "had survived" },
      { label: "B", text: "survived" },
      { label: "C", text: "would survive" },
      { label: "D", text: "survives" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verbs to express tense. In this choice, the present tense verb “survives” correctly indicates that the wood frog regularly survives subfreezing temperatures by producing large amounts of glucose. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the past perfect verb “had survived” doesn’t indicate that the wood frog regularly survives subfreezing temperatures by producing large amounts of glucose. Choice B is incorrect because the past tense verb “survived” doesn’t indicate that the wood frog regularly survives subfreezing temperatures by producing large amounts of glucose. Choice C is incorrect because the conditional verb “would survive” doesn’t indicate that the wood frog regularly survives subfreezing temperatures by producing large amounts of glucose.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "42cc9236",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>If you try on one of artist Nick Cave’s signature Soundsuits, you can expect to swish, rustle, or clang every time you move. Cave makes his suits out of found objects, everything from ceramic birds to broken record players. He carefully considers the sound an object makes before using ______blank in a suit.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "this" },
      { label: "B", text: "that" },
      { label: "C", text: "these" },
      { label: "D", text: "it" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      'Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested here is pronoun-antecedent agreement. The singular pronoun "it" agrees in number with the singular antecedent "object."<br>Choice A is incorrect. The singular pronoun "this" is used to refer to a specific thing, but here there is no specific object being referred to. Instead, the sentence is referring back to a hypothetical object that Cave might use in a Soundsuit. Choice B is incorrect. The singular pronoun "that" is used to refer to a specific thing, but here there is no specific object being referred to. Instead, the sentence is referring back to a hypothetical object that Cave might use in a Soundsuit. Choice C is incorrect because the plural pronoun "these" doesn’t agree in number with the singular antecedent "object."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "430d929a",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>British scientists James Watson and Francis Crick won the Nobel Prize in part for their 1953 paper announcing the double helix structure of DNA, but it is misleading to say that Watson and Crick discovered the double helix. ______blank findings were based on a famous X-ray image of DNA fibers, “Photo 51,” developed by X-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin and her graduate student Raymond Gosling.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "They’re" },
      { label: "B", text: "It’s" },
      { label: "C", text: "Their" },
      { label: "D", text: "Its" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      "Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of possessive determiners. The plural possessive determiner “their” agrees in number with the plural conjoined noun phrase “Watson and Crick” and thus indicates that the findings were those of Watson and Crick. <br>Choice A is incorrect because “they’re” is the contraction for “they are,” not a possessive determiner. Choice B is incorrect because “it’s” is the contraction for “it is” or “it has,” not a possessive determiner. Choice D is incorrect because the singular possessive determiner “its” doesn’t agree in number with the plural conjoined noun phrase “Watson and Crick.”",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "4a90a978",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In 1990, California native and researcher Ellen Ochoa left her position as chief of the Intelligent Systems Technology Branch at a NASA research center ______blank the space agency’s astronaut training program.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "to join" },
      { label: "B", text: "is joining" },
      { label: "C", text: "joined" },
      { label: "D", text: "joins" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      'Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of nonfinite verb forms in a sentence. The nonfinite to-infinitive verb "to join" is correctly used to form a subordinate clause that expresses why Ochoa left her position (to join the training program).<br>Choice B is incorrect because the finite verb "is joining" can’t be used in this way to indicate Ochoa’s action of joining the training program. A conjunction such as "and" would be needed to coordinate "is joining" with the previous finite verb, "left." Choice C is incorrect because the finite verb "joined" can’t be used in this way to indicate Ochoa’s action of joining the training program. A conjunction such as "and" would be needed to coordinate "joined" with the previous finite verb, "left." Choice D is incorrect because the finite verb "joins" can’t be used in this way to indicate Ochoa’s action of joining the training program. A conjunction such as "and" would be needed to coordinate "joins" with the previous finite verb, "left."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "4bed4658",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In order to prevent nonnative fish species from moving freely between the Mediterranean and Red Seas, marine biologist Bella Galil has proposed that a saline lock system be installed along the Suez Canal in Egypt’s Great Bitter Lakes. The lock would increase the salinity of the lakes and ______blank a natural barrier of water most marine creatures would be unable to cross.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "creates" },
      { label: "B", text: "create" },
      { label: "C", text: "creating" },
      { label: "D", text: "created" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      "Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of non-finite (untensed) verb forms in a sentence. The modal “would,” which indicates the future from a perspective in the past, should be accompanied by a non-finite plain form verb. In this choice, the non-finite plain form verb “create” is used correctly in conjunction with the non-finite plain form verb “increase” to describe what the lock would do.<br> <br>Choice A is incorrect because the finite present tense verb “creates” can’t be used in this way with the modal “would” to describe what the lock would do. Choice C is incorrect because the present participle “creating” can’t be used in this way with the modal “would” to describe what the lock would do. Choice D is incorrect because the finite past tense verb “created” can’t be used in this way with the modal “would” to describe what the lock would do.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "4c9a2aee",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Wanda Diaz-Merced is an astrophysicist who lost her sight when she was young. Diaz-Merced’s condition inspired her to develop software that can translate scientific data into sound. Sound-based tools ______blank scientists to detect subtle patterns in data. Such patterns may not be evident in traditional graphs.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "has enabled" },
      { label: "B", text: "enable" },
      { label: "C", text: "is enabling" },
      { label: "D", text: "enables" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      'Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The plural verb "enable" agrees in number with the plural subject "sound-based tools."<br>Choice A is incorrect because the singular verb "has enabled" doesn’t agree in number with the plural subject "sound-based tools." Choice C is incorrect because the singular verb "is enabling" doesn’t agree in number with the plural subject "sound-based tools." Choice D is incorrect because the singular verb "enables" doesn’t agree in number with the plural subject "sound-based tools."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "50445680",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In winter, the diets of Japanese macaques, also known as snow monkeys, are influenced more by food availability than by food preference. Although the monkeys prefer to eat vegetation and land-dwelling invertebrates, those food sources may become unavailable because of extensive snow and ice cover, ______blank the monkeys to hunt for marine animals in any streams that have not frozen over.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "forces" },
      { label: "B", text: "to force" },
      { label: "C", text: "forcing" },
      { label: "D", text: "forced" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      "Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of finite and nonfinite verb forms within a sentence. The nonfinite present participle “forcing” is correctly used to form a participial phrase that supplements the main clause “those...cover,” describing the effects on monkeys of the lack of food sources. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the finite present tense verb “forces” can’t be used in this way to supplement the main clause (“those...cover”). Choice B is incorrect. While the nonfinite to-infinitive “to force” could be used to form a subordinate clause that supplements the main clause (“those...cover”), to-infinitives conventionally express purpose, and nothing in the sentence suggests that the food sources become unavailable for the purpose of forcing monkeys to hunt marine animals. Choice D is incorrect because the finite past tense verb “forced” can’t be used in this way to supplement the main clause (“those...cover”).",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "52b61716",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Formed in 1967 to foster political and economic stability within the Asia-Pacific region, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was originally made up of five members: Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. By the end of the 1990s, the organization ______blank its initial membership.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "has doubled" },
      { label: "B", text: "had doubled" },
      { label: "C", text: "doubles" },
      { label: "D", text: "will double" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      "Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verbs to express tense. In this choice, the past perfect verb “had doubled” properly indicates that the doubling of the organization’s initial membership occurred during a specific period before the present (between the organization’s founding in 1967 and the end of the 1990s). <br>Choice A is incorrect because the present perfect verb “has doubled” doesn’t indicate that the organization’s doubling of its initial membership occurred during a specific period in the past. Choice C is incorrect because the present tense verb “doubles” doesn’t indicate that the organization’s doubling of its initial membership occurred during a specific period in the past. Choice D is incorrect because the future tense verb “will double” doesn’t indicate that the organization’s doubling of its initial membership occurred during a specific period in the past.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "56770dda",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In his 1963 exhibition Exposition of Music—Electronic Television, Korean American artist Nam June Paik showed how television images could be manipulated to express an artist’s perspective. Today, Paik ______blank considered the first video artist.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "will be" },
      { label: "B", text: "had been" },
      { label: "C", text: "was" },
      { label: "D", text: "is" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verbs to express tense. In this choice, the present tense verb “is,” used in conjunction with the word “today,” correctly indicates that Paik is currently considered the first video artist. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the future-indicating verb “will be” doesn’t indicate that Paik is currently considered the first video artist. Choice B is incorrect because the past perfect tense verb “had been” doesn’t indicate that Paik is currently considered the first video artist. Choice C is incorrect because the past tense verb “was” doesn’t indicate that Paik is currently considered the first video artist.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "576b2c70",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>A member of the Cherokee Nation, Mary Golda Ross is renowned for her contributions to NASA’s Planetary Flight Handbook, which ______blank detailed mathematical guidance for missions to Mars and Venus.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "provided" },
      { label: "B", text: "having provided" },
      { label: "C", text: "to provide" },
      { label: "D", text: "providing" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of finite verbs in a relative clause. Relative clauses, such as the one beginning with “which,” require a finite verb, a verb that can function as the main verb of a clause. This choice correctly supplies the clause with the finite past tense verb “provided.” <br>Choice B is incorrect because the non-finite participle “having provided” doesn’t supply the clause with a finite verb. Choice C is incorrect because the non-finite to-infinitive “to provide” doesn’t supply the clause with a finite verb. Choice D is incorrect because the non-finite participle “providing” doesn’t supply the clause with a finite verb.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "57998dd3",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Obsidian is a kind of volcanic glass formed when lava cools so quickly that the atoms inside it cannot arrange themselves in a crystalline structure. You ______blank more about obsidian’s structure, which is classified as amorphous, in a later chapter.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "had learned" },
      { label: "B", text: "had been learning" },
      { label: "C", text: "will learn" },
      { label: "D", text: "have learned" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      "Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verbs to express tense in a sentence. In this choice, the future tense verb “will learn,” used in conjunction with the phrase “in a later chapter,” correctly indicates that “you” (the reader) are going to learn about obsidian’s structure at some point in the future. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the past perfect verb “had learned” doesn’t indicate that the subject is going to learn about obsidian’s structure in the future. Choice B is incorrect because the past perfect progressive verb “had been learning” doesn’t indicate that the subject is going to learn about obsidian’s structure in the future. Choice D is incorrect because the present perfect verb “have learned” doesn’t indicate that the subject is going to learn about obsidian’s structure in the future.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "588887b9",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In 1881, French chemist Camille Faure redesigned the rechargeable lead-acid battery. Faure’s design greatly increased the amount of electricity that the original battery, which the French physicist Gaston Planté ______blank fifteen years earlier, could hold.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "is inventing" },
      { label: "B", text: "will invent" },
      { label: "C", text: "invents" },
      { label: "D", text: "had invented" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. Faure redesigned the battery in 1881, and the original battery was invented “fifteen years earlier.” Notice that this is the only choice in the past tense. To indicate that a past occurrence took place before another past occurrence, we need to use “had” + the past tense form of the verb. This is called the “past perfect” tense. <br>Choice A is incorrect. This choice creates a tense error. Planté invented the original battery in the past, so we shouldn’t use the present tense “is inventing.” Choice B is incorrect. This choice creates a tense error. Planté invented the original battery in the past, so we shouldn’t use the future tense “will invent.” Choice C is incorrect. This choice creates a tense error. Planté invented the original battery in the past, so we shouldn’t use the present tense “invents.”",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "59e41600",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Why are Rome’s famous concrete structures, such as the Colosseum, still standing after 2,000-plus years, when modern concrete may not even last for fifty? Scientists ______blank that the secret to Roman concrete’s durability was its unique blend of ingredients, which included volcanic ash and seawater.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "explain" },
