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ACT English test
Take the test below to get your predictive score! Each [Q] in the passage refers to a question.
- Listen Up: Podcasts Redefine How Audiences Consume Media
- These days, if a topic is worth talking about, then there’s probably someone producing a podcast about it. With hundreds of millions of episodes available over a multitude of numerous streaming services [Q1], podcasts are as ubiquitous now as the devices on which they’re most commonly played. [A] But have you ever stopped to think about how podcasts came into existence and took over the metaphorical airwaves?
- The history of the podcast starts in 2004, when a former MTV (Music Television) video jockey Adam Curry and one of his software developer friends Dave Winer, [Q2] wanted to figure out how to download radio broadcasts onto an iPod. Created using aggregator software and a program Curry invented, radio broadcasts were able to be saved by Curry and Winer for replay whenever they were ready to listen. [Q3] Combining the words “iPod” and “broadcast” gave podcasts their name, and a whole new way of sharing information was born. [B]
- Within a year or two of the podcast’s inception, people begun [Q4] to use the new medium to deliver content to the group [Q5] and to find new audiences. [C] Starting in July of 2005, President George W. Bush had [Q6] used podcasts to deliver his weekly addresses to the public, and by December of that year, the New Oxford American Dictionary had crowned “podcast” as the word of the year. [Q7]
- Over the next decade, long-running radio broadcasts such as: This American Life, [Q8] began embracing this new avenue. Later in the same year that This American Life began posting episodes as podcasts, it’s [Q9] producers launched Serial, a spinoff podcast that would captivate audiences around the world, setting records for the most downloaded podcast of all time, and win a coveted Peabody Award, [Q10] which recognizes “excellence in storytelling that reflects the social issues and the emerging voices of our day,” the first podcast to ever achieve the honor. [Q11]
- As podcasts have grown in popularity since their invention, so have [Q12] the range of topics which they cover. [D] With close to half a billion listening and over 5 million podcasts available at listeners’ fingertips [Q13], there’s a podcast for just about anyone. What might you listen to today? [Q14] [Q15]
Does the previous sentence, "numerous streaming services", require any grammatical changes?
Select the correct usage of grammar for this passage: "a former MTV (Music Television) video jockey Adam Curry and one of his software developer friends Dave Winer,"
Select the correct usage of grammar for this passage: "radio broadcasts were able to be saved by Curry and Winer for replay whenever they were ready to listen."
Select the correct grammatical change for the word "begun"
Select the correct grammatical change for the word "group"
Select the correct grammatical change for the word "had" to have this sentence read correctly
Refer to the passage "by December of that year, the New Oxford American Dictionary had crowned “podcast” as the word of the year."
Given that all the choices are true, which one most effectively demonstrates the cultural significance of the podcast early in its history?
Select the correct usage of grammar for this passage: "broadcasts such as: This American Life,"
Referring to "it's", what one of the following changes would you suggest?
Referring to the following passage, "that would captivate audiences around the world, setting records for the most downloaded podcast of all time, and win a coveted Peabody Award," select one of the following options:
The writer is considering deleting the preceding sentence. Should the sentence be kept or deleted?
Select the correct grammatical change for the word "have"
Select the correct usage of grammar for the words "listeners’ fingertips"
The writer is considering adding the following statement to the passage: "A list of the most popular podcasts streaming today will include subject matter from politics to popular culture, science to science fiction, and news to narratives." If the writer were to add this statement, it would most logically be placed at:
Suppose the writer's goal was to demonstrate the value of using podcasts to relay news to large numbers of people. Would this essay accomplish this goal?
Does the previous sentence, "numerous streaming services", require any grammatical changes?