Question

walking into the ward, my ears were immediately overwhelmed. women yelled and newborns wailed. nurses rushed around to adjust medical instruments that screamed for attention. i felt suspicious in the center of so much action and wondered if i had been too hasty in seeking out such a difficult service project. 4 apparently my fear must have shown clearly on my face as i looked around because the director said, “don’t worry. you’ll get used to the pace up here. you are going to help in the nursery.” with that, we walked down the busy hallway past the numerous delivery rooms and into the most peaceful room i’ve ever seen. the pastel colors provided a quiet backdrop to the humming of machines and soft coos of sleeping infants. a whispering nurse, the one in charge of the nursery, welcomed me, thanked me for volunteering, and asked me to start folding some baby blankets and placing it in the appropriate drawer. the director gave me a questioning look, which i returned with a quiet nod. i got right to work. 23. a. no change b. my ears immediately felt overwhelmed. c. i was overwhelmed by the sounds. d. hearing and overwhelmed. 24. which choice would be most consistent with the figure description provided elsewhere in this paragraph? f. no change g. besieged h. weak j. defenseless 25. which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would be least acceptable? a. face while b. face when c. face at the same time that d. face since 26. given that all the choices are true, which one provides the most vivid description of the hospital hallway? f. no change g. down a hallway filled with bright blue and pink balloons, beautiful flowers, and jubilant fathers h. past a nurses’ station and a handful of expectant fathers j. under the yellowing ceiling of the dated hospital 27. a. no change b. nurse the one in charge of the nursery, c. nurse the one in charge of the nursery, d. nurse, the one in charge of the nursery 28. f. no change g. place them h. placed them j. placing these 29. if the writer were to delete the phrase “which i returned with a quiet nod” from the preceding sentence and end the sentence with a period, the sentence would primarily lose: a. a detail that expresses the narrator’s ease while in the nursery. b. a specific description of the narrator’s anger toward the director. c. information that indicates the narrator will quit the hospital as soon as the director leaves. d. nothing at all, because this information had already been provided earlier in the passage.

Explanation:

1. The original 'my ears were immediately overwhelmed' has a dangling - modifier issue. Option C 'I was overwhelmed by the sounds' corrects this as it clearly states who is overwhelmed.
2. 'Besieged' best fits the context as it conveys the sense of being surrounded by a chaotic environment, which is consistent with the description of the ward.
3. 'Since' changes the meaning and is the least acceptable as it implies a causal relationship rather than a time - related one like the other options.
4. Option G 'down a hallway filled with bright blue and pink balloons, beautiful flowers, and jubilant fathers' provides the most vivid description of the hallway.
5. The original is correct as the comma after 'nurse' sets off the non - essential appositive 'the one in charge of the nursery'.
6. 'Place them' is the correct verb form to match the plural 'baby blankets'.
7. The 'quiet nod' shows the narrator's ease in the nursery, and removing it would lose this detail about the narrator's state.

Answer:

1. C. I was overwhelmed by the sounds.
2. G. besieged
3. D. face since
4. G. down a hallway filled with bright blue and pink balloons, beautiful flowers, and jubilant fathers
5. A. NO CHANGE
6. G. place them
7. A. a detail that expresses the narrator's ease while in the nursery.