Standard English Conventions Quiz 1

In 1990, California native and researcher Ellen Ochoa left her position as chief of the Intelligent Systems Technology Branch at a NASA research center _______the space agency's astronaut training program.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• to join

• is joining

• joined

• joins

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, ________

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• the bioswales' mitigation of both street flooding and the resulting pollution of nearby waterways has been achieved.

• both street flooding and the resulting pollution of nearby waterways have been mitigated by bioswales.

• the bioswales have mitigated both street flooding and the resulting pollution of nearby waterways.

• the mitigation of both street flooding and the resulting pollution of nearby waterways has been achieved by bioswales.

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, ________

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• these crusts reduce global dust emissions by an estimated 60 percent each year, according to a recent study.

• an estimated 60 percent reduction in global dust emissions each year is due to these crusts, according to a recent study.

• a recent study has estimated that these crusts reduce global dust emissions by 60 percent each year.

• a recent study's estimate is that these crusts reduce global dust emissions by 60 percent each year.

Humans were long thought to have begun occupying the Peruvian settlement of Machu Picchu between 1440 and 1450 CE. However, a team led by anthropologist Dr. Richard Burger used accelerator mass spectrometry to uncover evidence that it was occupied ______ 1420 CE, according to Burger, humans were likely inhabiting the area.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• earlier in

• earlier, which in

• earlier, which in

• earlier, in

In 2018, a team of researchers led by Dr. Caitlin Whalen compiled every available measurement of ocean mixing rates from the past two decades. With this novel data set, the team was able to determine how current-driven mixing varies across ______ and what impact it has on the distribution of heat and nutrients in the ocean.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• regions;

• regions

• regions:

• regions,

In 1727, dramatist Lewis Theobald presented a new play, Double Falsehood, at a London theater. Theobald claimed that his drama was based on a little-known play by William Shakespeare, Cardenio. Many, including poet Alexander Pope, were _______ historians have determined that Shakespeare's company did perform a play called Cardenio in 1613.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• skeptical but

• skeptical, but

• skeptical,

• skeptical