Revising Strategies

(1) There was once a grand city on the northeast coast of the Mediterranean Sea near Egypt. (2) Known as Thonis to the Egyptians and Heracleion to the Greeks, the metropolis was supposedly one of extraordinary wealth. (3) Some records indicate that Helen of Troy visited the area before the Trojan War. (4) Founded around 700 B.C., it thrived for centuries and then allegedly disappeared into the depths of the ocean. (5) However, because no trace of Thonis-Heracleion had ever been found, it became more of a legend than a reality.

The meaning of sentence 4 is unclear. Byron can improve the clarity of this sentence by

changing it to —

• the famous Trojans

• the magnificent city

• the extreme wealth

• the historical record

(5) However, because no trace of Thonis-Heracleion had ever been found, it became more of a legend than a reality.

(6) In 2000, French archaeologist Franck Goddio and a team of researchers were meticulously surveying an area in the Mediterranean near the Egyptian shore. (7) They hoped to find proof that the legendary city existed.

Byron would like to add a sentence to the end of the first paragraph (sentences 1–5) to help transition into the ideas in the second paragraph (sentences 6–9). Which sentence can be added after sentence 5 to help accomplish this goal?

• It was difficult to say whether the ancient city was real or had just been a figment of someone’s imagination.

• But one day, as so often happens, everything changed, and it changed rapidly and excitingly and permanently.

• Because no one could definitively prove that it had ever existed, people had trouble believing that it actually had.

• Aside from the historical references mentioned above, Thonis-Heracleion was essentially forgotten—that is, until recently.

(6) In 2000, French archaeologist Franck Goddio and a team of researchers were meticulously surveying an area in the Mediterranean near the Egyptian shore. (7) They hoped to find proof that the legendary city existed. (8) As divers sifted through layers of sand and mud, they discovered some extraordinarily well-preserved relics of an ancient city. (9) It was Thonis-Heracleion.

• Before long they realized that they had found the city of Thonis-Heracleion.

• In time they realized that they had actually found what was a very ancient city.

• At first no one knew exactly what had been discovered, but there was plenty of curiosity.

• D In the end it just happened to be the place and the city of Thonis-Heracleion.

(10) In cooperation with the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, Goddio’s team began to carefully survey and excavate the underwater city. (11) The artifacts they discovered revealed a city as grand as its legend. (12) At the center of the city stood a large temple, just as ancient historians had described. (13) A network of canals and channels stretched out from the temple. (14) Researchers believe that Thonis-Heracleion would have been the first stop for foreign merchants at the Egyptian border.

Which of these sentences could best follow sentence 13 and provide additional support for the main idea of the third paragraph (sentences 10–14)?

• In his research Goddio has collaborated with archaeologists, Egyptologists, historians, geologists, geophysicists, computer engineers, and others.

• The remains of more than 60 ships, at least 700 ancient anchors, gold coins, and bronze, lead, and stone weights indicate that the city was a major trading port in the eastern

  Mediterranean.

• The city was probably an important entry port for trade into Egypt before it sank into the Mediterranean Sea so many centuries ago.

• Some accounts suggest that both Helen of Troy and her lover, Paris, were stranded on the island for a period of time as they hid from her Greek husband.

(23) Scientists aren’t sure why Thonis-Heracleion disappeared into the water. (24) There’s no certainty regarding this issue. (25) Some think that a rise in sea level combined with unstable sediment might have been the reason. (26) Others suggest that an earthquake was responsible. (27) Still others believe that it might have been a combination of these factors. (28) As the study of the site continues, researchers are learning more and more about this remarkable city and the period in which it thrived.

There is a redundant (unnecessary) sentence in the last paragraph (sentences 23–28). Which sentence

should be deleted from this paragraph?

• sentence 24

• sentence 25

• sentence 26

• sentence 27