In the canon of North African literature, Moroccan author Driss Chraïbi’s 1954 novel The Simple Past (Le Passé simple) looms large. A coming-of-age story, a social meditation, and a sober gaze into the dark maw of French colonialism, ______blank interrogates systemic power with memorable intensity.
","stem_html":"Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
","rationale_html":"Choice B is the best answer. Subject-modifier placement requires a modifier and its subject to be next to each other. The subject of the modifier \"a coming-of-age story…colonialism\" is Chraïbi’s novel The Simple Past, so the subject \"Chraïbi’s debut novel\" fits perfectly after this introductory modifying phrase.
Choice A is incorrect. Modifiers and their subjects must go next to each other. The introductory modifier \"a coming-of-age story…colonialism\" is describing Chraïbi’s novel, not Morocco. However, this choice places Morocco directly next to that modifier. Choice C is incorrect. Modifiers and their subjects must go next to each other. The introductory modifier \"a coming-of-age story…colonialism\" all describes Chraïbi’s novel, not Chraïbi himself. However, this choice places Chraïbi directly next to that modifier. Choice D is incorrect. Modifiers and their subjects must go next to each other. The modifier \"a coming-of-age story…\" is describing Chraïbi’s novel, so that needs to be the subject immediately after the modifier. This choice adds another modifier that describes Chraïbi’s novel, but then puts \"Chraïbi\" himself—not the novel—right after that modifier, which doesn’t make sense. Chraïbi wasn’t \"published two years before\" Moroccan independence; his novel The Simple Past was.
","correct_answer":["B"],"has_media":false,"has_mathml":false,"has_table":false,"source_created_at":"2023-08-02T20:25:59.367000+00:00","source_updated_at":"2023-08-02T20:25:59.367000+00:00","options":[{"label":"A","content_html":"Morocco gained its independence two years before the publication of Chraïbi’s debut novel, which
","ord":0},{"label":"B","content_html":"Chraïbi’s debut novel, published two years before Morocco gained its independence,
","ord":1},{"label":"C","content_html":"Chraïbi wrote a debut novel that, published two years before Morocco gained its independence,
","ord":2},{"label":"D","content_html":"published two years before Morocco gained its independence, Chraïbi wrote a debut novel that
","ord":3}],"attribution":{"source_id":"cb_question_bank","source_name":"College Board digital SAT question bank (community dump)","rights_holder":"College Board","canonical_url":"https://satsuitequestionbank.collegeboard.org/","retrieved_from":"https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdn522/sat-question-bank/main/data/cb-digital-questions.json","attribution":"SAT practice questions © College Board, from the official SAT Suite Question Bank. Retrieved via the community dump at github.com/mdn522/sat-question-bank.","disclaimer":"SAT® and PSAT/NMSQT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, does not sponsor, and does not endorse this project.","license":"College Board copyright; source repository carries no licence. Local use only.","redistributable":false,"item_count":2017}}