      { label: "B", text: "having explained" },
      { label: "C", text: "explaining" },
      { label: "D", text: "to explain" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verb forms within a sentence. The main clause of a sentence requires a finite (tensed) verb, and this choice supplies the finite present tense verb “explain” to indicate what the scientists do. <br>Choice B is incorrect because it results in an ungrammatical sentence. The nonfinite participle “having explained” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb. Choice C is incorrect because it results in an ungrammatical sentence. The nonfinite participle “explaining” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb. Choice D is incorrect because it results in an ungrammatical sentence. The nonfinite to-infinitive “to explain” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "69f031ab",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>While exploring Nevada’s Gypsum Cave in 1930, Seneca and Abenaki archaeologist Bertha Parker made her most famous discovery: the skull of a now-extinct ground sloth (Nothrotheriops shastensis) alongside human-made tools. Parker’s crucial finding was the first ______blank humans in North America as far back as 10,000 years ago.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "places" },
      { label: "B", text: "placed" },
      { label: "C", text: "place" },
      { label: "D", text: "to place" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      'Choice D is the best answer. The object for the verb "was" is "first," and "to place" is acting as a modifier for "first." What was the finding? It was "the first." The first to do what? The first "to place humans in North America" 10,000 years ago. When a verb serves as a modifier within a noun phrase, it must be nonfinite (i.e., not conjugated to a specific subject). The infinitive form "to place" is the only nonfinite option among the choices that makes sense in context.<br>Choice A is incorrect. The object for the verb "was" is "first," and "places" is acting as a modifier for "first." What was the thing that Parker’s finding did? What was it the first to do? Place humans in North America 10,000 years ago. When a verb acts as a modifier, it must be nonfinite (i.e., not conjugated to a specific subject), but "places" is a finite form of the verb. Choice B is incorrect. The object for the verb "was" is "first," and "placed" is acting to modify "first." What was it that Parker’s finding was the first to do? Place humans in North America 10,000 years ago. When a verb acts as a modifier, it must be nonfinite (i.e., not conjugated to a specific subject), but "placed" is a finite form. "Placed" can also be a past participle, but that wouldn’t make sense here because the meaning of "the first placed humans" would be unclear. Choice C is incorrect. The object for the verb "was" is "first," and "place" is modifying "first." What was the thing that Parker’s finding did? What was it the first to do? Place humans in North America. When a verb acts as a modifier, it must be nonfinite (i.e., not conjugated to a specific subject), but "place" is a finite form of the verb. Additionally, "place" can’t serve as a noun here, because it results in an illogical sentence (the "finding" wasn’t "the first place").',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "6e5bf3a8",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Even though bats prefer very sweet nectar, the plants that attract them have evolved to produce nectar that is only moderately sweet. A recent study ______blank why: making sugar is energy-intensive, and it is more advantageous for plants to make a large amount of low-sugar nectar than a small amount of high-sugar nectar.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "explains" },
      { label: "B", text: "explaining" },
      { label: "C", text: "having explained" },
      { label: "D", text: "to explain" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of finite and nonfinite verb forms within a sentence. A main clause requires a finite verb to perform the action of the subject (in this case, “a recent study”), and this choice supplies the finite present tense verb “explains” to indicate that the study explains why plants that attract bats have evolved to produce moderately sweet nectar. <br>Choice B is incorrect because the nonfinite participle “explaining” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb. Choice C is incorrect because the nonfinite participle “having explained” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb. Choice D is incorrect because the nonfinite to-infinitive “to explain” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "775f3eb9",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In his groundbreaking book Bengali Harlem and the Lost Histories of South Asian America, Vivek Bald uses newspaper articles, census records, ships’ logs, and memoirs to tell the ______blank who made New York City their home in the early twentieth century.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "story’s of the South Asian immigrants" },
      { label: "B", text: "story’s of the South Asian immigrants’" },
      { label: "C", text: "stories of the South Asian immigrants" },
      { label: "D", text: "stories’ of the South Asian immigrant’s" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      "Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of plural and possessive nouns. The plural nouns “stories” and “immigrants” correctly indicate that the memoir tells multiple stories of multiple immigrants. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the context requires the plural noun “stories,” not the singular possessive noun “story’s.” Choice B is incorrect because the context requires the plural nouns “stories” and “immigrants,” not the singular possessive noun “story’s” and the plural possessive noun “immigrants’.” Choice D is incorrect because the context requires the plural nouns “stories” and “immigrants,” not the plural possessive noun “stories’” and the singular possessive noun “immigrant’s.”",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "77bf77cd",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Farouk El-Baz, a geologist and space scientist, ______blank part of the team that selected the lunar landing sites for the Apollo program during the 1960s and 1970s.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "are" },
      { label: "B", text: "was" },
      { label: "C", text: "have been" },
      { label: "D", text: "were" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      'Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb "was" agrees in number with the singular subject "Farouk El-Baz."<br>Choice A is incorrect because the plural verb "are" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "Farouk El-Baz." Choice C is incorrect because the plural verb "have been" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "Farouk El-Baz." Choice D is incorrect because the plural verb "were" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "Farouk El-Baz."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "7b419faf",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In 1903, environmentalist John Muir guided President Theodore Roosevelt on a scenic, sprawling trip through California’s Yosemite Valley. Upon returning from the three-day excursion, Roosevelt ______blank to conserve the nation’s wilderness areas, a vow he upheld for his remaining six years in office.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "is vowing" },
      { label: "B", text: "vowed" },
      { label: "C", text: "will vow" },
      { label: "D", text: "vows" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      "Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verbs to express tense in a sentence. In this choice, the past tense verb “vowed” is consistent with the other past tense verbs (“guided” and “upheld”) used to narrate the events surrounding President Roosevelt’s decision to conserve the nation’s wilderness areas. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the present progressive tense verb “is vowing” isn’t consistent with the past tense verbs used to narrate the events surrounding President Roosevelt’s decision to conserve the nation’s wilderness areas. Choice C is incorrect because the future tense verb “will vow” isn’t consistent with the past tense verbs used to narrate the events surrounding President Roosevelt’s decision to conserve the nation’s wilderness areas. Choice D is incorrect because the simple present tense verb “vows” isn’t consistent with the past tense verbs used to narrate the events surrounding President Roosevelt’s decision to conserve the nation’s wilderness areas.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "7c48a6dd",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In the late 1960s, inspired in part by the sight of laundry hanging on a clothesline, African American abstract painter Sam Gilliam began to create his iconic “Drape” paintings. He applied bold, saturated hues to large canvases and ______blank them from ceilings or walls, causing the drooping fabric to cascade in dramatic loops and curves.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "to have suspended" },
      { label: "B", text: "suspending" },
      { label: "C", text: "to suspend" },
      { label: "D", text: "suspended" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      'Choice D is the best answer. The past tense of "suspended" matches the past tense of "applied," which has the same subject ("he") and takes place in the same context: "He applied…and <strong>he</strong> suspended."<br>Choice A is incorrect. The perfect infinitive "to have suspended" doesn’t match the past tense of "applied," and it can’t serve as a verb on its own. These are both verbs with the same subject and in the same context, so there’s no need to shift tenses. Choice B is incorrect. The present participle "suspending" doesn’t match the past tense of "applied," and it can’t serve as a verb on its own. These are both verbs with the same subject and in the same context, so there’s no need to shift tenses. Choice C is incorrect. The infinitive "to suspend" doesn’t match the past tense of "applied," and it can’t serve as a verb on its own. These are both verbs with the same subject and in the same context, so there’s no need to shift tenses.',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "81ac953e",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In 1899, Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius developed an equation to answer a long-standing question: why do chemical reactions speed up at higher temperatures? The Arrhenius equation, named for its creator, ______blank an important concept in modern chemistry.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "have remained" },
      { label: "B", text: "remain" },
      { label: "C", text: "remains" },
      { label: "D", text: "are remaining" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      'Choice C is the best answer. This choice uses the singular verb "remains" to match the singular subject "equation."<br>Choice A is incorrect. The singular noun "equation" doesn’t match with the plural verb conjugation "have remained." Choice B is incorrect. The singular noun "equation" doesn’t match with the plural verb conjugation "remain." Choice D is incorrect. The singular noun "equation" doesn’t match with the plural verb conjugation "are remaining."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "843f92af",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>The sun never sets during the Arctic summer in the Far North. In response, reindeer in this region must change their sleep habits. Instead of resting when it gets dark, they rest when they need ______blank their food.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "digest" },
      { label: "B", text: "will digest" },
      { label: "C", text: "to digest" },
      { label: "D", text: "digesting" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      'Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of nonfinite verb forms within a sentence. Working together with the finite verb "need," the nonfinite to-infinitive verb "to digest" is correctly used to form a subordinate clause that describes what the reindeer need.<br>Choice A is incorrect because the verb "digest" (in either its finite or nonfinite form) can’t be used in this way with the finite verb "need." Choice B is incorrect because the finite verb "will digest" can’t be used in this way with the finite verb "need." Choice D is incorrect because the nonfinite participle "digesting" can’t be used in this way with the finite verb "need."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "856b495d",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In the early twentieth century, Joseph Kekuku and other Hawaiian ______blank in the mainland United States to the bright and lilting sound of the kīkā kila, or Hawaiian steel guitar. The instrument soon became a fixture in American blues and country music.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "musicians introduced audiences" },
      { label: "B", text: "musicians’ introduced audiences’" },
      { label: "C", text: "musician’s introduced audience’s" },
      { label: "D", text: "musicians’ introduced audiences" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      'Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of plural nouns. The plural nouns "musicians" and "audiences" correctly indicate that there were multiple musicians introducing the music to multiple audiences.<br>Choice B is incorrect because the context requires the plural nouns "musicians" and "audiences," not the plural possessive nouns "musicians’" and "audiences’." Choice C is incorrect because the context requires the plural nouns "musicians" and "audiences," not the singular possessive nouns "musician’s" and "audience’s." Choice D is incorrect because the context requires the plural noun "musicians," not the plural possessive noun "musicians’."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "898f182c",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Richard Spikes was a prolific African American inventor known for his contributions to automotive engineering. Between 1907 and 1946, he patented many inventions, ______blank an automobile turn signal, a safety brake, and—most famously—the first automatic gearshift.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "included" },
      { label: "B", text: "includes" },
      { label: "C", text: "including" },
      { label: "D", text: "will include" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      'Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of nonfinite verb forms within a sentence. The nonfinite present participle "including" is correctly used to form a participial phrase that supplements the main clause "he patented many inventions," listing several of Spikes’s patented inventions.<br>Choice A is incorrect because the finite past tense verb "included" can’t be used in this way to supplement the main clause "he patented many inventions." Choice B is incorrect because the finite present tense verb "includes" can’t be used in this way to supplement the main clause "he patented many inventions." Choice D is incorrect because the finite future tense verb "will include" can’t be used in this way to supplement the main clause "he patented many inventions."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "96c720af",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Atoms in a synchrotron, a type of circular particle accelerator, travel faster and faster until they ______blank a desired energy level, at which point they are diverted to collide with a target, smashing the atoms.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "will reach" },
      { label: "B", text: "reach" },
      { label: "C", text: "had reached" },
      { label: "D", text: "are reaching" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      "Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verbs to express tense in a sentence. In this choice, the present tense verb “reach” is consistent with the present tense verbs “travel” and “are diverted” used to describe how atoms move through the synchrotron. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the future tense verb “will reach” is inconsistent with the present tense verbs used to describe how atoms move through the synchrotron. Though the atoms’ movement is a recurring action and “will reach” can also be used to indicate a habitual or recurring action, it creates a logical inconsistency in this sentence when paired with the present tense verbs “travel” and “are diverted.” Choice C is incorrect because the past perfect tense verb “had reached” is inconsistent with the present tense verbs used to describe how atoms move through the synchrotron. Choice D is incorrect because the present progressive tense verb “are reaching” is inconsistent with the present tense verbs used to describe how atoms move through the synchrotron. While both verbs occur in the present, the present progressive tense suggests that the action is currently in progress. This creates a logical inconsistency when paired with the present tense verbs “travel” and “are diverted,” which offer a general description of the tendencies of the atoms’ movement, rather than a description of an action that is currently in progress.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "96e5da01",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>The alga species Chlorella vulgaris is very efficient at making oxygen. For this reason, scientists are currently exploring ways to use this species in space. C. vulgaris might be used, for example, to build future biological air exchange systems that ______blank oxygen for astronauts.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "are producing" },
