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The phonograph cylinder was a remarkable invention that allowed sounds to be recorded and reproduced--the earliest instrument to do both (édouard--Léon Scott de Martinville created a phonautograph that could record sound in a visible format, but could not play it back). First invented by Thomas Edison in 1877, the phonograph cylinder was wrapped in a scratchable medium and then rotated under a stylus that was attached to the speaking tube. When sound entered the tube, the attached diaphragm would vibrate, causing the point of the stylus to create indentations of varying depths; meanwhile, the cylinder was rotated by a hand crank at a rate of 60 revolutions per minute. The cylinder could then be played back by drawing a lighter stylus along the indentations that caused the diaphragm of a second tube, the speaking tube, to vibrate, replicating the recorded sounds. Over time, the phonograph slowly evolved. Cylinders were wrapped in wax instead of with tin foil, a motorized crank and more effective recording media were developed, and the cylinder itself was replaced with a disc that allowed for more durable creations. These evolved into record players as we know them.
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According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
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The "Oxford comma," also known as the "serial comma," is a comma used before a coordinating conjunction before the last item in a list of three or more. For example, in "the bus arrives on the hour and every fifteen, thirty, and forty-five minutes after the hour," the Oxford comma may be seen following thirty; without the Oxford comma, the phrase would be "the bus arrives on the hour and every fifteen, thirty and forty-five minutes after the hour." There are no definitive grammatical rulings on when it should be used and by whom, although journalists rarely make use of it. While it is not always necessary, it can prevent otherwise ambiguous statements (for example: "they hired the two brothers, David and James," in which they hired two men, versus "they hired the two brothers, David, and James," in which they hired two brothers plus David and James, four in total). Therefore, writers should be aware of its use even if they abstain from it in unambiguous cases.
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According to the passage, when does the author believe the Oxford comma should be used?
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The author primarily describes the mesosphere as
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It can be inferred from the passage that the author considers the Nielsen Company`s techniques
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Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
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The primary purpose of the passage is to
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Select the sentence in the third paragraph that gives evidence for the idea that Szymanowska`s work laid the foundation for at least one future composer.
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The author`s tone in the final sentence ("Unless changes ... these women") is best described as
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Which of the following best describes the function of the first sentence?
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Select the sentence that shows the author`s view of McMurtry`s treatment of gender.
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The author refers to James Fenimore Cooper and Willa Cather in order to suggest
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