Deck 4: Achieving Coherence

Question 1

Instructions: Select the letter of the answer that arranges the ideas that develop each of the topic sentences below in their order of importance. Begin with the most important (or largest, most severe, most surprising) and continue to the least important. For three reasons, motorists should not exceed the posted speed limit.
____ At highway speeds, driving too fast can lower gas mileage by as much as 33 percent, resulting in higher gasoline bills.
____ People who drive the speed limit are less likely to cause or be involved in traffic accidents that injure and kill.
____ Driving the speed limit will eliminate the worry of getting a speeding ticket and having to pay hundreds of dollars in fines and court costs.

A) 1, 3, 2
B) 3, 1, 2
C) 3, 2, 1

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Instructions: Each topic sentence below is followed by supporting details. Select the letter of the answer that arranges each group of details according to space order. Describe a science classroom.
____ rows of chairs and counters where students are writing
____ back wall of shelves with jars containing small animals, a human brain
____ on front counter, large plastic model of an eyeball
____ human skeleton hanging on a pole in front of the jars
____ professor in white lab coat explaining the parts of the eye

A) 3, 5, 1, 4, 2
B) 2, 1, 4, 5, 3
C) 4, 3, 5, 1, 2

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Instructions: Select the letter of the answer that arranges the ideas that develop each topic sentence below in their order of importance. Begin with the most important (or largest, most severe, most surprising) and continue to the least important. According to financial experts, the ideal budget allots certain amounts of money for different types of expenses.
____ Taxes, including federal and state income taxes and property taxes, should amount to 25 percent or less of one's total income.
____ Living expenses, including the cost of electricity, food, clothing, and entertainment, should not exceed 26 percent of one's income.
____ Four percent of one's budget should go for insurance, including life, health, and auto insurance.
____ Housing (either rent or mortgage payments) plus other debts, including auto loans and credit-card payments, should not exceed 30 percent of income.
____ Everyone should set aside 15 percent of his or her income for saving or investing.

A) 4, 2, 1, 3, 5
B) 3, 2, 5, 1, 4
C) 1, 5, 2, 4, 3

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Instructions: For the following question(s), select the letter of the answer that arranges each set of sentences in logical time order. The first sentence is the topic sentence in each set. Long before the English permanently colonized Virginia in 1607, both the French and Spanish had set up colonies in the New World.
____ The first permanent Spanish settlement was finally established in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565, forty-two years before the English arrived in Jamestown.
____ Long before Jamestown, in 1526, the Spanish created, in what is now Georgia, the colony of San Miguel de Guadalupe.
____ The French colonized Fort Caroline, near present-day Jacksonville, Florida, in 1564, but it was destroyed by the Spanish a year later.
____ In 1562, the French established a colony at Port Royal, in what is now South Carolina.

A) 1, 2, 3, 4
B) 2, 3, 1, 4
C) 4, 1, 3, 2

Question 5

Instructions: Select the letter of the answer that arranges the ideas that develop each topic sentence below in their order of importance. Begin with the most important (or largest, most severe, most surprising) and continue to the least important. Louis Pasteur is revered as a great scientist for his three major discoveries.
____ Almost as important was Pasteur's development of pasteurization, the process that keeps beverages from spoiling, after he realized that tiny living beings, not chemical reactions, were spoiling beverages like milk, wine, vinegar, and beer.
____ Most important, after this Frenchman discovered that weakened forms of a disease could help a person or animal build up immunity to that disease, he created vaccines that have saved millions of lives.
____ Finally, Pasteur found ways to stop a silkworm disease that threatened to ruin France's profitable silk industry.

A) 2, 1, 3
B) 3, 2, 1
C) 1, 3, 2

Question 6

Instructions: Select the letter of the answer that arranges the ideas that develop each of the topic sentences below in their order of importance. Begin with the most important (or largest, most severe, most surprising) and continue to the least important. On January 2, the Waltons returned to find that their home had been robbed.
____ The DVD player was gone.
____ A jar with about $20 in change was nowhere to be found.
____ A video game worth $40 had been taken.
____ Mrs. Walton's diamond ring was missing.
____ Two cans of noodle soup had been filched.