      { label: "B", text: "produced" },
      { label: "C", text: "produce" },
      { label: "D", text: "have produced" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      "Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verbs to express tense. Simple present tense verbs can be used to describe actions that tend to occur, including in a hypothetical or future scenario. In this case, the simple present tense verb “produce” indicates what the air exchange systems might be able to do in the future (produce oxygen for astronauts). <br>Choice A is incorrect. The present progressive tense verb “are producing” suggests that the oxygen is currently being produced, not that it might be produced in the future. Choice B is incorrect because the past tense verb “produced” suggests that the oxygen was produced in the past, not that it might be produced in the future. Choice D is incorrect because the present perfect tense verb “have produced” suggests that the oxygen has been produced from a point in the past up to the present, not that it might be produced in the future.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "975eda7c",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>For thousands of years, people in the Americas ______blank the bottle gourd, a large bitter fruit with a thick rind, to make bottles, other types of containers, and even musical instruments. Oddly, there is no evidence that any type of bottle gourd is native to the Western Hemisphere; either the fruit or its seeds must have somehow been carried from Asia or Africa.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "to use" },
      { label: "B", text: "have used" },
      { label: "C", text: "having used" },
      { label: "D", text: "using" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      "Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is finite and nonfinite verb forms within a sentence. A main clause requires a finite verb to perform the action of the subject (in this case, “people in the Americas”), and this choice supplies the finite past perfect tense verb “have used” to indicate what people in the Americas used the gourd for. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the nonfinite to-infinitive “to use” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb. Choice C is incorrect because the nonfinite participle “having used” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb. Choice D is incorrect because the nonfinite participle “using” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "97b62fab",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Smaller than poppy seeds, tardigrades are tiny, but they are tough. These minuscule animals can survive for thirty years without food or water, and ______blank can withstand extreme temperatures as low as minus 328 degrees and as high as 304 degrees Fahrenheit.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "that" },
      { label: "B", text: "it" },
      { label: "C", text: "they" },
      { label: "D", text: "he" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      'Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is pronoun-antecedent agreement. The plural pronoun "they" agrees in number with the plural antecedent "animals," which refers to tardigrades.<br>Choice A is incorrect because the singular pronoun "that" doesn’t agree in number with the plural antecedent "animals." Choice B is incorrect because the singular pronoun "it" doesn’t agree in number with the plural antecedent "animals." Choice D is incorrect because the singular pronoun "he" doesn’t agree in number with the plural antecedent "animals."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "983d33fa",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In 1637, the price of tulips skyrocketed in Amsterdam, with single bulbs of rare varieties selling for up to the equivalent of $200,000 in today’s US dollars. Some historians ______blank that this “tulip mania” was the first historical instance of an asset bubble, which occurs when investors drive prices to highs not supported by actual demand.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "claiming" },
      { label: "B", text: "claim" },
      { label: "C", text: "having claimed" },
      { label: "D", text: "to claim" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      "Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of finite and nonfinite verb forms within a sentence. A main clause requires a finite verb to perform the action of the subject (in this case, “some historians”), and this choice supplies the finite present tense verb “claim” to indicate what some historians do. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the nonfinite participle “claiming” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb. Choice C is incorrect because the nonfinite participle “having claimed” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb. Choice D is incorrect because the nonfinite to-infinitive “to claim” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "988c78eb",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Former First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt and Indian activist and educator Hansa Mehta were instrumental in drafting the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document that ______blank the basic freedoms to which all people are entitled.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "have outlined" },
      { label: "B", text: "were outlining" },
      { label: "C", text: "outlines" },
      { label: "D", text: "outline" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      "Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb “outlines” agrees in number with the singular subject “document.” <br>Choice A is incorrect because the plural verb “have outlined” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “document.” Choice B is incorrect because the plural verb “were outlining” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “document.” Choice D is incorrect because the plural verb “outline” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “document.”",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "b260c65a",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Earth is not a perfect sphere. Due to the ______blank gravitational pull, Earth bulges out on the sides closest to and farthest from the Moon. This distorting pull is known as a tidal force, and it is responsible for the changes in water levels that are called high and low tides.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "Moon’s" },
      { label: "B", text: "Moons" },
      { label: "C", text: "Moons’" },
      { label: "D", text: "Moon" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      'Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of possessive nouns. The singular possessive noun "Moon’s" correctly indicates that there is only one Moon, and it has a gravitational pull.<br>Choice B is incorrect because the context requires the singular possessive noun "Moon’s," not the plural noun "Moons." Choice C is incorrect because the context requires the singular possessive noun "Moon’s," not the plural possessive noun "Moons’." Choice D is incorrect because the context requires the singular possessive noun "Moon’s," not the singular noun "Moon."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "b5b74c3f",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>When writing The Other Black Girl (2021), novelist Zakiya Dalila Harris drew on her own experiences working at a publishing office. The award-winning book is Harris’s first novel, but her writing ______blank honored before. At the age of twelve, she entered a contest to have a story published in American Girl magazine—and won.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "were" },
      { label: "B", text: "have been" },
      { label: "C", text: "has been" },
      { label: "D", text: "are" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      "Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb “has been” agrees in number with the singular subject “writing.” <br>Choice A is incorrect because the plural verb “were” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “writing.” Choice B is incorrect because the plural verb “have been” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “writing.” Choice D is incorrect because the plural verb “are” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “writing.”",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "b7363ba2",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz used the metaphor of the “butterfly effect” to explain how seemingly minor events can have major impacts on future weather. According to Lorenz’s metaphor, the wind from a butterfly flapping ______blank in Brazil might eventually grow into a storm elsewhere across the globe.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "its wings" },
      { label: "B", text: "its wings’" },
      { label: "C", text: "it’s wing’s" },
      { label: "D", text: "it’s wings’" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      'Choice A is the best answer. The conventions being tested are the use of possessive determiners and plural nouns. The singular possessive determiner "its" and the plural noun "wings" correctly indicate that the butterfly has multiple wings.<br>Choice B is incorrect because the context requires the plural noun "wings," not the plural possessive noun "wings’." Choice C is incorrect because the context requires the singular possessive determiner "its" and the plural noun "wings," not the contraction "it’s" and the singular possessive noun "wing’s." Choice D is incorrect because the context requires the singular possessive determiner "its" and the plural noun "wings," not the contraction "it’s" and the plural possessive noun "wings’."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "bd11fe93",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Dr. Rocío Paola Caballero-Gill is a paleoceanographer. This means that Dr. Caballero-Gill doesn’t just study oceans as they are today. She uses chemistry and fossil evidence ______blank oceans as they were in the past.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "has studied" },
      { label: "B", text: "to study" },
      { label: "C", text: "studied" },
      { label: "D", text: "studies" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      "Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verb forms within a sentence. The nonfinite to-infinitive verb “to study” is correctly used to form a subordinate clause that indicates what Dr. Caballero-Gill uses chemistry and fossil evidence for (to study oceans as they were in the past). <br>Choice A is incorrect because it results in an ungrammatical sentence. The finite verb “has studied” can’t be used in this way to form a subordinate clause that indicates what Dr. Caballero-Gill uses the evidence for. Choice C is incorrect because it results in an ungrammatical sentence. The finite verb “studied” can’t be used in this way to form a subordinate clause that indicates what Dr. Caballero-Gill uses the evidence for. Choice D is incorrect because it results in an ungrammatical sentence. The finite verb “studies” can’t be used in this way to form a subordinate clause that indicates what Dr. Caballero-Gill uses the evidence for.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "c5d39bc7",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Scientists believe that, unlike most other species of barnacle, turtle barnacles (Chelonibia testudinari) can dissolve the cement-like secretions they use to attach ______blank to a sea turtle shell, enabling the barnacles to move short distances across the shell’s surface.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "it" },
      { label: "B", text: "themselves" },
      { label: "C", text: "them" },
      { label: "D", text: "itself" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      "Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is pronoun-antecedent agreement. The plural reflexive pronoun “themselves” agrees in number with the plural antecedent “turtle barnacles,” correctly indicating what is attached to a sea turtle shell.  <br>Choice A is incorrect because the singular pronoun “it” doesn’t agree in number with the plural antecedent “turtle barnacles.” Choice C is incorrect because it results in an unclear and confusing sentence. In this context, it’s unclear what the plural pronoun “them” refers to. Choice D is incorrect because the singular reflexive pronoun “itself” doesn’t agree in number with the plural antecedent “turtle barnacles.”",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "d47bb0a4",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Objects ranging from the Kikkoman soy sauce bottle to the Yamaha VMAX motorcycle to the Komachi bullet train ______blank designed by twentieth-century industrial designer Kenji Ekuan.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "was" },
      { label: "B", text: "is" },
      { label: "C", text: "has been" },
      { label: "D", text: "were" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      'Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The plural verb "were" agrees in number with the plural subject "objects."<br>Choice A is incorrect because the singular verb "was" doesn’t agree in number with the plural subject "objects." Choice B is incorrect because the singular verb "is" doesn’t agree in number with the plural subject "objects." Choice C is incorrect because the singular verb "has been" doesn’t agree in number with the plural subject "objects."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "db4e3819",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Midway through her 1968 jazz album A Monastic Trio, Alice Coltrane switches instruments, swapping the piano for the harp. With the same fluid style that Coltrane was famous for on piano, she ______blank her fingers across the harp strings and creates a radiant sound.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "sweep" },
      { label: "B", text: "are sweeping" },
      { label: "C", text: "were sweeping" },
      { label: "D", text: "sweeps" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      'Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb "sweeps" agrees in number with the singular subject "she," which refers to Alice Coltrane.<br>Choice A is incorrect because the plural verb "sweep" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "she." Choice B is incorrect because the plural verb "are sweeping" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "she." Choice C is incorrect because the plural verb "were sweeping" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "she."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "dbd78791",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Led by Syrian American astronomer Shadia Habbal, the Solar Wind Sherpas are an intrepid team of scientists who travel the globe to study solar winds, the streams of particles emanating from the Sun that are only visible from certain locations during a total solar eclipse. When such an eclipse is imminent, the Sherpas pack up their telescopes and ______blank ready.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "get" },
      { label: "B", text: "had gotten" },
      { label: "C", text: "got" },
      { label: "D", text: "were getting" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verbs to express tense in a sentence. In this choice, the present tense verb “get” is consistent with the other present tense verbs (“are,” “travel,” and “pack”) used to describe the Sherpas and their activities. <br>Choice B is incorrect. The past perfect verb “had gotten” isn’t consistent with the other present tense verbs used to describe the Sherpas and their activities. Choice C is incorrect. The past tense verb “got” isn’t consistent with the other present tense verbs used to describe the Sherpas and their activities. Choice D is incorrect. The past progressive verb “were getting” isn’t consistent with the other present tense verbs used to describe the Sherpas and their activities.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "e2759b92",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Occupying a significant part of modern-day Nigeria, the Kingdom of Benin was one of the major powers in West Africa between the thirteenth and nineteenth centuries. It ______blank ruled by Oba Ewuare I from 1440 to 1473.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "is" },
