Question

sculpting the wind
across the rolling green moorlands of burnley, a town in lancashire,
england, the sounds of clanging saw the wind heating sheep remind
tourists of what the town became after the world war ii. the sculpture, a ten-
foot - tall funnel of galvanized steel, is perched atop a reservoir a
windswept tree, overlooks a formerly thriving textile towns highest
hill. for the citizens below, this work of art has become a source of pride,
a symbol linking nature to industry and part to present.
a bustling mill town during englands industrial revolution, burnley has
only recently reestablished it as an enterprising manufacturing town. in
2004, hoping to bolster the towns economy, the burnley council and
mid pennine arts commissioned a piece of art that would draw tourists
to the area. the architects they hired, mike tonkin and anna liu, found
inspiration in the regions persistent winds, which can reach speeds of
sixty miles per hour. *
question 24 of 50
which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?
a no change
b themself
c itself
d delete the underlined portion.

Explanation:

The underlined word "it" in the original sentence is ambiguous. The context is about Burnley town. "Delete the underlined portion" (option D) makes the sentence more concise and avoids the ambiguity. The other options: "No Change" (A) keeps the ambiguity; "itself" (C) is reflexive but not needed here as the sentence doesn't require emphasizing the town doing something to itself in a reflexive sense related to the context; "themself" (B) is grammatically incorrect as the town is a singular entity (not plural, so the pronoun should be singular - "it" related issues but deletion is better).

Answer:

D. Delete the underlined portion.