Question 131·Medium·Form, Structure, and Sense
Intrigued by the possibility of life beyond Earth, ______.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For modifier questions like this, first read the words before the blank and identify any introductory phrase (often ending at a comma). Ask yourself, “Who or what is being described by this phrase?” Then check each option: the first noun after the comma must logically match that description, and the choice must form a complete sentence with a clear subject and main verb. Quickly eliminate any option where an event or thing (like an announcement or discovery) is treated as having human feelings, or where the result is just a long noun phrase without a main clause.
Hints
Focus on the introductory phrase
Look at the phrase before the comma: "Intrigued by the possibility of life beyond Earth." Ask yourself: who is intrigued?
Check the first noun after the comma
In sentences like this, the introductory phrase usually describes the first noun after the comma. Make sure that noun can actually be intrigued.
Make sure there is a complete sentence
After you insert a choice, read the entire sentence. Does it have a clear subject and a main verb, or does it just sound like a long noun phrase (a fragment)?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the sentence needs
The sentence starts with an introductory phrase: "Intrigued by the possibility of life beyond Earth, ______." This opening phrase is a modifier. After the comma, the sentence must:
- Provide a logical subject that was intrigued.
- Include a main verb so the sentence is complete, not a fragment.
Ask: Who is intrigued?
The word "Intrigued" describes a feeling, so it must apply to people, not to an event or thing.
So, whatever comes right after the comma should be a noun like "astronomers" (people), not a noun such as "announcement" or "discovery" by itself.
Check each option for a subject and a main verb
Insert each option into the sentence and check two things:
- Does it give a clear subject that could be intrigued?
- Does it contain a main verb so the sentence is complete?
- Options that begin with "announcement" or "discovery" after the comma make those nouns the subject. Those words cannot logically be intrigued, and in these choices there is no main verb for that subject, so the result is a fragment.
- Only one option provides a subject that can feel intrigued (astronomers) and a clear main verb (announced).
Confirm the best-fitting, grammatically correct choice
When you plug in "astronomers announced in 1992 that two planets orbit a pulsar 2,300 light-years away", the full sentence reads:
"Intrigued by the possibility of life beyond Earth, astronomers announced in 1992 that two planets orbit a pulsar 2,300 light-years away."
Here, astronomers are the ones intrigued, and announced is the main verb, so the sentence is logical and grammatically complete. This makes "astronomers announced in 1992 that two planets orbit a pulsar 2,300 light-years away" the correct answer.