Directions: Each SAT Writing passage is followed by 11 questions. Read the passage and select the answer to each question that is most effective in improving the quality of the writing or in making the passage conform to the standard conventions of English.
Questions 1–11 are based on the following passage.
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingall O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was born at 1 Merrion Square in Dublin, on October 16th, 1854. Wilde was the second son of Sir William Robert Wilde, a celebrated ear and eye surgeon. Wilde’s father was also the President of the Irish Academy. 1 He had a mother who was Jane Francesca. 2 She became famous in literary circles under the pen names of ‘Speranza’ and ‘John Fenshawe Ellis.’
Oscar Wilde received his early education at Portora Royal 3 School, which he entered in 1864 at the age of nine years, and he later won a scholarship to study at Trinity College, Dublin, to study Classics.
In 1874 he obtained another scholarship, this time to Oxford University, where he continued his academic successes and won numerous awards. After graduating, he gave lectures on Art and Classics, and continued to write poetry. 4 In 1884, Oscar Wilde married Constance Lloyd, and gave birth to two sons.
During the next five or six years, articles from his pen appeared in several major magazines. In July, 1890, The Picture of Dorian Gray 5 had been published in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. It was the only novel Oscar Wilde ever wrote, and was published in book form along with seven additional chapters in the following year, 6 being one of the most remarkable books in the English language.
7 With the production of Lady Windermere’s Fan early in 1892, he was at once recognized as a dramatist of the first rank. This was followed a year later by A Woman of No Importance, and after brief intervals by An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest.
8 Thus, Oscar Wilde was arrested for “indecency” in 1895, as homosexuality was considered a crime in England at that time, and on Saturday, May 25th, 1895, he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment with hard labor.
After his release from prison in 1897, he moved to France and wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol under the nom de plume ‘C.3.3.,’ Oscar Wilde’s prison number. Of this poem a reviewer said, “This is 9 a simple, a poignant, a great ballad, one of the greatest in the English language.”
Wilde passed away on the afternoon of November 30th, 1900, 10 in poverty and almost alone. The little hotel in Paris — Hotel d’Alsace, 13 rue des Beaux Arts, — where he died, 11 has become a place of pilgrimage from all parts of the world for those who admire the genius of Oscar Wilde.
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Question 1 |
NO CHANGE | |
Wilde’s mother | |
His mother | |
And he had a mother, |
Question 2 |
NO CHANGE | |
Oscar Wilde has inherited his mother’s intelligence and writing ability. | |
Though she did not receive as much education as her son would go on to receive, Wilde’s mother was an accomplished writer. | |
DELETE the underlined portion. |
Question 3 |
NO CHANGE | |
School that | |
School, so | |
School; which |
Question 4 |
NO CHANGE | |
In 1884, Oscar Wilde married Constance Lloyd, and had two sons. | |
Constance Lloyd married Oscar Wilde in 1884, and had two sons. | |
Oscar Wilde married Constance Lloyd in 1884, and she gave birth to two sons. |
Question 5 |
NO CHANGE | |
was published | |
were published | |
got itself published |
Question 6 |
NO CHANGE | |
and was | |
and is | |
but is |
Question 7 |
Wilde was a voracious writer, but he also enjoyed going to see plays. | |
Not only did Wilde enjoy literary success, he also soon became a successful playwright. | |
Oscar Wilde had ideas for other novels, but he was too busy with his other writings to attempt another one. | |
The Picture of Dorian Gray is about a conceited young man, whose inner ugliness becomes etched on a portrait hidden in his attic. |
Question 8 |
NO CHANGE | |
Therefore | |
Allegedly | |
Sadly |
Question 9 |
NO CHANGE | |
a simple, a poignant, great ballad, | |
simple, a poignant, a great ballad, | |
a simple, poignant, and great ballad |
Question 10 |
Yes, because it does not describe Wilde’s cause of death. | |
Yes, because it has nothing to do with Wilde’s literary output. | |
No, because it provides an emotional context for Wilde’s death. | |
No, because it gives information about the Hotel d'Alsace. |
Question 11 |
NO CHANGE | |
was becoming | |
did become | |
had become |
List |
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