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Reading and Writing · Standard English ConventionsEasy

The world's largest coral reef system, the Great Barrier ______ stretches more than 2,300 kilometers along the northeastern coast of Australia. It is made up of nearly 3,000 individual reefs.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A

Reef;

B

Reef

C

Reef—

D

Reef,

Show answer and explanation

Answer: D

"The Great Barrier Reef" is an appositive that renames "The world's largest coral reef system." It opens with a comma, so it needs a closing comma before the verb "stretches."

Choice B leaves the appositive unclosed, since there is a comma before it but none after it.

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