ACT of the Day
ACT of the Day
Philosophy and Baseball
In the fall of 1967, the Boston Red Sox were playing in
the World Series. I was a freshman at a
university that was located in the Midwest at the time, enrolled in
1
a philosophy course that met at two in the afternoon.
(1) A. NO CHANGE
B. midwestern university then
C. midwestern university
D. university which was in the
Midwest
ACT of the Day
Philosophy and Baseball
In the fall of 1967, the Boston Red Sox were playing in
the World Series. I was a freshman at a
university that was located in the Midwest at the time, enrolled in
1
a philosophy course that met at two in the afternoon.
(1) A. NO CHANGE
B. midwestern university then
C. midwestern university
D. university which was in the
Midwest
1. The best answer is C, which concisely and clearly
expresses the idea that the university the writer attended
was in the Midwest. The other choices all contain
defects of style. Choices A and D are both needlessly
wordy; in addition, the confusing arrangement of relative
clauses and prepositional phrases they contain oddly
suggests that the university was "in the Midwest at the
time", but may later have moved. Choice B is pointlessly
redundant, because the word then and the phrase "at
the time" mean the same thing here.
ACT of the Day
1 …The course was taught by a native Bostonian. He wanted
to watch the games on television, but he was too
responsible to cancel class. So he conducted classes, those
October afternoons, while actually listening to the games on
a small transistor radio propped up inside his lectern, the
volume turned down so that only he could hear.
2
Baseball is unique among American sports.
(2) Which of the following sentences, if inserted at this point, would provide the
most effective transition to the second paragraph?
A. Accounting for this kind of behavior is easy.
B. Most of the students in the class were not fond of this instructor.
C. Today, most World Series games are played in the evening.
D. He did a remarkable job, considering how distracted he must have been.
ACT of the Day
1 …The course was taught by a native Bostonian. He wanted
to watch the games on television, but he was too
responsible to cancel class. So he conducted classes, those
October afternoons, while actually listening to the games on
a small transistor radio propped up inside his lectern, the
volume turned down so that only he could hear.
2
Baseball is unique among American sports.
(2) Which of the following sentences, if inserted at this point,
would provide the most effective transition to the second
paragraph?
A. Accounting for this kind of behavior is easy.
B. Most of the students in the class were not fond of
this instructor.
C. Today, most World Series games are played in the
evening.
D. He did a remarkable job, considering how
distracted he must have been.
2. The best answer is A, which is the only sentence to
directly connect the topic of the first paragraph (the
professor's behavior) with the topic of the second
paragraph (the hold that baseball has on people's
imagination). The other choices add sentences that do
not make that shift clear and that also do not serve as
accurate introductions or signals to the topic of the
second paragraph, something a good transition must do.
The claim in Choice B is unsupported by either
paragraph and thus cannot link them. While Choices C
and D are logical offshoots of the first paragraph, they
do not signal the shift in focus from the professor to the
magic of baseball and, in fact, are unconnected to
anything in the second paragraph. Therefore, they don't
work as transitions.
ACT of the Day
Baseball is unique among American sports by its ability to
3
appeal to a love resembling that of a child of fable and legend.
4
(3) A. NO CHANGE
B. as
C. in
D. because
(4) A. NO CHANGE
B. love that seems
to occur during
childhood
C. love like that of
children
D. childlike love
ACT of the Day
Baseball is unique among American sports by its ability to
3
appeal to a love resembling that of a child of fable and legend.
4
(3) A. NO CHANGE
B. as
C. in
D. because
(4) A. NO CHANGE
B. love that seems
to occur during
childhood
C. love like that of
children
D. childlike love
3. The best answer is C, which is the most
idiomatically standard usage. The other
choices are nonstandard usage, and some
create other grammatical problems as well.
Choice A is nonstandard usage ("Baseball
is unique . . . by its ability"). Choices B and
D replace the preposition needed with a
conjunction (as and because, respectively),
an action which creates sentence fragments
in addition to nonstandard usage.
4. The best answer is D, because it avoids
unnecessary wordiness and because it
logically and clearly places the noun love
closest to the prepositional phrase "of fable
and legend" that modifies it. Choices A, B,
and C are excessively wordy and separate
the noun from its prepositional phrase,
which unnecessarily clouds the meaning of
the sentence.
ACT of the Day
Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Roberto
Clemente—names like these will echo through time that are
5
trumpet calls to storied battles fought and won in ages
past.
