Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The correct word to substitute for the underlined words 'the children' in the sentence would be 'their' to ensure clarity and proper possessive form. Using 'their' makes it clear that the photographs belong to the children.
Choice A 'its' is incorrect as it refers to singular possession.
Choice C 'they' is a pronoun and does not indicate possession.
Choice D 'his' is incorrect as it is singular and refers to a male possessive form, which does not match the plural 'children' in the sentence.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: The correct pronoun to use in this sentence is 'themselves' because it refers to the plural noun 'People.' 'Oneself' is singular and does not match the plural subject. 'Themself' is not a standard pronoun in English and is considered non-standard usage. 'Theirselves' is not a proper word in standard English grammar and is grammatically incorrect.
Therefore, 'themselves' is the only grammatically correct option in this context.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: In the context of the sentence, the word 'wound' is not used correctly. It should be 'wove' instead of 'wound.' The correct word usage should be: 'The staunch hikers took a torturous downhill path that wove through thick vegetation.' 'Wound' is the past tense of 'wind,' while 'wove' is the past tense of 'weave,' which is the appropriate verb to describe a path navigating through vegetation.
Choice A, 'staunch,'
Choice B, 'torturous,' and
Choice D, 'vegetation,' are all used appropriately in the sentence and do not contain any errors.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: In the given sentence, a semicolon is needed after 'early' to join the two independent clauses 'I finished the project early' and 'however, I really should edit my work.' This punctuation mark helps to connect the related ideas in the sentence while maintaining the separation between the clauses. The other choices are incorrect because an apostrophe is used to show possession or to indicate missing letters; a colon is used to introduce a list, explanation, or quotation; and a comma alone would not provide the necessary separation between the two independent clauses in this context.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: The word 'Although' is the correct choice as it is used to introduce a contrast between two ideas. In this sentence, it highlights the unexpected nature of Octavia being taller than her classmates despite being the youngest member of her class. This conjunction effectively conveys the discrepancy between her age and height in the context of the sentence.


Choice A ('Despite') indicates a contradiction or contrast but does not capture the nuance of unexpectedness present in the sentence.
Choice B ('Since') implies a causal relationship, which is not the intended meaning.
Choice D ('Provided') suggests a condition or stipulation, which is not suitable for the context of the sentence.
Therefore, 'Although' is the most appropriate choice.