FREE CLEP English Exam Question and Answers

Question 1

Which of the following versions of the underlined section of sentence one is the best?
It's hard to find time to do schoolwork, and there's no time for for goofing off, leisure, relaxing, and enjoying yourself.

Accepted Answer

to relax and enjoy yourself.

Answer

The original phrase contains redundancy and a grammatical inconsistency. 'Goofing off, leisure, relaxing, and enjoying yourself' includes overlapping ideas and mixes a noun ('leisure') with verbs. The best revision, 'to relax and enjoy yourself,' is concise, grammatically parallel, and effectively conveys the intended meaning without repetition.

Question 2

Which of the following formulations of sentence 3 is the best?

Accepted Answer

Usually, the jobs available to young people are boring or unpleasant, which makes the situation worse.

Answer

Option A is the most grammatically sound and clear. It uses a relative clause ('which makes the situation worse') to logically connect the unpleasantness of jobs to the worsening situation. Options B and C use a dangling participle 'Worsening the situation,' which is grammatically incorrect as it doesn't clearly modify a subject, while option D is overly wordy and less direct.

Question 3

Which translation of sentence 6 works best within the framework of paragraph 2?

Accepted Answer

Picking up garbage wasn't only exhausting, it was also disgusting.

Answer

Option D uses a strong parallel structure ('wasn't only... it was also...') which effectively emphasizes both negative aspects of the task. This construction adds impact and a slightly more conversational tone, fitting well within a personal narrative. The other options are either too simplistic or reverse the emphasis, making them less effective stylistically.

Question 4

Which of the following is the best method to integrate sentences 7 and 8's underlined portions into a single sentence?

Spilled drinks made the seats and floors sticky. Popcorn that was dropped and stepped on became a mushy pulp.

Accepted Answer

the seats and floors sticky, and popcorn

Answer

The original sentences describe two distinct but related consequences: sticky seats/floors and mushy popcorn. Joining them with 'and' creates a compound sentence that smoothly connects these two observations without implying a stronger separation or contrast. A comma followed by 'and' is the most natural and grammatically correct way to link these two independent clauses.

Question 5

What would be the most effective revision for the underlined part of sentence 11?

I was constantly being threatened with losing my job, and the customers have been the rudest people I ever met.

Accepted Answer

were the rudest people

Answer

The sentence describes past events, indicated by 'I was constantly being threatened.' To maintain consistent verb tense within the narrative, the description of the customers' behavior should also be in the simple past tense. 'Were the rudest people' correctly uses the past tense, aligning with the established timeline of the sentence.

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FREE CLEP English Exam Question and Answers