A) 5, 3, 1, 4, 2
B) 2, 4, 3, 1, 5
C) 3, 2, 1, 4, 5

Question 7

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the letter of the correct response.When Lewis and Clark made their way through what is now North Dakota, the Shoshone Indian woman named Sacajawea joined the team of explorers. Because the expedition was traveling with a Native American, other tribes did not attack the group. In fact, one tribe even supplied horses to help the explorers and their interpreter cross the Rocky Mountains. This invaluable team member taught the men how to find medicine and food in the wilderness and once even saved the records of the journey when a canoe overturned during a storm. She reached the Pacific Ocean with Lewis and Clark in 1805. Her fame eventually spread; one of the best-known monuments to her is a statue in Portland, Oregon. Which of the following is a pronoun used to refer to the subject of the paragraph?

A) with
B) her
C) one

Question 8

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the letter of the correct response.When Lewis and Clark made their way through what is now North Dakota, the Shoshone Indian woman named Sacajawea joined the team of explorers. Because the expedition was traveling with a Native American, other tribes did not attack the group. In fact, one tribe even supplied horses to help the explorers and their interpreter cross the Rocky Mountains. This invaluable team member taught the men how to find medicine and food in the wilderness and once even saved the records of the journey when a canoe overturned during a storm. She reached the Pacific Ocean with Lewis and Clark in 1805. Her fame eventually spread; one of the best-known monuments to her is a statue in Portland, Oregon. Which of the following is a synonym used to refer to the subject of the paragraph?

A) this invaluable team member
B) the men
C) the wilderness

Question 9

Instructions: For the following question(s), select the letter of the answer that arranges each set of sentences in logical time order. The first sentence is the topic sentence in each set. Ham the Chimp was the United States' first higher primate astronaut.
____ His training complete, Ham was strapped into a capsule atop a Mercury rocket and launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, into outer space on January 31, 1961.
____ Following his successful flight, the astronaut chimp lived in zoos for 17 years until he died at age 27 and was buried at New Mexico's International Space Hall of Fame.
____ After spending a day in orbit proving that astronauts could indeed function in space, Ham splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean and was picked up by a rescue ship.
____ In December 1960, the chimpanzee was trained to perform simple tasks in response to lights and sounds.

A) 4, 3, 1, 2
B) 2, 4, 3, 1
C) 1, 2, 4, 3

Question 10

Instructions: In each pair of sentences below, carefully determine the exact relationship between the sentences. Then select the transitional expression that clearly expresses this relationship. One symptom of the flu is a high fever. ____, the disease causes chills, body aches, coughing, and fatigue.

A) Thus
B) In contrast
C) In addition

Question 11

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the letter of the correct response.When Lewis and Clark made their way through what is now North Dakota, the Shoshone Indian woman named Sacajawea joined the team of explorers. Because the expedition was traveling with a Native American, other tribes did not attack the group. In fact, one tribe even supplied horses to help the explorers and their interpreter cross the Rocky Mountains. This invaluable team member taught the men how to find medicine and food in the wilderness and once even saved the records of the journey when a canoe overturned during a storm. She reached the Pacific Ocean with Lewis and Clark in 1805. Her fame eventually spread; one of the best-known monuments to her is a statue in Portland, Oregon. Which of the following is a synonym used to refer to the subject of the paragraph?

A) the team of explorers
B) the expedition
C) a Native American

Question 12

Instructions: For the following question(s), select the letter of the answer that arranges each set of sentences in logical time order. The first sentence is the topic sentence in each set. Creating a blog, or personal online journal, is relatively easy.
____ Once your blog is created, post new material every day, but wait until you have posted a month's worth of entries before you begin telling people about it.
____ First of all, choose the type of blog you want to create by picking a focus, such as one of your areas of expertise or some type of current event that fascinates you.
____ After selecting a topic on which to focus, go to a simple blog creation site, such as Blogger.com, and follow the directions there to create your blog.
____ When you have a month's worth of postings, tell your friends to visit your site and begin leaving links to your blog at other blogs you enjoy reading.

