After a spate of illnesses as a child, Wilma Rudolph was told she might never walk again. Defying all odds, Rudolph didn’t just walk, she _______ the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, she won both the 100-and 200-meter dashes and clinched first place for her team in the 4 ×100 -meter relay, becoming the first US woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympics. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Correct answer: D (parsed from the explanation — this source omits an answer key for this item)
Explanation
Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation use between sentences. In this choice, the period is used correctly to mark the boundary between one sentence (“Defying…fast”) and another sentence that begins with a supplementary phrase (“During…Olympics”). Choice A is incorrect. When a dash is present in a sentence (“ran—fast”), it’s not conventional to use another dash (“fast—during”) to mark the boundary between sentences because it creates a potentially confusing sentence. In this context, a period, semicolon, or colon would be clear and more conventional. Choice B is incorrect because it results in a run-on sentence. The sentences (“Defying…fast”) and (“during…Olympics”) are fused without punctuation and/or a conjunction. Choice C is incorrect because it results in a comma splice. A comma can’t be used in this way to mark the boundary between sentences.
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