Acing The ACT: English Time Trial Answers

Passage 4

1. B
Note the NOT. ‘A couple of’ only suggests a small number; the rest convey large numbers. 

2. D
DELETE is right more than 50% of the time. Check for redundancy. 

3. D
Parallel structure. The previous sentence starts with ‘one might’ so the pattern must be maintained. 

4. B
Keep in mind we are not comparing the tromba marina to the seven-bell horn. It is merely an example of a “forgotten curiosity”. 

5. ?
?

6. C
Note the comma hug suggesting nonessential information around “however”.

7. D
A colon can only be used if you have a complete sentence first.

8. B
Fictophone is not a common term, so the definition is needed. 

9. B
DELETE is the correct option more than 50% of the time. 

10. B
No punctuation is needed. This is not a clause, neither independent nor dependent. 

11. B
If you delete the comma hug in the sentence, you get “imaginary musical instruments have no place”. Subject/verb agreement. 

12. D
There are two complete sentences; a semicolon is needed to separate them. 

13. B
The main theme is “the distinction” between imaginary and real. That boundary is the key term here. 

14. B
“Fewer” is used for things that can be counted, so it does not work here. “Then” is a notion of time, which does not work here. “Less than” is the only one that fits in context, since “than” is a notion of comparison. 

15. C
This is an information-based overview of the topic. There is little focus on the use of imaginary instruments.