SAT OwlThe museum's new wing houses three collections: textiles from the Andes, many of them more than a thousand years ______ ceramics from Korea's Joseon dynasty, which ruled for about five centuries; and woodblock prints from Japan, including several by Hokusai.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
old
old,
old:
old;
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D
Each item in this list contains its own comma, so semicolons separate the items. The sentence already uses a semicolon before "and woodblock prints," so a semicolon must also end the first item, after "old."
Choice B seems natural in a list, but since the items contain internal commas, a comma here would blur where the first item ends and the second begins.
Why the other choices are wrong
- A. A plain word without punctuation fails to separate the list items, which contain internal commas and require semicolons to maintain clarity.
- B. A comma here blurs the boundary between the first and second items because both already contain internal commas, making the list structure unclear.
- C. A colon is incorrect because it typically introduces a list or explanation, whereas semicolons are needed to separate complex list items that contain commas.
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