1.Since its introduction in the fifteenth century, the semicolon has been one of the most misunderstood marks of punctuation. While some people argue that it is an essential grammatical tool, others claim that its use is largely self-indulgent. Part of the problem is the mark's flexibility. It can be used in a number of different ways, but it is seldom absolutely necessary. Over the years, attempts to confine the semicolon to one or two specific applications have failed, and many writers avoid it out of fear they will use it incorrectly. This disinclination to use the semicolon has become so widespread that punctuation enthusiasts are beginning to worry that the semicolon is going to disappear for good. There is even a new organization calling itself The Committee for the Defense of the Semicolon. It is a good time to take a look at what has led to the semicolon's decline. 2.when they were viewed as a way of inserting a thoughtful pause in a sentence. For eighteenth- and nineteenth-century writers, the key role of punctuation was to indicate how written text should be read aloud. The semicolon provided the perfect compromise between the short pause suggested by a comma and the full stop of a period. The result was such an abundance of semicolons in the works of some well-known writers that Edgar Allen Poe wrote of being "mortified" by the semicolon's overuse. It turned out that Poe's worries were unfounded. During the nineteenth century, the use of semicolons dropped from 68.1 per thousand words to only 17.7. This dramatic decline was in part linked to the invention of the telegraph. Western Union charged a steep rate of $5 per word in telegrams, and because each punctuation mark counted as a word, semicolons were a luxury that few could afford. Elsewhere, the shift away from the semicolon could be seen everywhere from newspapers to literary works to textbooks. 3.In more recent years, the main enemy of the semicolon has been the trend toward linguistic simplicity. Influential texts such as Strunk and White's Elements of Style champion a form of writing that communicates meaning as clearly and simply as possible. This does not leave much room for the nuance of the semicolon, which allows a writer to suggest a relationship between two statements without explaining exactly what that relationship is. A well-placed semicolon creates tension between two thoughts and leaves it to the reader to draw the appropriate conclusion. This requires a trust in the reader and a delicate approach to the text that is rarely found in contemporary writing. It does not help that Gertrude Stein, Kurt Vonnegut, Cormac McCarthy, and other influential writers of modern fiction not only avoided the semicolon, but denounced it publicly. As hopeless as the semicolon's survival may seem, rumors of its death are premature. The New York Times recently reported on the appearance of a semicolon in the most unlikely of places: the inside of a subway car. Reminding riders to dispose of their newspapers responsibly, the public service placard read, "Please put it in a trash can; that's good news for everyone." After a long fall from grace, a role in a major metropolitan subway system may be exactly the sort of job the semicolon needs to survive. 4.The statement in paragraph 4 that "rumors of [the semicolon's] death are premature" reflects the author's belief that:

According to information presented in the selection, which of the following developments was a major cause of the decline of the semicolon?

Which of the following assumptions most influenced the author's main argument in the selection?

The writer's main purpose in the selection is to:

1.According to one estimate, 80 percent of what is now considered the American theater originated at the La MaMa Experimental Theater Club. Since the venerable New York theater swung open its doors on October 18, 1961, La MaMa has presented over 2,000 unique works of theater, dance, interdisciplinary performance, and cabaret. The list of artists reads like a who's who of contemporary theater. Ping Chong, Robert Wilson, Bette Midler, Harvey Fierstein, JoAnne Akalaitis, Peter Brook, Jerzy Grotowski, and the Blue Man Group are among the many performers who made their debuts at La MaMa. Behind this impressive list is a single woman who has directed performances, maintained the theater, and worked tirelessly to bring La MaMa's vision to the world. 2.Ellen Stewart, often called the "mama of La MaMa," did not set out to run a theater company. She moved to New York in 1950 to attend fashion school and ended up getting a job at Saks Fifth Avenue. At Saks, she attracted attention for her unique style and quickly rose to the position of executive designer. It was not long, however, before she quit her job and moved to Morocco. After several years in Morocco, Stewart had a vision in which she heard the voice of an older man from New York who had taken her into his family. Although that man, Papa Diamond, was now dead, his message was clear: "Go back to New York and get a pushcart, and I'll push it with you, and you can go anywhere you want." 3.Stewart decided to make her pushcart a theater. She headed back to New York the very next day and rented a modest basement space for $50 a month. While her first club did not last long, the spirit of La MaMa was born. From the earliest performances, every show began with "Mama" ringing a cowbell and shouting out, "This is La MaMa E.T.C., dedicated to the playwright." Although audiences tended to be small during the theater's first years, this did not stop Stewart. From the beginning, a major element of La MaMa's mission was to take the theater's productions to other countries. By 1968, the group had performed throughout much of Europe and hosted troupes from Paris, Edinburgh, and South Korea. As the company matured, its international relationships grew even stronger. During the course of a single year, it was not uncommon for Stewart to direct five plays in five different countries in five different languages. 4.Although much has changed during La MaMa's nearly 50-year existence, Ellen Stewart is still pushing the cart. Things are a bit more difficult than they used to be, but she also has a lot more help. Whenever she needs to come down from her apartment on the theater's top floor, four men from one of the shows are sent to carry her. On any given day, she can be seen making costumes for a show, rearranging furniture, leading rehearsals, or greeting some of the many friends she has made during a lifetime at La MaMa. Stewart is reticent about giving away too many details of her life, and requests to write a biography are consistently rejected. It is her way of suggesting that whatever her contribution, the essence of La MaMa is something that goes much deeper than Mama herself. The content of the first paragraph of the selection most clearly reflects the author's belief that:

According to information presented in the selection, which of the following events occurred first?

Information presented in the selection best supports which of the following conclusions?

As it is used in the fourth paragraph of the selection, the effect of the statement, "Ellen Stewart is still pushing the cart," is to: