Question 212·Medium·Boundaries
Biologist Rachel Carson published the book Silent Spring in _____ the modern environmental movement and leading to greater public awareness of pesticide use.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For punctuation/boundaries items, decide whether each side of the blank is an independent clause or a dependent construction. Use periods and semicolons only between two complete clauses; use a comma to attach participial (-ing) phrases that add information to a main clause. Eliminate any option that creates a fragment or suggests two full sentences where there is only one.
Hints
Check for complete sentences
Cover the blank and consider whether the part that starts with "sparking" has its own subject and verb or is simply describing the main action.
Think about sentence boundaries
Decide whether the sentence should remain one complete sentence with added description or be split into two sentences. That choice determines whether strong punctuation like a period or semicolon is appropriate.
Consider how -ing phrases are usually joined
Phrases beginning with an -ing verb that add result or description are commonly attached to the main clause with a comma. Which option maintains a single sentence and clearly separates the description?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the structures
The sentence has an independent clause: “Biologist Rachel Carson published the book Silent Spring in ____” and then an -ing participial phrase: “sparking the modern environmental movement and leading to greater public awareness of pesticide use.” The -ing phrase does not have its own subject and verb, so it cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.
Determine what punctuation is needed
Because the -ing phrase is a dependent participial phrase that adds a result/description to the main clause, it should be attached to the independent clause rather than separated as a new sentence. Strong punctuation like a period or semicolon would require what follows to be an independent clause.
Use the rule to narrow the choices
Choose the option that keeps the sentence as one complete unit while clearly setting off the participial phrase that begins with “sparking.” Avoid any option that turns “Sparking …” into a fragment or incorrectly treats it as an independent clause.
Select the best choice
The option that correctly attaches the participial phrase to the main clause is "1962, sparking".