Digital PSAT Reading and Writing Practice Question 149: Answer and Explanation

Question: 149

Strindberg mocked and attacked Ibsen's most successful and enduring play, A Doll's House, in a short story of the same title and claimed that his ongoing hostilities with Ibsen had cost him his "wife, children, fortune, and career." Ibsen, meanwhile, somewhat more __________________ a portrait of Strindberg in his study where he worked, naming it Madness Incipient.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

  • A. soberly-though no less venomously-kept
  • B. soberly; though no less venomously kept
  • C. soberly though no less-venomously kept
  • D. soberly: though no less venomously, kept

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

(A) The dashes properly set aside a parenthetical phrase. Choice (B) does not work, since a complete sentence does not appear after the semicolon. Choice (C) interrupts the thought right in the middle. Choice (D) uses inconsistent punctuation on either side of the parenthetical phrase.

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