(5) A. NO CHANGE
B. time like
C. time in which
D. time, which is like
ACT of the Day
Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Roberto
Clemente—names like these will echo through time that are
5
trumpet calls to storied battles fought and won in ages
past.
(5) A. NO CHANGE
B. time like
C. time in which
D. time, which is like
5. The best answer is B, because "time like" properly
sets up the simile relationship (the names echo in the
manner that trumpet calls do) and correctly relates the
clauses of the sentence. The other choices introduce
errors in the relationship of the sentence parts. Choice A
improperly sets up a relative clause that modifies time (the
most recent antecedent), when the relationship is clearly
between names and calls. Choice C creates an
unacceptable sentence fragment and also wrongly
produces a relative clause modifying time. Choice D again
improperly creates a relative clause modifying time.
ACT of the Day
Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Roberto Clemente—names like
these will echo through time like trumpet calls to storied battles fought
and won in ages past. 6 When Hank Aaron…
(6) Which of the following sentences, if added at this
point, would most effectively lead the reader from the
generalization in the preceding sentence to the specific
examples that will follow in the next sentence?
A. These heroes of baseball embodied the ancient
legends, bringing them to life.
B. Baseball, of course, is not the only sport that
provides heroes.
C. Those battles lasted for nine innings, unless a tie led
to extra innings.
D. The truly great thing about it is that these men are as
human as you or I.
ACT of the Day
Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Roberto Clemente—names like
these will echo through time like trumpet calls to storied battles fought
and won in ages past. 6 When Hank Aaron…
(6) Which of the following sentences, if added at this
point, would most effectively lead the reader from the
generalization in the preceding sentence to the specific
examples that will follow in the next sentence?
A. These heroes of baseball embodied the ancient
legends, bringing them to life.
B. Baseball, of course, is not the only sport that
provides heroes.
C. Those battles lasted for nine innings, unless a tie led
to extra innings.
D. The truly great thing about it is that these men are as
human as you or I.
6. The best answer is A. The sentence that precedes the
proposed insertion is a general one about legendary battles.
The sentences that follow the proposed insertion give
specific examples of the actions of individual baseball
players that seem heroic. Choice A is the only sentence to
make reference to both ideas and, thus, serve as an
effective bridge between them. The other choices fail to
connect logically the different ideas. Choice B does not work
because it signals a shift to a discussion of heroes in other
sports (a shift that does not occur). While Choice C does
make reference to the information in the preceding
sentence, the proposed sentence has nothing to do with the
examples that follow and, thus, cannot serve as an effective
transition. Choice D would be an illogical addition. Although
Choice D could logically follow the preceding sentence and
the words "these men" could refer to the men mentioned in
the specific examples that follow, the following sentences
are about how much certain players resemble mythological
heroes, not how similar they are to average people.
ACT of the Day
stretched out a sinewy arm to pull one down,
7
striding up to a rack of ash-hewn bats, he became a modern-day knight.
7 (cont.)
When Hank Aaron
(7) A. NO CHANGE
B. strode up to a rack of ash-hewn bats, stretching out a sinewy arm to
pull one down,
C. strode up to a rack of ash-hewn bats to stretch out a sinewy arm,
pulling one down,
D. pulled one down, stretching out his sinewy arm as he strode up to a
rack of ash-hewn bats,
ACT of the Day
stretched out a sinewy arm to pull one down,
7
striding up to a rack of ash-hewn bats, he became a modern-day knight.
7 (cont.)
When Hank Aaron
7. The best answer is B, which places the words in the
most logical and clearest order. Choice B makes it clear
that the pronoun one refers to one of the bats, and it
also offers the most logical order of actions: Aaron first
(7) A. NO CHANGE
went to the rack, then pulled down one of the bats. The
B. strode up to a rack of ash-hewn
bats, stretching out a sinewy arm to other choices confuse the sentence's meaning by
ordering the actions in an illogical way and by leaving
pull one down,
one with either an illogical antecedent or none at all. In
C. strode up to a rack of ash-hewn
Choice A, the most direct antecedent for one is arm,
bats to stretch out
which makes no sense in context. It also does not make
a sinewy arm, pulling one down,
sense that Aaron would "stretch out a sinewy arm" and
then go to the bat rack. Choice C is illogical. It makes
D. pulled one down, stretching out
his sinewy arm as he strode up to a no sense that he would go to the rack "to stretch out a
sinewy arm." And again, the most direct antecedent for
rack of ash-hewn bats,
one here is arm, which is illogical. Choice D leaves one
without an antecedent, which makes the sentence
ACT of the Day
When Hank Aaron strode up to a rack of ash-hewn bats, stretching out a
sinewy arm to pull one down, he became a modern-day knight selecting
their
8
lance.
