Question

a musical detour
1
every night while driving home from a hectic day at work, my three - year - old twins quarreling in the backseat, i take a short detour. i turn off the gridlocked highway, onto a stretch of route 66 that is, surrounded by arid new mexico hills. when were nearly three miles into our detour, i roll down the windows. looking pointedly into the rearview mirror, windows rolled down, i say something about not throwing anything out of the car, but neither boy is listening. i check my speed. a carefully, i steer toward the fog line. “here it is, boys!” i yell at the backseat, the passenger - side tires finding the rumble strips etched into the asphalt.
2
normal rumble strips create that loud, grating noise when you drive over them—like a built - in alarm for drivers who drift too close to the roads edge. these strips are different. the boys abruptly stop their squalling as the car begins to vibrate. then, instead of that jolting warning noise, we hear the distinct strain of the song “america the beautiful.” b the road is playing us a song.
3
ive been taking this detour out of albuquerque for two years, ever since these musical rumble strips were installed. city planners wanted to find out whether the novelty of hearing a snippet of song would give drivers an incentive to obey the speed limit; the tune is only recognizable if theyre going a reasonable forty - five miles per hour. whether this strategy works, i dont know.

1. which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?

f. no change
g. highway onto a stretch of route 66, that is,
h. highway onto a stretch, of route 66 that is
j. highway onto a stretch of route 66 that is

1. which choice is least redundant in context?

a. no change
b. into the rearview mirror, three miles into our detour,
c. behind me by looking into the rearview mirror,
d. into the rearview mirror,

1. if the writer were to delete the underlined portion (adjusting the punctuation as needed), the paragraph would primarily lose:

f. information that indicates how prevalent rumble strips are on roadways.
g. a detail that reveals the narrators opinion of distracted drivers.
h. information that clarifies a primary function of rumble strips.
j. a detail that indicates what the rumble strips look like.

1. which choice is least redundant in context?

a. no change
b. were implemented just outside albuquerque.
c. that play music were put in.
d. were added a couple years ago.

Explanation:

1. The original "that is," is unnecessary and disrupts the flow. Option J removes it for a more grammatically - acceptable and smooth - flowing sentence.
2. The phrase "three miles into our detour" is redundant as the context already implies the distance into the detour. Option D is the least redundant.
3. The underlined portion "like a built - in alarm for drivers who drift too close to the road's edge" clarifies the primary function of normal rumble strips. Without it, this key information is lost.
4. The original "were installed" is the most concise and non - redundant way to state the fact. Other options add unnecessary words.

Answer:

1. J. highway onto a stretch of Route 66 that is
2. D. into the rearview mirror,
3. H. information that clarifies a primary function of rumble strips.
4. A. No Change