A) 1, 4, 3, 2
B) 2, 3, 4, 1
C) 3, 1, 2, 4

Question 13

Instructions: Each topic sentence below is followed by supporting details. Select the letter of the answer that arranges each group of details according to space order. Describe a skyscraper.
____ 150 hotel rooms take up the fifteenth through thirtieth floors
____ offices on floors 2-14
____ on the ground floor, shops and restaurants
____ condominiums occupying the top eighteen floors
____ at the very top, rooftop penthouses

A) 1, 3, 4, 5, 2
B) 2, 4, 5, 3, 1
C) 3, 2, 1, 4, 5

Question 14

Instructions: Each topic sentence below is followed by supporting details. Select the letter of the answer that arranges each group of details according to space order. Describe a person.
____ intense brown eyes
____ narrow hips
____ broad shoulders
____ two-inch scar on right cheek
____ big feet
____ rumpled sandy-colored hair

A) 2, 5, 4, 3, 6, 1
B) 3, 2, 5, 4, 1, 6
C) 6, 3, 1, 5, 3, 2

Question 15

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the letter of the correct response.The cross is, of course, most often associated with Christianity. However, it was also used by the Assyrians to represent their sky god, Anu, and by the Chinese to represent the earth. The symbol appears in Egyptian paintings, too; gods are often shown holding the ankh, a cross topped with a loop, which symbolized immortality. When Hernan Cortés and his Spanish troops invaded Mexico in 1519, they found the cross in native temples there, but the image represented the gods Tlaloc and Quetzalcoatl. The Celtic cross, which predates Christianity, symbolized fertility. Which of the following is a synonym used to refer to the subject of the paragraph?

A) the Chinese
B) the earth
C) the symbol

Question 16

Instructions: Each topic sentence below is followed by supporting details. Select the letter of the answer that arranges each group of details according to space order. Describe a gift.
____ white rectangular box
____ big blue bow
____ flannel nightgown with Minnie Mouse design
____ white tissue paper, the innermost wrapping
____ flowered wrapping paper

A) 2, 5, 4, 1, 3
B) 3, 1, 5, 4, 2
C) 4, 2, 1, 5, 3

Question 17

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the letter of the correct response.When Lewis and Clark made their way through what is now North Dakota, the Shoshone Indian woman named Sacajawea joined the team of explorers. Because the expedition was traveling with a Native American, other tribes did not attack the group. In fact, one tribe even supplied horses to help the explorers and their interpreter cross the Rocky Mountains. This invaluable team member taught the men how to find medicine and food in the wilderness and once even saved the records of the journey when a canoe overturned during a storm. She reached the Pacific Ocean with Lewis and Clark in 1805. Her fame eventually spread; one of the best-known monuments to her is a statue in Portland, Oregon. Which of the following is a pronoun used to refer to the subject of the paragraph?

A) their
B) in
C) she

Question 18

Instructions: In each pair of sentences below, carefully determine the exact relationship between the sentences. Then select the transitional expression that clearly expresses this relationship. He posted his résumé on a job search web site. ____, he waited for employers to contact him for a job interview.

A) Then
B) Therefore
C) Similarly

Question 19

Instructions: In each pair of sentences below, carefully determine the exact relationship between the sentences. Then select the transitional expression that clearly expresses this relationship. A blizzard hit the airport. ____, all flights were cancelled.

A) Nevertheless
B) Consequently
C) For example

Question 20

Instructions: For the following question(s), select the letter of the answer that arranges each set of sentences in logical time order. The first sentence is the topic sentence in each set. The demolition of a building occurs in four main stages.
____ Based on the information they gather, the blasters then carefully plan what type of explosives to use, where to position them in the building, and how to time their detonation.
____ Finally, the team clears the area, begins a countdown, detonates the explosions, and watches as the building collapses in a cloud of dust in just a few seconds.
____ First, the demolition crew studies the building's architectural blueprints to find out exactly how the building is put together.
____ After the demolition team figures out how to set up the blast, it prepares the building by knocking out walls, weakening its support columns, and loading those columns with dynamite.

A) 1, 3, 4, 2
B) 4, 2, 3, 1
C) 2, 4, 1, 3

Question 21

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the letter of the correct response.The cross is, of course, most often associated with Christianity. However, it was also used by the Assyrians to represent their sky god, Anu, and by the Chinese to represent the earth. The symbol appears in Egyptian paintings, too; gods are often shown holding the ankh, a cross topped with a loop, which symbolized immortality. When Hernan Cortés and his Spanish troops invaded Mexico in 1519, they found the cross in native temples there, but the image represented the gods Tlaloc and Quetzalcoatl. The Celtic cross, which predates Christianity, symbolized fertility. Which of the following is a synonym used to refer to the subject of the paragraph?

