According to Naomi Nakayama of the University of Edinburgh, the reason seeds from a dying dandelion appear to float in the air while ______blank is that their porous plumes enhance drag, allowing the seeds to stay airborne long enough for the wind to disperse them throughout the surrounding area.
","stem_html":"Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
","rationale_html":"Choice D is the best answer. The word “falling” occurs in the middle of a clause and isn’t part of a supplement, so we don’t need any punctuation after it. We can see this more clearly if we simplify the rest of the sentence: “The reason seeds appear to float while falling is that their plumes enhance drag.” .
Choice A is incorrect. This doesn’t complete the text in a way that conforms to the conventions of Standard English. The word “falling” occurs in the middle of a clause and isn’t part of a supplement, so we don’t need any punctuation after it. We can see this more clearly if we simplify the sentence: “The reason seeds appear to float while falling is that their plumes enhance drag.” . Choice B is incorrect. This doesn’t complete the text in a way that conforms to the conventions of Standard English. The word “falling” occurs in the middle of a clause and isn’t part of a supplement, so we don’t need any punctuation after it. We can see this more clearly if we simplify the sentence: “The reason seeds appear to float while falling is that their plumes enhance drag.” . Choice C is incorrect. This doesn’t complete the text in a way that conforms to the conventions of Standard English. The word “falling” occurs in the middle of a clause and isn’t part of a supplement, so we don’t need any punctuation after it. We can see this more clearly if we simplify the sentence: “The reason seeds appear to float while falling is that their plumes enhance drag.” .
","correct_answer":["D"],"has_media":false,"has_mathml":false,"has_table":false,"source_created_at":"2023-08-02T20:25:59.339000+00:00","source_updated_at":"2023-08-02T20:25:59.339000+00:00","options":[{"label":"A","content_html":"falling,
","ord":0},{"label":"B","content_html":"falling:
","ord":1},{"label":"C","content_html":"falling;
","ord":2},{"label":"D","content_html":"falling
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