      { label: "B", text: "will be" },
      { label: "C", text: "has been" },
      { label: "D", text: "was" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verbs to express tense in a sentence. In this choice, the past tense verb “was ruled” correctly indicates that Oba Ewuare I ruled the Kingdom of Benin in the distant past (from 1440 to 1473). This past tense verb choice is consistent with the other past tense verb (“was”) used to describe the Kingdom of Benin. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the present tense verb “is ruled” doesn’t indicate that Oba Ewuare I ruled the Kingdom of Benin in the distant past. Choice B is incorrect because the future tense verb “will be ruled” doesn’t indicate that Oba Ewuare I ruled the Kingdom of Benin in the distant past. Choice C is incorrect because the present perfect tense verb “has been ruled” doesn’t indicate that Oba Ewuare I ruled the Kingdom of Benin in the distant past.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "e38b3e4f",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>The radiation that ______blank during the decay of radioactive atomic nuclei is known as gamma radiation.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "occurs" },
      { label: "B", text: "have occurred" },
      { label: "C", text: "occur" },
      { label: "D", text: "are occurring" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      'Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb "occurs" agrees in number with the singular subject "radiation."<br>Choice B is incorrect because the plural verb "have occurred" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "radiation." Choice C is incorrect because the plural verb "occur" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "radiation." Choice D is incorrect because the plural verb "are occurring" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "radiation."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "e3b72630",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In the historical novel The Surrender Tree, Cuban American author Margarita Engle uses poetry rather than prose ______blank the true story of Cuban folk hero Rosa La Bayamesa.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "tells" },
      { label: "B", text: "told" },
      { label: "C", text: "is telling" },
      { label: "D", text: "to tell" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of finite and nonfinite verb forms within a sentence. The nonfinite to-infinitive “to tell” is correctly used to form a nonfinite (infinitive) clause that explains the reason Engle uses poetry in her novel. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the finite present tense verb “tells” can’t be used in this way to explain the reason that Engle uses poetry in her novel. Choice B is incorrect because the finite past tense verb “told” can’t be used in this way to explain the reason that Engle uses poetry in her novel. Choice C is incorrect because the finite present progressive tense verb “is telling” can’t be used in this way to explain the reason that Engle uses poetry in her novel.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "ec08463d",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Botanists recognize over fifty different species of sunflower. One species, the silverleaf sunflower, ______blank both an early-flowering ecotype that tends to grow in coastal areas and a late-flowering ecotype that grows inland.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "having included" },
      { label: "B", text: "including" },
      { label: "C", text: "to include" },
      { label: "D", text: "includes" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. This verb needs to function as the main verb in the sentence, with the subject “one species,” so it needs to be conjugated. This choice gives us the singular present tense “includes,” which is the only conjugated form of the verb among the choices. <br>Choice A is incorrect. This doesn’t complete the text in a way that conforms to the conventions of Standard English. This verb needs to function as the main verb in the sentence, with the subject “one species,” so it needs to be conjugated. “Having included” is a participle form of the verb: it’s not conjugated and doesn’t function like a normal verb. Choice B is incorrect. This doesn’t complete the text in a way that conforms to the conventions of Standard English. This verb needs to function as the main verb in the sentence, with the subject “one species,” so it needs to be conjugated. “Including” is the gerund form of the verb: it’s not conjugated and doesn’t function like a normal verb. Choice C is incorrect. This doesn’t complete the text in a way that conforms to the conventions of Standard English. This verb needs to function as the main verb in the sentence, with the subject “one species,” so it needs to be conjugated. “To include” is the infinitive form of the verb: it’s not conjugated.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "f40ca576",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Each year in the fall, when the weather starts to cool in the northern hemisphere, millions of North American monarch butterflies journey south. Searching for food and warmer habitats, they ______blank thousands of miles—from as far north as Canada all the way down to Mexico—on this annual migration.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "flew" },
      { label: "B", text: "were flying" },
      { label: "C", text: "had flown" },
      { label: "D", text: "fly" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verbs to express tense. In this choice, the present tense verb “fly” is consistent with the other present tense verb ( “journey”) used to describe the butterflies’ yearly migration. Together, these simple present tense verbs correctly indicate that the migration is a current, yearly occurrence. <br>Choice A is incorrect. The simple past tense verb “flew” isn’t consistent with the other present tense verb used to describe the butterflies’ yearly migration. Choice B is incorrect. The past progressive tense verb “were flying” isn’t consistent with the other present tense verb used to describe the butterflies’ yearly migration. Choice C is incorrect. The past perfect tense verb “had flown” isn’t consistent with the other present tense verb used to describe the butterflies’ yearly migration.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "f4fd123c",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>The African Games Co-production Market, one of over 180 annual international conferences supporting video game development, ______blank the growth of the African gaming industry by helping start-up studios in Africa find partners.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "promote" },
      { label: "B", text: "are promoting" },
      { label: "C", text: "promotes" },
      { label: "D", text: "have promoted" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      "Choice C is the best answer. The subject of the sentence is “The African Games Co-production Market.” That’s one market, so it’s a singular noun, which means it needs a singular verb. “Promotes” is the only singular verb among the choices. <br>Choice A is incorrect. This choice creates a subject-verb agreement error. The subject “The African Games Co-production Market” is singular, but the verb “promote” is plural. Choice B is incorrect. This choice creates a subject-verb agreement error. The subject “The African Games Co-production Market” is singular, but the verb “are promoting” is plural. Choice D is incorrect. This choice creates a subject-verb agreement error. The subject “The African Games Co-production Market” is singular, but the verb “have promoted” is plural.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "fff4c7f4",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>American poet Emily Dickinson wrote many of her poems on scraps of paper, but she also took steps to collect these works. From 1858 to around 1864, for example, she copied more than 800 of ______blank into forty homemade booklets (known as fascicles).</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "them" },
      { label: "B", text: "this" },
      { label: "C", text: "that" },
      { label: "D", text: "it" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      'Choice A is the best answer. The pronoun "them" agrees with the plural antecedents "poems" and "works."<br>Choice B is incorrect. "This" is a singular pronoun, but its antecedents, "poems" and "works," are plural. Choice C is incorrect. "That" is a singular pronoun, but its antecedents, "poems" and "works," are plural. Choice D is incorrect. "It" is a singular pronoun, but its antecedents, "poems" and "works," are plural.',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
];

export const FORM_STRUCTURE_MEDIUM: PracticeQuestion[] = [
  {
    id: "0bcb4417",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Oglala Lakota poet Layli Long Soldier’s star quilt poems offer an unusually open-ended reading experience. With ______blank eight panels of text stitched together in the shape of a traditional eight-pointed Lakota star quilt, the poems present viewers with a seemingly infinite number of ways to read them.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "their" },
      { label: "B", text: "it’s" },
      { label: "C", text: "they’re" },
      { label: "D", text: "its" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      'Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of possessive determiners. The plural possessive determiner "their" agrees in number with the plural noun "the poems," thus indicating that the poems had eight panels of text stitched together in the shape of a traditional eight-pointed Lakota star quilt.<br>Choice B is incorrect because "it’s" is the contraction for "it is" or "it has," not a possessive determiner. Choice C is incorrect because "they’re" is the contraction for "they are," not a possessive determiner. Choice D is incorrect because the singular possessive determiner "its" doesn’t agree in number with the plural noun "the poems."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "1ee7b429",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Bonnie Buratti of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory ______blank data about Saturn’s rings collected by the Cassini spacecraft when she made an interesting discovery: the tiny moons embedded between and within Saturn’s rings are shaped by the buildup of ring material on the moons’ surfaces.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "studies" },
      { label: "B", text: "has been studying" },
      { label: "C", text: "will study" },
      { label: "D", text: "was studying" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verbs to express tense in a sentence. In this choice, the past progressive tense verb “was studying” is consistent with the other past tense verbs (e.g., “made” and “collected”) used to describe Buratti’s discovery. Further, the past progressive tense correctly indicates that an ongoing action in the past was occurring (she was studying) at the same time that another event occurred in the past (she made an interesting discovery). <br>Choice A is incorrect because the present tense verb “studies” isn’t consistent with the past tense verbs used to describe Buratti’s discovery. Choice B is incorrect because the present perfect progressive tense verb “has been studying” isn’t consistent with the past tense verbs used to describe Buratti’s discovery. Choice C is incorrect because the future tense verb “will study” isn’t consistent with the past tense verbs used to describe Buratti’s discovery.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "1f8cd95f",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In the 1950s, a man named Joseph McVicker was struggling to keep his business afloat when his sister-in-law Kay Zufall advised him to repurpose the company’s product, a nontoxic, clay-like substance for removing soot from wallpaper, as a modeling putty for kids. In addition, Zufall ______blank selling the product under a child-friendly name: Play-Doh.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "suggested" },
      { label: "B", text: "suggests" },
      { label: "C", text: "had suggested" },
      { label: "D", text: "was suggesting" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verbs to express tense. In this choice, the simple past tense verb “suggested” properly indicates that Zufall offered her suggestion for the product’s name in the past. This verb tense is consistent with the previous sentence’s use of a simple past tense verb (“advised”) to describe Zufall’s advice to McVicker in the 1950s. <br>Choice B is incorrect because the present tense verb “suggests” doesn’t indicate that Zufall offered her suggestion in the past. Choice C is incorrect because the past perfect verb “had suggested” isn’t consistent with the previous sentence’s use of the simple past tense verb “advised” to describe Zufall’s advice to McVicker. Choice D is incorrect because the past progressive verb “was suggesting” isn’t consistent with the previous sentence’s use of the simple past tense verb “advised” to describe Zufall’s advice to McVicker.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "3595a991",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In 1930, Japanese American artist Chiura Obata depicted the natural beauty of Yosemite National Park in two memorable woodcuts: Evening at Carl Inn and Lake Basin in the High Sierra. In 2019, ______blank exhibited alongside 150 of Obata’s other works in a single-artist show at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "it was" },
      { label: "B", text: "they were" },
      { label: "C", text: "this was" },
      { label: "D", text: "some were" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      "Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is pronoun–antecedent agreement. The plural pronoun “they” agrees in number with the plural antecedent “woodcuts” and clearly identifies what was exhibited at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the singular pronoun “it” doesn’t agree in number with the plural antecedent “woodcuts.” Choice C is incorrect because the singular pronoun “this” doesn’t agree in number with the plural antecedent “woodcuts.” Choice D is incorrect because the plural pronoun “some” is illogical in this context (referring to “some” of two woodcuts).",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "36944347",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Official measurements of the Mississippi River’s length vary: according to the US Geologic Survey, the river is 2,300 miles long, whereas the Environmental Protection Agency records its length as 2,320 miles. This disparity can be explained in part by the fact that rivers such as the Mississippi expand and contract as ______blank sediment.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "they accumulate" },
      { label: "B", text: "one accumulates" },
      { label: "C", text: "it accumulates" },
      { label: "D", text: "we accumulate" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      'Choice A is the best answer. The noun that goes with "expand and contract" is "rivers," a plural noun. "They" is a third-person plural pronoun, so it can correctly stand in for "rivers."<br>Choice B is incorrect. This choice creates a pronoun-antecedent agreement error. "One" is a singular pronoun, but the noun that goes with "expand and contract" is "rivers," a plural noun. Choice C is incorrect. This choice creates a pronoun-antecedent agreement error. "It" is a singular pronoun, but the noun that goes with "expand and contract" is "rivers," a plural noun. Choice D is incorrect. This choice creates a pronoun-antecedent agreement error. The noun that goes with "expand and contract" is the plural noun "rivers." Rivers are not people, so "we" can’t be used to stand in for it.',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "59209b6d",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>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, ______blank may have begun much earlier.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      {
        label: "A",
        text: "researcher Robert Losey has argued that domestication",
      },
      {
        label: "B",
        text: "researcher Robert Losey’s argument is that domestication",
      },
      {
        label: "C",
        text: "domestication, researcher Robert Losey has argued,",
      },
      {
        label: "D",
        text: "the argument researcher Robert Losey has made is that domestication",