(8) A. NO CHANGE
B. there
C. his
D. one's
ACT of the Day
When Hank Aaron strode up to a rack of ash-hewn bats, stretching out a
sinewy arm to pull one down, he became a modern-day knight selecting
their lance.
8
(8) A. NO CHANGE
B. there
C. his
D. one's
8. The best answer is C, because only the pronoun
his agrees with the antecedent knight. The other
choices either do not agree with the antecedent, fail
to match an earlier pronoun style, or are not
pronouns. Choice A does not agree in number with
the antecedent. Choice B is an adverb, not a
pronoun. Choice D is wrong because it uses an
impersonal pronoun, one's, when earlier in the
sentence the personal pronoun he was used.
ACT of the Day
And when glints of the afternoon sun shone off Mickey Mantle's colossal
bat, there will have to be seen for one brief, stirring moment the glimmer
9
of the jewels in King Arthur's own mighty sword, Excalibur.
(9) A. NO CHANGE
B. will
C. can
D. could
ACT of the Day
And when glints of the afternoon sun shone off Mickey Mantle's colossal
bat, there will have to be seen for one brief, stirring moment the glimmer
9
of the jewels in King Arthur's own mighty sword, Excalibur.
(9) A. NO CHANGE
B. will
C. can
D. could
9. The best answer is D, which is the only
past tense verb. Since the first part of the
sentence is in past tense, the rest must be as
well. The other choices create improper shifts
in tense. Choices A and B are future tense
verbs. Choice C is in the present tense.
ACT of the Day
…And when glints of the afternoon sun shone off Mickey Mantle's
colossal bat, there could be seen for one brief, stirring moment the
glimmer of the jewels in King Arthur's own mighty sword, Excalibur.
So there he stood, that learned professor of mine.
10
(10) A. NO CHANGE
B. (Begin new paragraph) To summarize,
C. (Do NOT begin new paragraph) So
D. (Do NOT begin new paragraph) Yet
ACT of the Day
…And when glints of the afternoon sun shone off Mickey Mantle's
colossal bat, there could be seen for one brief, stirring moment the
glimmer of the jewels in King Arthur's own mighty sword, Excalibur.
So there he stood, that learned professor of mine.
10
(10) A. NO CHANGE
B. (Begin new paragraph) To summarize,
C. (Do NOT begin new paragraph) So
D. (Do NOT begin new paragraph) Yet
10. The best answer is A. A new paragraph is
needed here because the sentence that includes
the underlined portion and the sentences that
follow shift the essay's focus from the magic of
baseball back to the professor. The word So
properly signals that shift. The other choices use
an improper transition word and/or do not create
the needed paragraph break. Choice B does
create a paragraph break, but "To summarize" is
wrong because what follows is not a summary of
what went before. Choice C uses a proper
transition word but does not create the needed
paragraph break. Choice D does not create the
paragraph break, nor does it use a logical
transition word: Yet signals a contradiction that
does not occur.
ACT of the Day
So there he stood, that learned professor of mine, lecturing about the
ideas, that have engaged people's minds for centuries. Then he'd
11
interrupt himself to announce, with smiling eyes, that the Sox had taken
a two-to-nothing lead.
(11) A. NO CHANGE
B. ideas that
C. ideas. That
D. ideas, which
ACT of the Day
So there he stood, that learned professor of mine, lecturing about the
ideas, that have engaged people's minds for centuries. Then he'd
11
interrupt himself to announce, with smiling eyes, that the Sox had taken
a two-to-nothing lead.
(11) A. NO CHANGE
B. ideas that
C. ideas. That
D. ideas, which
11. The best answer is B. The phrase "ideas that" properly
creates a restrictive (essential) clause, which is called for in
the sentence, since the sentence is not about ideas in
general but only about those ideas that "have engaged
people's minds for centuries." The other choices introduce
errors such as an improper relationship of the clauses,
unnecessary punctuation, and an unacceptable sentence
fragment. The use of a comma in Choices A and D signals
that what follows is a nonrestrictive (nonessential) clause,
which is not the case. Apart from the issue of restrictiveness,
the comma needlessly disrupts the flow of the sentence with
a pause. Choice C creates an unacceptable sentence
fragment.
