Informal Tone
Which sentence contains informal language?
(1) Francesco Petrarca was an Italian poet in the 1300s who wrote lots of poems. (2) Many of his poems are sonnets about his unreturned love for a woman named Laura. (3) Petrarca is given credit for perfecting the form of the sonnets. (4) Many famous writers, including Shakespeare, followed Petrarca's example and wrote sonnets.
A) Sentence 1
B) Sentence 2
C) Sentence 3
D) Sentence 4
Choose the best substitute for the underlined words.
My friend Casey has many talents. He is known for his ability to do woodworking, his superior skills on the basketball court, and good grades.
A) his success in the classroom
B) bringing home excellent marks
C) being a student who is a scholar
D) what he does well in the classroom
Which of the following would be the BEST replacement for the underlined word in the sentence?
To accomplish this goal, he believed that each kid must be treated as an individual with different abilities.
A) child
B) little one
C) tyke
D) tiny person
How could the underlined part of the sentence be rewritten to maintain a formal tone?
Kids use the playground equipment every day.
A) Small children
B) Tikes
C) Kids
D) Little kids
Which of the following would be the BEST replacement for the underlined word in the sentence?
To avoid the clink, the actor agreed to enter an alcohol treatment program.
A) leave as is
B) the slammer
C) entombment
D) captivity
E) incarceration
How could the underlined part of the sentence be rewritten to maintain a formal tone?
By 1910, de Forest was using the original Audion device to broadcast live opera on the radio and was performing a series of publicity stunts to draw attention to his new gadget that was awesome.
A) to his really great device.
B) to his exciting new medium of communication.
C) to his communication medium that was truly the best ever.
D) to his device that was pretty terrific.
Which underlined word in the following sentences is not consistent with a formal tone?
A) Scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have invented new technology to make space flights doable.
B) Many of these improvements are in the fields of health and medicine.
C) In golf, athletes use a new ball that employs NASA research on how to make the flight of the ball from the tee to the green faster and more accurate.
D) Transportation, methods of preparing food, and work environments are other ways in which NASA technology has made significant changes.
Which word or words best replace the underlined part of the sentence to maintain a formal tone?
By the time her husband ran for governor in 1928 and then later became president in 1932, Eleanor Roosevelt had already become a big-time public figure in her own right.
A) first-rate
B) great big
C) high-profile
D) fantastic
Which word or words best replace the underlined words in the sentence to create a more precise meaning?
In 1862, she moved north to San Francisco where her reputation as a poet took off.
A) grew larger
B) flourished
C) blew up
D) became huge
How should the student revise the underlined part of the sentence to create a more formal tone?
In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, radio was a way to cheer people up when times were tough.
A) radio broadcasts made people happy when things were really bad.
B) radio broadcasts were pleasant distractions in difficult times.
C) radio broadcasts helped people who were having a hard time feel better.
D) radio broadcasts were a way to make people forget about their problems.
Which sentence is not consistent with the formal tone of this passage.
Death Valley, in southeastern California, is the hottest, driest place in North America and one of the hottest places known in the world. The highest temperature ever recorded in the valley was 134º Fahrenheit, and the temperature routinely reaches 115º in July. That is way too amazingly hot for me! Parts of Death Valley receive fewer than two inches of rain in an entire year. This extremely low rainfall is caused by the rainshadow effect.
A) Death Valley, in southeastern California, is the hottest, driest place in North America and one of the hottest places known in the world.
B) That is way too amazingly hot for me!
C) Parts of Death Valley receive fewer than two inches of rain in an entire year.
D) This extremely low rainfall is caused by the rainshadow effect.
The old maxim "Let the buyer beware" suggests that as a buyer we are responsible for inspecting merchandise for flaws before paying for it.
A) as a buyer we are responsible
B) as a buyer it is their responsibility
C) the buyer is the responsible one
D) buyers are responsible
E) buyers are to be the ones responsible