A) the image
B) the gods Tlaloc and Quetzalcoatl
C) fertility

Question 22

Instructions: Read the passage and then answer the question(s) that follow.Nail polish dates back to about 3000 B.C. In China, it was made from beeswax, egg whites, gelatin, vegetable dyes, and Arabic gum. In ancient Egypt, the cosmetic was made from henna, a reddish-brown dye from the leaves of a henna tree or shrub. In both societies, fingernail colors depended upon one's social and economic class. A royal woman was allowed to wear gold and silver polish. ____________, a lower-ranking woman could wear only pale tones. If she wore royal colors, she was punished with death. What synonym refers to the subject of this passage?

A) cosmetic
B) class
C) woman

Question 23

Instructions: In each pair of sentences below, carefully determine the exact relationship between the sentences. Then select the transitional expression that clearly expresses this relationship. The hurricane's high winds uprooted trees and knocked over utility poles. ____, flooding damaged the city's businesses and homes.

A) In contrast
B) As a result
C) Furthermore

Question 24

Instructions: In each pair of sentences below, carefully determine the exact relationship between the sentences. Then select the transitional expression that clearly expresses this relationship. Some fashions are a health hazard. High heels, ____, can cause back pain and foot injuries.

A) for instance
B) on the other hand
C) meanwhile

Question 25

Instructions: Read the passage and then answer the question(s) that follow.According to sports writer Ian Stafford, the British hold the record for winning the world's oddest competitions . In one of these bizarre events, contestants contort their faces and are judged on their ugliness. One competitor removed half his dentures and reversed the other half, rolled his eyes, and tucked his nose into his mustache and upper lip to achieve prize-winning ugliness. Another of these eccentric contests is snail racing. Opponents in this case are, of course, snails, which are placed in the center of a thirteen-inch cloth circle. The first to reach the edge of the circle wins. The race often takes four to five minutes, although the all-time champion (owned and trained by an English seven-year-old) finished the course in two minutes. Toe wrestling, bog snorkeling, worm charming ¾ the British have emerged as unconquered rivals in all of these so-called sports. Perhaps you think that sports writer Ian Stafford should win first prize in the Biggest Liar in the World Competition. No, every one of these outlandish games exists. You can check them all out on the Internet. What pronoun refers to the subject of this passage?

A) them
B) his
C) it

Question 26

Instructions: Read the passage and then answer the question(s) that follow.According to sports writer Ian Stafford, the British hold the record for winning the world's oddest competitions . In one of these bizarre events, contestants contort their faces and are judged on their ugliness. One competitor removed half his dentures and reversed the other half, rolled his eyes, and tucked his nose into his mustache and upper lip to achieve prize-winning ugliness. Another of these eccentric contests is snail racing. Opponents in this case are, of course, snails, which are placed in the center of a thirteen-inch cloth circle. The first to reach the edge of the circle wins. The race often takes four to five minutes, although the all-time champion (owned and trained by an English seven-year-old) finished the course in two minutes. Toe wrestling, bog snorkeling, worm charming ¾ the British have emerged as unconquered rivals in all of these so-called sports. Perhaps you think that sports writer Ian Stafford should win first prize in the Biggest Liar in the World Competition. No, every one of these outlandish games exists. You can check them all out on the Internet. What synonym refers to the subject of this passage (in italics)?

A) these bizarre events
B) the all-time champion
C) unconquered rivals

Question 27

Instructions: Number the sentences 1, 2, 3, and so on, as if you were preparing to write a paragraph. The apartment needed work before the new tenants could move in.
____ The handles on the kitchen cabinets were loose.
____ Every room needed plastering and painting.
____ The living room and bedroom rugs needed deep cleaning.
____ Two closet doors hung off the hinges.
Select the letter of the answer that lists this set of sentences in logical order.

A) 3, 1, 4, 2
B) 4, 2, 3, 1
C) 2, 3, 1, 4

Question 28

Instructions: Number the sentences 1, 2, 3, and so on, as if you were preparing to write a paragraph.
____ She started her new work with the poor by teaching the street children of Calcutta arithmetic and reading.
____ Mother Teresa was rightly and lovingly named the "Saint of the Gutters."
____ After several years at the school, she decided that her calling lay with the poor.
____ After her efforts in India, she aided relief agencies in Lebanon and Ethiopia, caring for the displaced and the starving.
____ With help from local authorities, she opened and staffed free clinics in the worst sections of Calcutta.
____ Soon she realized that what these poor people needed most was adequate medical facilities.
____ She began her career working at a Catholic school for the wealthy in Calcutta.
Select the letter of the answer that lists this set of sentences in logical order.

A) 2, 3, 4, 1, 7, 6, 5
B) 4, 1, 3, 7, 6, 5, 2
C) 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, 6, 1

Question 29

Instructions: Number the sentences 1, 2, 3, and so on, as if you were preparing to write a paragraph.
____ She started her new work with the poor by teaching the street children of Calcutta arithmetic and reading.
____ Mother Teresa was rightly and lovingly named the "Saint of the Gutters."
____ After several years at the school, she decided that her calling lay with the poor.
____ After her efforts in India, she aided relief agencies in Lebanon and Ethiopia, caring for the displaced and the starving.
____ With help from local authorities, she opened and staffed free clinics in the worst sections of Calcutta.
____ Soon she realized that what these poor people needed most was adequate medical facilities.
____ She began her career working at a Catholic school for the wealthy in Calcutta.
What type of order did you use to arrange the sentences?

A) time order
B) space order
C) order of importance

Question 30

Instructions: Read the passage and then answer the question(s) that follow.Nail polish dates back to about 3000 B.C. In China, it was made from beeswax, egg whites, gelatin, vegetable dyes, and Arabic gum. In ancient Egypt, the cosmetic was made from henna, a reddish-brown dye from the leaves of a henna tree or shrub. In both societies, fingernail colors depended upon one's social and economic class. A royal woman was allowed to wear gold and silver polish. ____________, a lower-ranking woman could wear only pale tones. If she wore royal colors, she was punished with death. What pronoun refers to the subject of this passage?

A) it
B) she

Question 31

Instructions: Read the passage and then answer the question(s) that follow.According to sports writer Ian Stafford, the British hold the record for winning the world's oddest competitions . In one of these bizarre events, contestants contort their faces and are judged on their ugliness. One competitor removed half his dentures and reversed the other half, rolled his eyes, and tucked his nose into his mustache and upper lip to achieve prize-winning ugliness. Another of these eccentric contests is snail racing. Opponents in this case are, of course, snails, which are placed in the center of a thirteen-inch cloth circle. The first to reach the edge of the circle wins. The race often takes four to five minutes, although the all-time champion (owned and trained by an English seven-year-old) finished the course in two minutes. Toe wrestling, bog snorkeling, worm charming ¾ the British have emerged as unconquered rivals in all of these so-called sports. Perhaps you think that sports writer Ian Stafford should win first prize in the Biggest Liar in the World Competition. No, every one of these outlandish games exists. You can check them all out on the Internet. What synonym refers to the subject of this passage (in italics)?

A) an English seven-year-old
B) first prize
C) these outlandish games

Question 32

Instructions: Number the sentences 1, 2, 3, and so on, as if you were preparing to write a paragraph. The apartment needed work before the new tenants could move in.
____ The handles on the kitchen cabinets were loose.
____ Every room needed plastering and painting.
____ The living room and bedroom rugs needed deep cleaning.
____ Two closet doors hung off the hinges.
What type of order did you use to arrange the sentences above?

A) time order
B) space order
C) order of importance: most to least

Question 33

Instructions: Read the passage and then answer the question(s) that follow.Nail polish dates back to about 3000 B.C. In China, it was made from beeswax, egg whites, gelatin, vegetable dyes, and Arabic gum. In ancient Egypt, the cosmetic was made from henna, a reddish-brown dye from the leaves of a henna tree or shrub. In both societies, fingernail colors depended upon one's social and economic class. A royal woman was allowed to wear gold and silver polish. ____________, a lower-ranking woman could wear only pale tones. If she wore royal colors, she was punished with death. What transitional expression belongs in the blank?

A) Next
B) For instance
C) However

Question 34

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the letter of the correct response.The cross is, of course, most often associated with Christianity. However, it was also used by the Assyrians to represent their sky god, Anu, and by the Chinese to represent the earth. The symbol appears in Egyptian paintings, too; gods are often shown holding the ankh, a cross topped with a loop, which symbolized immortality. When Hernan Cortés and his Spanish troops invaded Mexico in 1519, they found the cross in native temples there, but the image represented the gods Tlaloc and Quetzalcoatl. The Celtic cross, which predates Christianity, symbolized fertility. Which of the following is a pronoun used to refer to the subject of the paragraph?

A) it
B) is
C) in

Question 35

Instructions: In each pair of sentences below, carefully determine the exact relationship between the sentences. Then select the transitional expression that clearly expresses this relationship. The star quarterback's arm was bruised. ____, it wasn't broken.

A) Finally
B) However
C) Soon