      },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-modifier placement. This choice makes the noun phrase “researcher Robert Losey” the subject of the sentence and places it immediately after the modifying phrase “since…Siberia.” In doing so, this choice clearly establishes that researcher Robert Losey—and not another noun in the sentence—is who uncovered fragments of a 2,000-year-old reindeer training harness in northern Siberia. <br>Choice B is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “researcher Robert Losey’s argument” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that the “argument” is what uncovered fragments of a 2,000-year-old reindeer training harness in northern Siberia. Choice C is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun “domestication” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that “domestication” is what uncovered fragments of a 2,000-year-old reindeer training harness in northern Siberia. Choice D is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “the argument” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that the “argument” is what uncovered fragments of a 2,000-year-old reindeer training harness in northern Siberia.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "67614549",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>After winning the 1860 presidential election, Abraham Lincoln appointed Edward Bates, Salmon P. Chase, and William H. Seward to his cabinet. Lincoln’s decision was surprising, since each of these men had run against him, but historians have praised it, noting that Lincoln ______blank his rivals’ diverse talents to strengthen his administration.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "has leveraged" },
      { label: "B", text: "is leveraging" },
      { label: "C", text: "will leverage" },
      { label: "D", text: "leveraged" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. The subject of the verb is “Lincoln,” and the first sentence tells us that we’re talking about something that Abraham Lincoln did in 1860. So the simple past tense “leveraged” fits the logic of the text. <br>Choice A is incorrect. This choice creates a tense issue. “Has leveraged” is the present perfect tense, which is used for an action that began in the past and continues into the present. Lincoln started leveraging his rivals’ talents in 1860—it’s definitely not still happening today. So the present perfect tense isn’t appropriate. Choice B is incorrect. This choice creates a tense issue. “Is leveraging” is the present tense, but Lincoln leveraged his rivals’ talents in 1860, so the present tense isn’t appropriate. Choice C is incorrect. This choice creates a tense issue. “Will leverage” is the future tense, but Lincoln leveraged his rivals’ talents in 1860, so the future tense isn’t appropriate.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "684b8bd2",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Far from being modern inventions, ______blank more than 5,000 years ago.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      {
        label: "A",
        text: "Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia used drinking straws",
      },
      {
        label: "B",
        text: "drinking straws were used by Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia",
      },
      {
        label: "C",
        text: "the use of drinking straws by Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia happened",
      },
      {
        label: "D",
        text: "ancient Mesopotamia was home to Sumerians who used drinking straws",
      },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      "Choice B is the best answer. Modifiers and their subjects must go next to each other. The modifier “far from being modern inventions” must be describing “drinking straws,” because those are the only possible inventions in this sentence. <br>Choice A is incorrect. Modifiers and their subjects must go next to each other. The modifier “far from being modern inventions” can’t be describing “Sumerians,” because they are a group of people, not an invention. Choice C is incorrect. Modifiers and their subjects must go next to each other. The modifier “far from being modern inventions” can’t be describing “the use of drinking straws,” because it is not “the use” of drinking straws that is an invention—it is the drinking straws themselves. Choice D is incorrect. Modifiers and their subjects must go next to each other. The modifier “far from being modern inventions” can’t be describing “Ancient Mesopotamia,” because that is a place, not an invention.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "6e193b19",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Professional American football player Fred Cox invented one of the world’s most popular toys. In the 1970s, he came up with the idea for the Nerf football, which ______blank of the harder and heavier regulation football.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "were a smaller, foam version" },
      { label: "B", text: "are smaller, foam versions" },
      { label: "C", text: "were smaller, foam versions" },
      { label: "D", text: "is a smaller, foam version" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement and agreement between nouns. The singular verb “is” and the singular noun “version” both agree in number with the relative pronoun “which.” In this context, “which” functions as a singular subject because it refers to the singular noun “the Nerf football.” <br>Choice A is incorrect because the plural verb “were” doesn’t agree in number with the singular noun phrase “the Nerf football” that it’s modifying. Choice B is incorrect because the plural verb “are” and the plural noun “versions” don’t agree in number with the singular noun phrase “the Nerf football” that they’re modifying. Choice C is incorrect because the plural verb “were” and the plural noun “versions” don’t agree in number with the singular noun phrase “the Nerf football” that they’re modifying.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "6f08641e",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>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, ______blank until their demands were addressed. Finally, on April 28, the legislation was signed.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      {
        label: "A",
        text: "pressure on lawmakers increased when the activists staged a sit-in protest",
      },
      {
        label: "B",
        text: "a sit-in protest staged by the activists increased pressure on lawmakers",
      },
      {
        label: "C",
        text: "lawmakers came under increased pressure when the activists staged a sit-in protest",
      },
      {
        label: "D",
        text: "the activists increased pressure on lawmakers by staging a sit-in protest",
      },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-modifier placement. This choice makes the noun phrase “the activists” the subject of the sentence and places it immediately after the modifying phrase “after...legislation.” In doing so, this choice clearly establishes that the activists—and not another noun in the sentence—were pleading for the passage of antidiscrimination legislation. <br>Choice A is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “pressure on lawmakers” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that the “pressure” was pleading for the passage of antidiscrimination legislation. Choice B is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “a sit-in protest” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that the “protest” was pleading for the passage of antidiscrimination legislation. Choice C is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “lawmakers” immediately after the modifying phrase suggests that “lawmakers” were pleading for the passage of antidiscrimination legislation. While it’s possible for lawmakers to plead for the passage of legislation, the context strongly suggests that it’s the activists who pleaded for years for the passage of antidiscrimination legislation.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "75f49353",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>The Progressive Era in the United States witnessed the rise of numerous Black women’s clubs, local organizations that advocated for racial and gender equality. Among the clubs’ leaders ______blank Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, founder of the Women’s Era Club of Boston.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "was" },
      { label: "B", text: "were" },
      { label: "C", text: "are" },
      { label: "D", text: "have been" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested here is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb “was” agrees in number with the singular subject “Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin.” <br>Choice B is incorrect because the plural verb “were” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin.” Choice C is incorrect because the plural verb “are” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin.” Choice D is incorrect because the plural verb “have been” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin.”",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "7a0d9031",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In many of her landscape paintings from the 1970s and 1980s, Lebanese American artist Etel Adnan worked to capture the essence of California’s fog-shrouded Mount Tamalpais region through abstraction, using splotches of color to represent the area’s features. Interestingly, the triangle representing the mountain itself ______blank among the few defined figures in her paintings.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "are" },
      { label: "B", text: "have been" },
      { label: "C", text: "were" },
      { label: "D", text: "is" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject–verb agreement. The singular verb “is” agrees in number with the singular subject “the triangle.” <br>Choice A is incorrect because the plural verb “are” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “the triangle.” Choice B is incorrect because the plural verb “have been” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “the triangle.” Choice C is incorrect because the plural verb “were” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “the triangle.”",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "7f1df833",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In 1966, Emmett Ashford became the first African American to umpire a Major League Baseball game. His energetic gestures announcing when a player had struck out and his habit of barreling after a hit ball to see if it would land out of ______blank transform the traditionally solemn umpire role into a dynamic one.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "bounds helped" },
      { label: "B", text: "bounds, helping" },
      { label: "C", text: "bounds that helped" },
      { label: "D", text: "bounds to help" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is finite verb use in a main clause. A main clause requires a finite verb to perform the action of the subject (in this case, Ashford’s “gestures” and “habit”), and this choice supplies the finite past tense verb “helped” to indicate what Ashford’s gestures and habit helped accomplish. <br>Choice B is incorrect because the non-finite participle “helping” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb. Choice C is incorrect because the relative clause “that helped” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb. Choice D is incorrect because the non-finite to-infinitive “to help” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "8d53e7a0",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo’s debut novel The Poet X, winner of the 2018 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, is composed of ______blank protagonist, fifteen-year-old Xiomara Batista.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "poems putatively written by the novel’s" },
      { label: "B", text: "poem’s putatively written by the novel’s" },
      { label: "C", text: "poem’s putatively written by the novels’" },
      { label: "D", text: "poems putatively written by the novels’" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. Nothing belongs to the “poems” in the sentence, so it should not be possessive—just a simple plural noun. The protagonist does belong to the novel—it’s the protagonist of the novel—so “novel” needs to be a singular possessive noun. <br>Choice B is incorrect. This doesn’t complete the text in a way that conforms to the conventions of Standard English. This choice uses the singular possessive “poem’s,” but the text indicates that it should be the simple plural “poems”: there is more than one poem, and nothing belongs to the poems. Choice C is incorrect. This doesn’t complete the text in a way that conforms to the conventions of Standard English. This choice uses the singular possessive “poem’s,” but the text indicates that it should be the simple plural “poems”: there is more than one poem, and nothing belongs to the poems. This choice also uses the plural possessive “novels’,” which is incorrect because there is only one novel. Choice D is incorrect. This doesn’t complete the text in a way that conforms to the conventions of Standard English. This choice uses the plural possessive “novels’,” which is incorrect because there is only one novel, so it should be the singular possessive “novel’s.” .",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "9f737b2a",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In Death Valley National Park’s Racetrack Playa, a flat, dry lakebed, are 162 rocks—some weighing less than a pound but others almost 700 pounds—that move periodically from place to place, seemingly of their own volition. Racetrack-like trails in the ______blank mysterious migration.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "playas sediment mark the rock’s" },
      { label: "B", text: "playa’s sediment mark the rocks" },
      { label: "C", text: "playa’s sediment mark the rocks’" },
      { label: "D", text: "playas’ sediment mark the rocks’" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      "Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of plural and possessive nouns. The singular possessive noun “playa’s” and the plural possessive noun “rocks’” correctly indicate that the sediment is that of one playa (the Racetrack Playa) and that there are multiple rocks that have mysteriously migrated across the sediment. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the context requires the singular possessive noun “playa’s” and the plural possessive noun “rocks’,” not the plural noun “playas” and the singular possessive noun “rock’s.” Choice B is incorrect because the context requires the plural possessive noun “rocks’,” not the plural noun “rocks.” Choice D is incorrect because the context requires the singular possessive noun “playa’s,” not the plural possessive noun “playas’.”",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "a30567fd",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>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, ______blank her the moniker “the soul of Lebanon.”</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "earned" },
      { label: "B", text: "had earned" },
      { label: "C", text: "earning" },
      { label: "D", text: "earn" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      'Choice C is the best answer. The word "earning" is being used to introduce an additional modifying phrase, which describes how Fairuz’s repertoire lent her cross-generational appeal. When a verb ends in -ing and doesn’t have a helper verb like "is" before it, it can be used to modify a noun or verb. This is appropriate here.<br>Choice A is incorrect. The underlined verb is being used to introduce additional descriptive information, which is set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma. Because there is no subject here, a finite form of the verb (like "earned") creates an error. We need another form of the verb that doesn’t require a subject and can introduce descriptive information. Choice B is incorrect. The underlined verb is being used to introduce additional descriptive information, which is set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma. Because there is no subject here, a finite form of the verb (like "had earned") creates an error. We need another form of the verb that doesn’t require a subject and can introduce descriptive information. Choice D is incorrect. The underlined verb is being used to introduce additional descriptive information, which is set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma. Because there is no subject here, a finite form of the verb (like "earn") creates an error. We need another form of the verb that doesn’t require a subject and can introduce descriptive information.',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "b74f676f",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Classical composer Florence Price’s 1927 move to Chicago marked a turning point in her career. It was there that Price premiered her First Symphony—a piece that was praised for blending traditional Romantic motifs with aspects of Black folk music—and ______blank supportive relationships with other Black artists.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "developing" },
