The next question refers to Shedding Light on a Dark Day, by Robin Meriwether. The paragraphs have been numbered to help you ide
ntify them more easily. Shedding Light on a Dark Day, by Robin Meriwether
1. On May 19, 1780, the skies over New England turned dark in the middle of the day. For more than two hundred years, New England's Dark Day had been shrouded in mystery. Some blamed volcanoes. Some suggested supernatural events. Some claimed it was a sign from the heavens. No one knew for certain what happened. Many thought the mystery would never be solved.
2. Researchers at the University of Missouri were fascinated by the case. They began examining trees in all surrounding areas. Fire damage in a Canadian forest finally revealed the truth. Scientists looked at burned tree rings and discovered that huge wildfires once raged in the mountains near Ontario. The savage flames created blankets of black smoke. The smoke traveled high into the atmosphere, darkening the New England skies hundreds of miles away.
A student attempting to identify the main idea of paragraph two wrote the following sentence:
When researchers at the University of Missouri began examining trees in surrounding areas, fire damage in a Canadian forest revealed that huge wildfires in the mountains near Ontario darkened the New England skies hundreds of miles away.
Which sentence best describes the student's sentence?
a. The student's sentence does not include enough information from the paragraph.
b. The student's sentence leaves out too many important details from the paragraph.
c. The student's sentence perfectly and properly captures the main idea of the paragraph.
d. The student's sentence shows the main idea but does not paraphrase the author's words.
Eliminate passive voice by making the subject do the action. You can shift the focus of the sentence from the direct or indirect object to the actor. For example, you can transform the following sentence from passive to active voice. Passive: The tree was cut down by the man.
Situational irony! Because, she initially thought she was free from her husbands wrath. She celebrated and her heart was happy, this only to end with such a heartbreak that it kills her.
