In 1959, the film industry debuted Smell-O-Vision. Theaters were fitted with specialized vents that emitted odors at specific points in...

Let's begin by understanding the meaning of this sentence. We'll use our understanding of pause points and segment the sentence as shown - understanding and assimilating the meaning of each segment bit by bit!

Sentence Structure

• In 1959,
  • the film industry debuted Smell-O-Vision.

• Theaters were fitted with specialized vents
  • that emitted odors at specific points in a movie (?) as the scent of roses
    • when roses appeared in a scene.

• Smell-O-Vision failed to impress,
  • however,
• with one reviewer declaring it 'briefly weird and not very interesting.'

Understanding the Meaning

The passage starts by introducing a technology from 1959:

• 'the film industry debuted Smell-O-Vision'
  • This was a new cinema technology

The second sentence explains how it worked:

• 'Theaters were fitted with specialized vents'
  • Special vents were installed in movie theaters

• 'that emitted odors at specific points in a movie'
  • These vents would release smells at particular moments during the film

This is where we have the blank. Let's look at the choices:

• The choices show different punctuation after "movie": nothing, semicolon, period, or comma

To see what works here, let's read the rest of the sentence and understand what it's saying!

• 'such as the scent of roses when roses appeared in a scene'
  • This is giving us a concrete EXAMPLE of how the system worked
  • When roses showed up on screen, the vents would release the smell of roses

What do we notice about the structure here?

• We have a main statement: "vents emitted odors at specific points in a movie"
• Followed by an example that clarifies what those "specific points" were: "such as the scent of roses when roses appeared in a scene"

• The phrase "such as" is introducing an example
  • It's providing additional detail about the specific points
  • It's not a separate complete thought - it's extra clarifying information

When we use "such as" to introduce an example like this, we need a comma before it to signal that we're adding this extra information.

So we need: movie, such - Choice D is correct.

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Using Commas to Introduce Examples with "Such As"

When you make a statement and then want to add an example or clarification using "such as," you use a comma to introduce it. The "such as" phrase provides additional descriptive information but isn't a separate complete thought, so it needs lighter punctuation (called a comma in grammar terms), not heavier punctuation like semicolons or periods.

Pattern:

• Main statement, such as example/clarification

Examples:

• The store sells many tropical fruits, such as mangoes and papayas
  • Main statement: "The store sells many tropical fruits"
  • Example introduced with comma: "such as mangoes and papayas"

• Scientists study various renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power
  • Main statement: "Scientists study various renewable energy sources"
  • Example introduced with comma: "such as solar and wind power"

In this question:

• Main statement: "Theaters were fitted with specialized vents that emitted odors at specific points in a movie"
• Example introduced with comma: "such as the scent of roses when roses appeared in a scene"
• The comma signals that we're adding an example to clarify what "specific points" means