      { label: "B", text: "developed" },
      { label: "C", text: "to develop" },
      { label: "D", text: "having developed" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      'Choice B is the best answer. The missing verb is part of the same clause as the verb "premiered," and "Price" is the subject of both. So we need the past-tense form "developed" in order to match "premiered."<br>Choice A is incorrect. This choice creates a verb form error. The missing verb is part of the same clause as the verb "premiered," and "Price" is the subject of both. So we need the past-tense form "developed" in order to match "premiered." Choice C is incorrect. This choice creates a verb form error. The missing verb is part of the same clause as the verb "premiered," and "Price" is the subject of both. So we need the past-tense form "developed" in order to match "premiered." Choice D is incorrect. This choice creates a verb form error. The missing verb is part of the same clause as the verb "premiered," and "Price" is the subject of both. So we need the past-tense form "developed" in order to match "premiered."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "b85c19ed",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>The violins handmade in the seventeeth century by Italian craftsman Antonio Stradivari have been celebrated as some of the finest in the world. In close collaboration with musicians, Stradivari introduced changes to the shape of a traditional violin, flattening some of the instrument’s curves and making ______blank lighter overall.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "those" },
      { label: "B", text: "one" },
      { label: "C", text: "them" },
      { label: "D", text: "it" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is pronoun–antecedent agreement. The singular pronoun “it” agrees in number with the singular antecedent “violin” and thus indicates that the traditional violin (and not its curves) was made lighter. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the plural pronoun “those” doesn’t agree in number with the singular antecedent “violin.” Choice B is incorrect because the singular pronoun “one” is ambiguous in this context; the resulting sentence leaves unclear what Stradivari made lighter. Choice C is incorrect because the plural pronoun “them” doesn’t agree in number with the singular antecedent “violin.”",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "c52652c9",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>The human brain is primed to recognize faces—so much so that, due to a perceptual tendency called pareidolia, ______blank will even find faces in clouds, wooden doors, pieces of fruit, and other faceless inanimate objects. Researcher Susan Magsamen has focused her work on better understanding this everyday phenomenon.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "she" },
      { label: "B", text: "they" },
      { label: "C", text: "it" },
      { label: "D", text: "those" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      'Choice C is the best answer. "It" is a singular pronoun used to stand in for objects. Since the antecedent in this case is the singular noun phrase "the human brain," "it" is a perfect pronoun to use here.<br>Choice A is incorrect. Although "she" is a singular pronoun, it is reserved for people and animals, not objects like "the human brain." Choice B is incorrect. "They" is a plural pronoun, but we need a singular pronoun to represent the antecedent "the human brain." Choice D is incorrect. "Those" is a plural pronoun, but we need a singular pronoun to represent the antecedent "the human brain."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "c8607bdf",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>“Praise Song for the Day,” Elizabeth Alexander’s 2009 inaugural poem, asserts that “We cross dirt roads and highways…to see what’s on the other side.” Alexander’s use of “we” ______blank Americans’ collective efforts and shared desire to seek new opportunity.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "evokes" },
      { label: "B", text: "are evoking" },
      { label: "C", text: "have evoked" },
      { label: "D", text: "evoke" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      'Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb "evokes" agrees in number with the singular subject "Alexander’s use."<br>Choice B is incorrect because the plural verb "are evoking" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "Alexander’s use." Choice C is incorrect because the plural verb "have evoked" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "Alexander’s use." Choice D is incorrect because the plural verb "evoke" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "Alexander’s use."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "cd2443c0",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>A pioneer in the field of taphonomy (the study of how organic remains become fossils), ______blank may be just as prevalent in the fossil record as those of thick-shelled organisms.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      {
        label: "A",
        text: "fossils of thin-shelled organisms, Anna Behrensmeyer demonstrated in a 2005 analysis,",
      },
      {
        label: "B",
        text: "Anna Behrensmeyer demonstrated in a 2005 analysis that fossils of thin-shelled organisms",
      },
      {
        label: "C",
        text: "it was demonstrated in a 2005 analysis by Anna Behrensmeyer that fossils of thin-shelled organisms",
      },
      {
        label: "D",
        text: "a 2005 analysis—by Anna Behrensmeyer—demonstrated that fossils of thin-shelled organisms",
      },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      "Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-modifier placement. This choice makes the noun phrase “Anna Behrensmeyer” the subject of the sentence and places it immediately after the modifying phrase “a pioneer…fossils.” In doing so, this choice clearly establishes that Anna Behrensmeyer—and not another noun in the sentence—is a pioneer in the field of taphonomy. <br>Choice A is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “fossils of thin-shelled organisms” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that the “fossils” are a pioneer in the field of taphonomy. Choice C is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the pronoun “it” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that “it” is a pioneer in the field of taphonomy. Choice D is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “a 2005 analysis” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that “a 2005 analysis” is a pioneer in the field of taphonomy.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "d073983d",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Known for her massive photorealistic paintings of African American figures floating or swimming in pools, Calida Garcia ______blank was the logical choice to design the book cover for Ta-Nehisi Coates’s The Water Dancer, a novel about an African American man who can travel great distances through water.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "Rawles—" },
      { label: "B", text: "Rawles:" },
      { label: "C", text: "Rawles," },
      { label: "D", text: "Rawles" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation between a subject and a verb. When, as in this case, a subject (“Calida Garcia Rawles”) is immediately followed by a verb (“was”), no punctuation is needed. <br>Choice A is incorrect because no punctuation is needed between the subject and the verb. Choice B is incorrect because no punctuation is needed between the subject and the verb. Choice C is incorrect because no punctuation is needed between the subject and the verb.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "d2cf0e11",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Inventor John Friedman created a prototype of the first flexible straw by inserting a screw into a paper straw and, using dental floss, binding the straw tightly around the ______blank When the floss and screw were removed, the resulting corrugations in the paper allowed the straw to bend easily over the edge of a glass.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "screw’s thread’s." },
      { label: "B", text: "screws’ threads." },
      { label: "C", text: "screw’s threads." },
      { label: "D", text: "screws threads’." },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      "Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of plural and possessive nouns. The singular possessive noun “screw’s” and the plural noun “threads” correctly indicate that there is only one screw and it has multiple threads. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the context requires the plural noun “threads,” not the singular possessive noun “thread’s.” Choice B is incorrect because the context requires the singular possessive noun “screw’s,” not the plural possessive noun “screws’.” Choice D is incorrect because the context requires the singular possessive noun “screw’s” and the plural noun “threads,” not the plural noun “screws” or the plural possessive noun “threads.’”",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "db2e480a",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>By the time Hawaiian king Kamehameha III ______blank the throne, the number of longhorn cattle, first introduced to the islands in 1793, had drastically increased, and so too had the need for paniolo (Hawaiian cowboys) to manage the wild herds that then roamed throughout the volcanic terrain.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "ascended" },
      { label: "B", text: "will ascend" },
      { label: "C", text: "ascends" },
      { label: "D", text: "is ascending" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      'Choice A is the best answer. "Ascended" is in the simple past tense. Since Kamehameha became king in the past, this makes the most sense.<br>Choice B is incorrect. "Will ascend" is in the future tense, but we wouldn’t know about Kamehameha III’s ascent if it hadn’t happened yet. The information in the sentence, as well as the tense of other verbs, tells us that the events described happened in the past. Choice C is incorrect. "Ascends" is in the simple present tense. However, the information in the sentence, as well as the tense of other verbs, tells us that the events described happened in the past. Choice D is incorrect. "Is ascending" is in the continuous present tense, which we use to show that something is ongoing, but this doesn’t make sense here—the information in the sentence, as well as the tense of other verbs, tells us that the events described happened in the past.',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "dd428136",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Cheng Dang and her colleagues at the University of Washington recently ran simulations to determine the extent to which individual snow ______blank affect the amount of light reflecting off a snowy surface.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "grain’s physical properties’" },
      { label: "B", text: "grains’ physical properties" },
      { label: "C", text: "grains’ physical property’s" },
      { label: "D", text: "grains physical properties" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      "Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of plural and possessive nouns. The plural possessive noun “grains’” and the plural noun “properties” correctly indicate that the simulations involved multiple snow grains and that those snow grains had several properties. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the context requires the plural possessive noun “grains’” and the plural noun “properties,” not the singular possessive noun “grain’s” and the plural possessive noun “properties’.” Choice C is incorrect because the context requires the plural noun “properties,” not the singular possessive noun “property’s.” Choice D is incorrect because the context requires the plural possessive noun “grains’,” not the plural noun “grains.”",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "dd6a0326",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>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, ______blank led to the first mass-produced treatment for glaucoma.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      {
        label: "A",
        text: "Julian synthesized the alkaloid physostigmine in 1935; it",
      },
      {
        label: "B",
        text: "in 1935 Julian synthesized the alkaloid physostigmine, which",
      },
      {
        label: "C",
        text: "Julian’s 1935 synthesis of the alkaloid physostigmine",
      },
      {
        label: "D",
        text: "the alkaloid physostigmine was synthesized by Julian in 1935 and",
      },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      "Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-modifier placement. This choice makes the noun phrase “Julian’s 1935 synthesis” the subject of the sentence and places it immediately after the modifying phrase “named…years.” In doing so, this choice clearly establishes that Julian’s 1935 synthesis of the alkaloid physostigmine—and not another noun in the sentence—was named in 1999 as one of the greatest achievements by a US chemist in the past hundred years.  <br>Choice A is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun “Julian” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that Julian himself was named as one of the greatest achievements by a US chemist in the past hundred years. Choice B is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the prepositional phrase “in 1935” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically and confusingly suggests that “in 1935” was named as one of the greatest achievements by a US chemist in the past hundred years. Choice D is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “the alkaloid physostigmine” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically and confusingly suggests that the alkaloid physostigmine itself (not the synthesis of it) was named as one of the greatest achievements by a US chemist in the past hundred years.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "e44db0a0",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Because a cycle of lunar phases ______blank 29.5 days to complete, it’s possible to observe two full moons in a single month, one at the beginning and one at the end.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "are taking" },
      { label: "B", text: "have taken" },
      { label: "C", text: "take" },
      { label: "D", text: "takes" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      'Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb "takes" agrees in number with the singular subject "a cycle of lunar phases."<br>Choice A is incorrect because the plural verb "are taking" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "a cycle of lunar phases." Choice B is incorrect because the plural verb "have taken" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "a cycle of lunar phases." Choice C is incorrect because the plural verb "take" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "a cycle of lunar phases."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
];

export const FORM_STRUCTURE_HARD: PracticeQuestion[] = [
  {
    id: "0fe5ce68",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Ten of William Shakespeare’s plays are classified as histories. Although each one of these plays, which include Henry V and Richard III, ______blank on a single historical figure (specifically, an English king), some, such as Henry VI Part One and Henry VI Part Two, feature different episodes from the same monarch’s life.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "focuses" },
      { label: "B", text: "focus" },
      { label: "C", text: "are focused" },
      { label: "D", text: "were focused" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      'Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb "focuses" agrees in number with the singular subject "each one of these plays," which refers to each play individually.<br>Choice B is incorrect because the plural verb "focus" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "each one of these plays." Choice C is incorrect because the plural verb "are focused" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "each one of these plays." Choice D is incorrect because the plural verb "were focused" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "each one of these plays."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "188f7e3c",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>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, ______blank</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      {
        label: "A",
        text: "the mitigation of both street flooding and the resulting pollution of nearby waterways has been achieved by bioswales.",
