SAT Grammar 5.1

Lê Lương Minh became the thirteenth secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in January 2013, making _______ the first time the organization would appoint a Vietnamese leader. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• these

• those

• this

• some

In 1929, Edwin Herbert Land invented a polarizing filter that was featured in a number of products, from sunglasses to 3D movies. A decade later, Land _______ his technology to invent the world’s first instant camera, the Polaroid Land camera. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• used

• to have used

• to use

• using

An online content creator who uses copyrighted songs without permission risks being demonetized (prohibited from including paid advertisements in content). The best way to avoid demonetization is to choose music from the public domain. Using one of these noncopyrighted songs _______ a creator won’t lose advertising revenue. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• ensure

• have ensured

• are ensuring

• is ensuring

• ensures

What makes the theremin a unique musical instrument? You play it without touching it. When you place your _______ the pitch will shift as your hands move through the air. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

• hands between the two antennas,

• hand’s between the two antenna’s,

• hands’ between the two antennas,

• hands’ between the two antennas’,

• hands between the two antennae,

In the music video for the song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel, the singer lists 118 political and cultural references. Such iconic references, cited in rapid and frenetic procession by the musician, who is seated impassively at a dinner table, _______ key moments and personalities of the twentieth century. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• represents

• has represented

• was representing

• represent

Long attributed to Jacques-Louis David, the preeminent Neoclassical painter of his day, the 1801 painting Marie Joséphine Charlotte du Val d’Ognes gained fresh attention in the 1990s when art historians discovered that the painting—which depicts a solitary young woman sketching—was actually the work of little-known French portrait _______ Marie-Denise Villers (1774–1821). Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• artist;

• artist—

• artist,

• artist

• artist:

In 1986, conceptual artist Sophie Calle asked twenty-three people, all of whom had been born without sight, to describe “their image of beauty” in rich detail. Calle paired excerpts of these conversations with photographs—both of interviewees and the items they ________ to powerful effect in her exhibition The Blind. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• described, from hair to grass to sculptures

• described, from hair to grass to sculptures—

• described—from hair to grass to sculptures,

• described: from hair to grass to sculptures

Celebrated Tewa potter Maria Martinez (1887–1980) made her signature all-black ceramic vessels using a heating technique called reduction firing. This technique involves smothering the flame surrounding the clay vessel. ________ the vessel takes on a shiny, black hue. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

• On the contrary,

• For example,

• Previously,

• As a result,

Historians agree that the jazz pianist Jelly Roll Morton was exaggerating when he claimed to have invented jazz music. No one can deny, ________ that Morton’s innovative compositions and remarkable improvisational skills helped shape jazz as a genre during its early years. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

• therefore,

• in the second place,

• in other words,

• though,

According to Duverger’s law, countries with single-ballot majoritarian elections for single-member districts tend to polarize into two-party systems, wherein dueling political parties consistently dominate the political system. ________ countries with proportional-representation electoral systems tend to support multi-partyism, under which power gets distributed among many political parties. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

• Subsequently,

• Conversely,

• For instance,

• In other words,