ACT of the Day
man who’s
inside his schoolbook
mind was disciplined
12
13
to contemplate the collected wisdom of the ages—and he was behaving
Here was a
like a boy with a contraband comic opened.
(12) A. NO CHANGE
B. man whose
C. man, who's
D. man that's
(13) A. NO CHANGE
B. (Place after ages)
C. (Place after boy)
D. (Place after opened and end
sentence with a period)
ACT of the Day
man who’s
inside his schoolbook
mind was disciplined
12
13
to contemplate the collected wisdom of the ages—and he was behaving
Here was a
like a boy with a contraband comic opened.
(12) A. NO CHANGE
B. man whose
C. man, who's
D. man that's
(13) A. NO CHANGE
B. (Place after ages)
C. (Place after boy)
D. (Place after opened and end
sentence with a period)
12. The best answer is B. Choice B uses the pronoun whose, which
properly sets up the relative clause modifying man. The other choices use
contractions instead of pronouns, and some also introduce punctuation
errors. Choice A wrongly uses the contraction who's for whose. Choice C
makes the same mistake and adds an unnecessary comma. Choice D
adds an unnecessary comma and wrongly uses the contraction that's.
13. The best answer is D, which places the underlined prepositional
phrase in the most logical position in the sentence. Without the
prepositional phrase modifying it, opened is unclear. Choice D also
represents the most rhetorically effective placement. The other choices
place the underlined portion in illogical or awkward places. Choice A
makes no sense, it suggests that his "mind was disciplined inside his
schoolbook", and the placement disrupts the sentence flow. Choice B is
less rhetorically effective than Choice D. The insertion of the underlined
portion after ages inappropriately shifts the sentence's focus to where the
"wisdom of the ages" is found. It's also highly unlikely that the "collected
wisdom of the ages" would be found inside one schoolbook. Choice C is
clearly illogical; the boy could not be inside a schoolbook.
ACT of the Day
dances and plays
14
on the domes and spires of the university, the philosophers had to stand
On those warm October days, as the afternoon sun
aside.
(14) A. NO CHANGE
B. dances, playing
C. danced and played
D. dancing and playing
ACT of the Day
On those warm October days, as the afternoon sun dances and plays
14
on the domes and spires of the university, the philosophers had to stand
aside.
(14) A. NO CHANGE
B. dances, playing
C. danced and played
D. dancing and playing
14. The best answer is C. The context of the
sentence and the essay makes it clear that past
tense verbs are needed. The other choices
create unacceptable shifts in verb tense or use
participles instead of verbs. Choices A and B
shift the sentence into the present tense,
whereas the context makes it clear that the
actions happened in the past and have been
described with past tense verbs. Choice D
wrongly replaces verbs with participles, leaving
the clause without a verb and the sentence
incomplete.
ACT of the Day
On those warm October days, as the afternoon sun danced and played
on the domes and spires of the university, the philosophers had to stand
aside, for the professor’s imagination had transported him to the Boston of his youth.
15
(15) Which of the alternatives would conclude this
sentence so that it supports the writer's principal
reflections on the professor's behavior?
A. NO CHANGE
B. due to the fact that the professor was about to
hand out a test.
C. while the professor told the class about King
Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
D. as the professor recounted all the great
baseball stars he'd seen play.
ACT of the Day
On those warm October days, as the afternoon sun danced and played
on the domes and spires of the university, the philosophers had to stand
aside, for the professor’s imagination had transported him to the Boston of his youth.
15
(15) Which of the alternatives would conclude this
sentence so that it supports the writer's principal
reflections on the professor's behavior?
A. NO CHANGE
B. due to the fact that the professor was about to
hand out a test.
C. while the professor told the class about King
Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
D. as the professor recounted all the great
baseball stars he'd seen play.
15. The best answer is A, which carries to
conclusion the writer's reflections on the "native
Bostonian" professor's listening to the radio
"turned down so that only he could hear,"
yielding to the appeal of "fable and legend," and
"behaving like a boy." None of the other choices
supports all these reflections. Choice B changes
the subject. Choice C might lend some support
to one reflection, the professor's implied
attraction to sport as the stuff of "fable and
legend", but ignores the writer's other reflections.
Choice D, like Choice C, supplies support for
only one part of "the writer's principal
reflections," which is what the question asks for.