      },
      {
        label: "B",
        text: "the bioswales have mitigated both street flooding and the resulting pollution of nearby waterways.",
      },
      {
        label: "C",
        text: "the bioswales’ mitigation of both street flooding and the resulting pollution of nearby waterways has been achieved.",
      },
      {
        label: "D",
        text: "both street flooding and the resulting pollution of nearby waterways have been mitigated by bioswales.",
      },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      "Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-modifier placement. This choice makes the noun phrase “the bioswales” the subject of the sentence and places it immediately after the modifying phrase “By reducing…sewers.” In doing so, this choice clearly establishes that the bioswales—and not another noun in the sentence—are reducing runoff flowing into city sewers. <br>Choice A is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “the mitigation…waterways” immediately after the modifying phrase results in unclear modification. The resulting sentence makes it hard to determine what is responsible for “reducing the runoff”: the bioswales or some other noun in the sentence. Choice C is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “the bioswales’ mitigation…waterways”  immediately after the modifying phrase results in unclear modification. The resulting sentence makes it hard to determine what is responsible for “reducing the runoff”: the bioswales or some other noun in the sentence. Choice D is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “street flooding and the resulting pollution” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that the “flooding and pollution” are reducing runoff flowing into city sewers.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "2dd1b8bf",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Compared to that of alumina glass, ______blank silica glass atoms are so far apart that they are unable to re-form bonds after being separated.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      {
        label: "A",
        text: "silica glass is at a significant disadvantage due to its more dispersed atomic arrangement:",
      },
      {
        label: "B",
        text: "silica glass has a more dispersed atomic arrangement, resulting in a significant disadvantage:",
      },
      {
        label: "C",
        text: "a significant disadvantage of silica glass is that its atomic arrangement is more dispersed:",
      },
      {
        label: "D",
        text: "silica glass’s atomic arrangement is more dispersed, resulting in a significant disadvantage:",
      },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-modifier placement. This choice makes “silica glass’s atomic arrangement” the subject of the sentence and places it immediately after the modifying phrase “compared to that of alumina glass.” In doing so, this choice clearly establishes that silica glass’s atomic arrangement—and not another noun in the sentence—is being compared to the atomic arrangement (“that”) of alumina glass. <br>Choice A is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “silica glass” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that silica glass itself (rather than its atomic arrangement) is being compared to alumina glass’s atomic arrangement. Choice B is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “silica glass” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that silica glass itself (rather than its atomic arrangement) is being compared to alumina glass’s atomic arrangement. Choice C is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “a significant disadvantage” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that “a significant disadvantage” is being compared to alumina glass’s atomic arrangement.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "329255db",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Bengali author Toru Dutt’s A Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields (1876), a volume of English translations of French poems, ______blank scholars’ understanding of the transnational and multilingual contexts in which Dutt lived and worked.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "has enhanced" },
      { label: "B", text: "are enhancing" },
      { label: "C", text: "have enhanced" },
      { label: "D", text: "enhance" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb “has enhanced” agrees in number with the singular subject “A Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields,” which is the title of a book of poems. <br>Choice B is incorrect because the plural verb “are enhancing” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “A Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields.” Choice C is incorrect because the plural verb “have enhanced” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “A Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields.” Choice D is incorrect because the plural verb “enhance” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “A Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields.”",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "37e5c794",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Despite being cheap, versatile, and easy to produce, ______blank they are made from nonrenewable petroleum, and most do not biodegrade in landfills.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      {
        label: "A",
        text: "there are two problems associated with commercial plastics:",
      },
      {
        label: "B",
        text: "two problems are associated with commercial plastics:",
      },
      {
        label: "C",
        text: "commercial plastics’ two associated problems are that",
      },
      { label: "D", text: "commercial plastics have two associated problems:" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-modifier placement. This choice ensures that the modifying phrase “despite being cheap, versatile, and easy to produce” appears immediately before the noun it modifies, “commercial plastics,” clearly establishing that the commercial plastics—and not another noun in the sentence—are being described as cheap, versatile, and easy to produce. <br>Choice A is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the function word “there” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically and confusingly suggests that “there” is cheap, versatile, and easy to produce. Choice B is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun “two problems” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that the “problems” are cheap, versatile, and easy to produce. Choice C is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “commercial plastics’ two associated problems” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that the “problems” are cheap, versatile, and easy to produce.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "3bceeb93",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>When they were first discovered in Australia in 1798, duck-billed, beaver-tailed platypuses so defied categorization that one scientist assigned them the name Ornithorhynchus paradoxus: “paradoxical bird-snout.” The animal, which lays eggs but also nurses ______blank young with milk, has since been classified as belonging to the monotremes group.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "they’re" },
      { label: "B", text: "their" },
      { label: "C", text: "its" },
      { label: "D", text: "it’s" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      'Choice C is the best answer. The singular possessive pronoun "its" agrees with the singular antecedent "the animal" and indicates that the "young" belong to it.<br>Choice A is incorrect. This choice creates a pronoun-antecedent agreement error. "They’re" is a contraction of "they are," a plural pronoun and verb, but the antecedent "the animal" is singular. Also, we don’t need the extra verb "are" — we already have a main verb in this clause, so adding "are" would be confusing and ungrammatical. Choice B is incorrect. This choice creates a pronoun-antecedent agreement error. "Their" is a plural pronoun, but the subject of the sentence is "the animal," a singular noun. Choice D is incorrect. This choice creates a confusing and ungrammatical sentence. "It’s" is a contraction for "it is." We already have the verb "nurses" in this clause, so we shouldn’t add the verb "is."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "3daf126e",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>A model created by biologist Luis Valente predicts that the rate of speciation—the rate at which new species form—on an isolated island located approximately 5,000 kilometers from the nearest mainland ______blank triple the rate of speciation on an island only 500 kilometers from the mainland.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "being" },
      { label: "B", text: "to be" },
      { label: "C", text: "to have been" },
      { label: "D", text: "will be" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is finite and nonfinite verb forms within a sentence. Relative clauses, such as the one beginning with “that,” require a finite verb, a verb that can function as the main verb of a clause. This choice correctly supplies the clause with the finite future tense verb “will be.” <br>Choice A is incorrect because the nonfinite participle “being” doesn’t supply the clause with a finite verb. Choice B is incorrect because the nonfinite to-infinitive “to be” doesn’t supply the clause with a finite verb. Choice C is incorrect because the nonfinite to-infinitive “to have been” doesn’t supply the clause with a finite verb.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "50801257",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In 1994, almost 200 years after the death of Wang Zhenyi, the International Astronomical ______blank the contributions of the barrier-breaking 18th-century astronomer and author of “Dispute of the Procession of the Equinoxes,” naming a crater on Venus after her.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "Union would finally acknowledge" },
      { label: "B", text: "Union to finally acknowledge" },
      { label: "C", text: "Union, having finally acknowledged" },
      { label: "D", text: "Union, finally acknowledging" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. It’s the only choice that offers a form of the verb “acknowledge” that can go with the subject “International Astronomical Union” to make a complete sentence. This might seem like an odd use of “would,” but when speaking from a point of view in the past, we can actually use “would” to express something that happened later. That’s the case here: 200 years after Wang Zhenyi’s death, the IAU would finally acknowledge her contributions. <br>Choice B is incorrect. This choice creates a sentence fragment. There’s no main verb elsewhere in the sentence, so we need a form of the verb “acknowledge” that can go with the subject “the International Astronomical Union” and serve as that main verb. “To acknowledge” can’t do that. Choice C is incorrect. This choice creates a sentence fragment. There’s no main verb elsewhere in the sentence, so we need a form of the verb “acknowledge” that can go with the subject “the International Astronomical Union” and serve as that main verb. “Having acknowledged” can’t do that. Choice D is incorrect. This choice creates a sentence fragment. There’s no main verb elsewhere in the sentence, so we need a form of the verb “acknowledge” that can go with the subject “the International Astronomical Union” and serve as that main verb. The “-ing” form can’t do that.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "512f0ac9",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Working from an earlier discovery of Charpentier’s, chemists Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna—winners of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry—re-created and then reprogrammed the so-called “genetic scissors” of a species of DNA-cleaving bacteria ______blank a tool that is revolutionizing the field of gene technology.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "to forge" },
      { label: "B", text: "forging" },
      { label: "C", text: "forged" },
      { label: "D", text: "and forging" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of finite and nonfinite verb forms within a sentence. The nonfinite to-infinitive “to forge” is correctly used to form a nonfinite (infinitive) clause that explains why the chemists re-created and reprogrammed the DNA-cleaving bacteria. <br>Choice B is incorrect. Without a comma separating the main clause (“chemists...bacteria”) from the participle “forging,” this choice illogically suggests that the bacteria are forging a tool, which doesn’t make sense. Choice C is incorrect. Without a coordinating conjunction such as “and” placed before it, the finite past tense verb “forged” can’t be used in this way to describe the chemists’ actions. Choice D is incorrect. If read as a finite verb, the present progressive verb “forging” isn’t consistent with the past tense verbs used in this sentence to describe the actions of the chemists. If read as a nonfinite verb, the participle “forging” can’t be used in this way because there is no following main clause for it to modify.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "5b8f9cf2",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>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, ______blank interrogates systemic power with memorable intensity.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      {
        label: "A",
        text: "Morocco gained its independence two years before the publication of Chraïbi’s debut novel, which",
      },
      {
        label: "B",
        text: "Chraïbi’s debut novel, published two years before Morocco gained its independence,",
      },
      {
        label: "C",
        text: "Chraïbi wrote a debut novel that, published two years before Morocco gained its independence,",
      },
      {
        label: "D",
        text: "published two years before Morocco gained its independence, Chraïbi wrote a debut novel that",
      },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      'Choice B is the best answer. Subject-modifier placement requires a modifier and its subject to be next to each other. The subject of the modifier "a coming-of-age story…colonialism" is Chraïbi’s novel The Simple Past, so the subject "Chraïbi’s debut novel" fits perfectly after this introductory modifying phrase.<br>Choice A is incorrect. Modifiers and their subjects must go next to each other. The introductory modifier "a coming-of-age story…colonialism" is describing Chraïbi’s novel, not Morocco. However, this choice places Morocco directly next to that modifier. Choice C is incorrect. Modifiers and their subjects must go next to each other. The introductory modifier "a coming-of-age story…colonialism" all describes Chraïbi’s novel, not Chraïbi himself. However, this choice places Chraïbi directly next to that modifier. Choice D is incorrect. Modifiers and their subjects must go next to each other. The modifier "a coming-of-age story…" is describing Chraïbi’s novel, so that needs to be the subject immediately after the modifier. This choice adds another modifier that describes Chraïbi’s novel, but then puts "Chraïbi" himself—not the novel—right after that modifier, which doesn’t make sense. Chraïbi wasn’t "published two years before" Moroccan independence; his novel The Simple Past was.',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "61160f0a",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Author Madeline L’Engle, ______blank to create a suspenseful tone that draws the reader in, begins her novel A Wrinkle in Time with descriptions of “wraithlike shadows” and “the frenzied lashing of the wind.”</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "looked" },
      { label: "B", text: "looks" },
      { label: "C", text: "is looking" },
      { label: "D", text: "looking" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verb forms within a sentence. The nonfinite present participle verb “looking” is correctly used to form a subordinate clause that describes the intent behind how L’Engle begins her novel. <br>Choice A is incorrect because the finite past tense verb “looked” can’t be used in this way to form a subordinate clause. Choice B is incorrect because the finite present tense verb “looks” can’t be used in this way to form a subordinate clause. Choice C is incorrect because the finite present progressive tense verb “is looking” can’t be used in this way to form a subordinate clause.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "8a9d2f4e",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Researchers studying the “terra-cotta army,” the thousands of life-size statues of warriors found interred near the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang of China, were shocked to realize that the shape of each statue’s ears, like the shape of each person’s ears, ______blank unique.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "are" },
