Question

The xylophone, whose name comes from the Greek xylon, meaning “wood,” is a percussion instrument consisting of a series of wooden bars that are struck with mallets to produce sounds. Which choice shows the best way to simplify the last half of this sentence? A. Meaning “wood,” the xylophone is a percussion instrument. Consisting of a series of wooden bars that are struck with mallets to produce sounds. B. The xylophone, whose name comes from the Greek xylon, meaning “wood,” is a percussion instrument. The xylophone consists of a series of wooden bars that are struck with mallets to produce sounds. C. The xylophone, whose name comes from the Greek xylon, meaning “wood,” is a percussion instrument. A series of wooden bars that are struck with mallets to produce sounds. D. The xylophone, whose name comes from the Greek xylon, meaning “wood,” is a percussion instrument. Consisting of a series of wooden bars, the xylophone, that are struck with mallets to produce sounds.

Answer 1

Answer:

B. The xylophone, whose name comes from the Greek xylon, meaning “wood,” is a percussion instrument. The xylophone consists of a series of wooden bars that are struck with mallets to produce sounds.

Explanation:

This is the best way to simplify the last half of the sentence. In the original sentence, the long sentence is compound, and this requires many complex sentence constructions that make the sentence confusing. On the other hand, the new sentence has divided the ideas into two sentences. This has several benefits. It allows the reader to focus on one main idea at a time. It also makes the connections between the subjects and the predicates clearer.

Answer 2

Answer:

B. The xylophone, whose name comes from the Greek xylon, meaning “wood,” is a percussion instrument. The xylophone consists of a series of wooden bars that are struck with mallets to produce sounds

Explanation:

This option is simplier than the original sentence because the complex structure "..... consisting of a series of wooden bars....." is replaced by a new  and simplier sentence. This new sentence makes it clear  that the subject of the verb " to consist" is  "the xylophone ". In the original sentence the subject of the verb "to consist"  is "percussion instrument" , thus "the xylophone" , but the reader has to link the synonymous expressions, first, and then link both words to consist. This is not the case in the simpler version.