      { label: "B", text: "is" },
      { label: "C", text: "were" },
      { label: "D", text: "have been" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "B",
    explanation:
      "Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject–verb agreement. because the singular verb “is” agrees in number with the singular subject “the shape.” <br>Choice A is incorrect because the plural verb “are” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “the shape.” Choice C is incorrect because the plural verb “were” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “the shape.” Choice D is incorrect because the plural verb “have been” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “the shape.”",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "a14eef71",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>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, ______blank</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      {
        label: "A",
        text: "when their COF drops below 0.01, two surfaces reach superlubricity.",
      },
      {
        label: "B",
        text: "two surfaces, when their COF drops below 0.01, reach superlubricity.",
      },
      {
        label: "C",
        text: "reaching superlubricity occurs when two surfaces’ COF drops below 0.01.",
      },
      {
        label: "D",
        text: "superlubricity is reached when two surfaces’ COF drops below 0.01.",
      },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. The subject of the modifier “a nearly frictionless state” is “superlubricity.” Subject-modifier placement requires a modifier and its subject to be next to one another, so “superlubricity” must be the first word in the missing clause. <br>Choice A is incorrect. This choice creates a subject-modifier placement error. The subject of the modifier “a nearly frictionless state” is “superlubricity.” Subject-modifier placement requires a modifier and its subject to be next to one another, so “superlubricity” must be the first word in the missing clause. Choice B is incorrect. This choice creates a subject-modifier placement error. The subject of the modifier “a nearly frictionless state” is “superlubricity.” Subject-modifier placement requires a modifier and its subject to be next to one another, so “superlubricity” must be the first word in the missing clause. Choice C is incorrect. This choice creates a subject-modifier placement error. The subject of the modifier “a nearly frictionless state” is “superlubricity.” Subject-modifier placement requires a modifier and its subject to be next to one another, so “superlubricity” must be the first word in the missing clause.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "c91ef0f0",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>During the American Civil War, Thomas Morris Chester braved the front lines as a war correspondent for the Philadelphia Press. Amplifying the voices and experiences of Black soldiers ______blank of particular importance to Chester, who later became an activist and lawyer during the postwar Reconstruction period.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "were" },
      { label: "B", text: "have been" },
      { label: "C", text: "are" },
      { label: "D", text: "was" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      'Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb "was" agrees in number with the singular subject "amplifying." Gerunds such as "amplifying" are always singular.<br>Choice A is incorrect because the plural verb "were" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "amplifying." Choice B is incorrect because the plural verb "have been" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "amplifying." Choice C is incorrect because the plural verb "are" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "amplifying."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "d2b81427",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In assessing the films of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, ______blank have missed his equally deep engagement with Japanese artistic traditions such as Noh theater.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      {
        label: "A",
        text: "many critics have focused on Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources but",
      },
      {
        label: "B",
        text: "Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources has been the focus of many critics, who",
      },
      {
        label: "C",
        text: "there are many critics who have focused on Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources, but they",
      },
      {
        label: "D",
        text: "the focus of many critics has been on Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources; they",
      },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-modifier placement. This choice makes the noun phrase “many critics” the subject of the sentence and places it immediately after the modifying phrase “in assessing…Kurosawa.” In doing so, this choice clearly establishes that it is the critics—and not another noun in the sentence—who assess Kurosawa’s films. <br>Choice B is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “Kurosawa’s…sources” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that his use of Western literary sources is what assesses Kurosawa’s films. Choice C is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the function word “there” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that “there” is what assesses Kurosawa’s films. Choice D is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “the focus…critics” immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that the critics’ focus is what assesses Kurosawa’s films.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "d46ac7e7",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>A second-generation Japanese American, Wataru Misaka ______blank in World War II (1941-45) and won two amateur national basketball championships at the University of Utah when he joined the New York Knicks for the 1947-48 season, becoming the first non-white basketball player in the US’s top professional league.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "already served" },
      { label: "B", text: "was already serving" },
      { label: "C", text: "already serves" },
      { label: "D", text: "had already served" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      "Choice D is the best answer. Misaka served in World War II before he joined the New York Knicks in 1947. To show that a past occurrence took place before another past occurrence, we need to use “had” + the past tense form of the verb. This is called the past perfect tense. <br>Choice A is incorrect. Misaka served in World War II before he joined the Knicks. Both events are in the past, but his service in World War II happened earlier, so we need a verb that makes it clear that his service (and the two national championships) had ended by the time he joined the Knicks. Choice B is incorrect. “Was already serving” forms the continuous past tense, which we use when we’re showing a past action that was ongoing. Misaka served in World War II before he joined the Knicks. Both events are in the past, but they’re not happening at the same time, so we shouldn’t use the continuous past tense here. Choice C is incorrect. Misaka served in World War II in the past, so we shouldn’t use the present tense “serves.”",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "dab8b8ee",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>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, ______blank</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      {
        label: "A",
        text: "a recent study’s estimate is that these crusts reduce global dust emissions by 60 percent each year.",
      },
      {
        label: "B",
        text: "an estimated 60 percent reduction in global dust emissions each year is due to these crusts, according to a recent study.",
      },
      {
        label: "C",
        text: "these crusts reduce global dust emissions by an estimated 60 percent each year, according to a recent study.",
      },
      {
        label: "D",
        text: "a recent study has estimated that these crusts reduce global dust emissions by 60 percent each year.",
      },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "C",
    explanation:
      'Choice C is the best answer. The subject of the modifier "fortifying soil in arid ecosystems against erosion" is "biocrusts." Subject-modifier placement requires a modifier and its subject to be next to each other, so "biocrusts" or some variant meaning "biocrusts" (in this case, "these crusts") must begin the missing clause.<br>Choice A is incorrect. Modifiers and their subjects must go next to each other. The subject of the modifier "fortifying soil in arid ecosystems against erosion" is "biocrusts," not "a recent study’s estimate." Choice B is incorrect. Modifiers and their subjects must go next to each other. The subject of the modifier "fortifying soil in arid ecosystems against erosion" is "biocrusts," not "an estimated 60 percent reduction." Choice D is incorrect. Modifiers and their subjects must go next to each other. The subject of the modifier "fortifying soil in arid ecosystems against erosion" is "biocrusts," not "a recent study."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "dc645172",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>The artistic talents of Barbara Chase-Riboud, most known for her 1979 historical novel Sally Hemings and the conversation it inspired, ______blank limited to the realm of prose: she first excelled in sculpture, where her affinity for bronze—a material she described as “timeless” due to its use across eras and cultures—became part of her artistic identity.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "hasn’t been" },
      { label: "B", text: "wasn’t" },
      { label: "C", text: "isn’t" },
      { label: "D", text: "aren’t" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      'Choice D is the best answer. The subject "talents" is plural, and so is the verb "aren’t": "the artistic talents…aren’t limited."<br>Choice A is incorrect. The subject "talents" is plural, but the verb "hasn’t been" is singular. Choice B is incorrect. The subject "talents" is plural, but the verb "wasn’t" is singular. Choice C is incorrect. The subject "talents" is plural, but the verb "isn’t" is singular.',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "de3dd17d",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>Planetary scientist Briony Horgan and her colleagues have determined that as much as 25 percent of the sand on Mars is composed of impact spherules. These spherical bits of glass form when asteroids collide with the planet, ejecting bits of molten rock into the atmosphere that, after cooling and solidifying into glass, ______blank back onto Mars’s surface.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "to rain" },
      { label: "B", text: "raining" },
      { label: "C", text: "having rained" },
      { label: "D", text: "rain" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      'Choice D is the best answer. "That…<strong>rain</strong> back onto Mars’s surface" is a relative clause that describes the "bits of molten rock." Forming the clause requires a conjugated, finite verb, and this is the only choice that provides that.<br>Choice A is incorrect. "To rain" is an infinitive and can’t serve as the main verb of a clause. A conjugated verb is needed here to form the main verb of the relative clause "that…<strong>rain</strong> back onto Mars’s surface," which describes the "bits of molten rock." Choice B is incorrect. "Raining" is a present participle and, on its own, can’t serve as the main verb of a clause. A conjugated verb is needed here to form the main verb of the relative clause "that…<strong>rain</strong> back onto Mars’s surface," which describes the "bits of molten rock." Choice C is incorrect. "Having rained" is a perfect participle and can’t serve as the main verb of a clause. A conjugated verb is needed here to form the main verb of the relative clause "that…<strong>rain</strong> back onto Mars’s surface," which describes the "bits of molten rock."',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "dfbf5d33",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>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, ______blank forcing an angered Richard from the royal court and precipitating a series of battles later known as the Wars of the Roses.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "Henry resumed his reign," },
      { label: "B", text: "the reign of Henry resumed," },
      { label: "C", text: "Henry’s reign resumed," },
      { label: "D", text: "it was Henry who resumed his reign," },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-modifier placement. This choice ensures that the introductory phrase “upon recovering two years later” appears immediately before the noun it modifies (“Henry”), clearly establishing that Henry recovered two years later. <br>Choice B is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “the reign of Henry” immediately after the introductory phrase illogically suggests that the reign of Henry recovered two years later. Choice C is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “Henry’s reign” immediately after the introductory phrase illogically suggests that Henry’s reign recovered two years later. Choice D is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the function word “it” immediately after the introductory phrase illogically suggests that “it” recovered two years later.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "ea0aa676",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>In the 1970s, Janaki Ammal, a prominent botanist, emerged as a powerful voice in India’s environmental conservation movement. Her exhaustive chromosomal survey of plants in Silent Valley, a pristine tropical forest in Kerala, India, that is home to nearly 1,000 species of native flora (many of which are endangered), ______blank instrumental in the government’s decision to preserve the forest.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      { label: "A", text: "are" },
      { label: "B", text: "were" },
      { label: "C", text: "have been" },
      { label: "D", text: "was" },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "D",
    explanation:
      'Choice D is the best answer. The subject "survey" is singular, and so is the verb "was."<br>Choice A is incorrect. The subject "survey" is singular, but the verb "are" is plural. Choice B is incorrect. The subject "survey" is singular, but the verb "were" is plural. Choice C is incorrect. The subject "survey" is singular, but the verb "have been" is plural.',
    hasFigure: false,
  },
  {
    id: "f0864217",
    type: "mcq",
    passage:
      "<p>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, ______blank had once been an ally of the king but was later captured while leading an invading force against him.</p>",
    questionHtml:
      "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?",
    choices: [
      {
        label: "A",
        text: "Rabinal Achí tells the story of K’iche’ Achí, a military leader who",
      },
      {
        label: "B",
        text: "K’iche’ Achí, the military leader in the story of Rabinal Achí,",
      },
      {
        label: "C",
        text: "the military leader whose story is told in Rabinal Achí, K’iche’ Achí,",
      },
      {
        label: "D",
        text: "there was a military leader, K’iche’ Achí, who in Rabinal Achí",
      },
    ],
    correctAnswer: "A",
    explanation:
      "Choice A is the best answer. The modifier “Based on events…by a king,” is describing the drama “Rabinal Achí.” Modifiers need to be next to the subjects they describe, so “Rabinal Achí” needs to be the first word after the comma. <br>Choice B is incorrect. This doesn’t complete the text in a way that conforms to the conventions of Standard English. The modifier “Based on events…by a king,” is describing the drama “Rabinal Achí.” Modifiers need to be next to the subjects they describe, so “Rabinal Achí” needs to be the first word after the comma. Choice C is incorrect. This doesn’t complete the text in a way that conforms to the conventions of Standard English. The modifier “Based on events…by a king,” is describing the drama “Rabinal Achí.” Modifiers need to be next to the subjects they describe, so “Rabinal Achí” needs to be the first word after the comma. Choice D is incorrect. This doesn’t complete the text in a way that conforms to the conventions of Standard English. The modifier “Based on events…by a king,” is describing the drama “Rabinal Achí.” Modifiers need to be next to the subjects they describe, so “Rabinal Achí” needs to be the first word after the comma.",
    hasFigure: false,
  },
];
