Page 42 - index

2021 ‫מועד חורף‬ - 41 - ‫ פרק ראשון‬- ‫אנגלית‬

Text II (Questions 18-22)

(1) The Oxford – or serial – comma, traditionally used by writers, editors, and printers
at Oxford University Press, is the one inserted just before the "and" or "or" at the end of
a list. Recently, however, the Oxford University website issued a surprising directive:
"As a general rule, do not use the serial/Oxford comma." A fierce uproar ensued,

(5) with advocates of the extra comma bemoaning its demise while others celebrated.

The row rallied grammatical pedants everywhere. One of these, Alexandra Petri,
wrote in the Washington Post: "The Oxford comma is logical, helpful, and innocuous.
Leaving it out creates strange bedfellows at the ends of sentences. The comma keeps
lists from bleeding into each other – as in the dedication, 'To my parents, Ayn Rand and

(10) God.' It keeps you from accidentally clumping things that don't want to be clumped."
The counterargument was presented by Harry Mount in London's Daily Telegraph:
"There are, admittedly, times when an Oxford comma makes better sense. But, on the
grounds of simplicity and beauty, the Oxford comma loses out. Its absence makes a
sentence less cluttered and more pleasing to the eye. It's better to kill off the poor,

(15) awkward thing."

It eventually transpired that the whole outcry had been misguided: the Oxford

comma had not been abandoned by its champions, Oxford University Press, but only by
the university's public relations department. A spokesperson for the Press explained that
the style change applied only to university press releases and in-house communications.
(20) It appears that everyone had simply overreacted. Nevertheless, the debate over the
desirability of the Oxford comma continues.

Questions

18. The main purpose of the first paragraph is to introduce Oxford University's -

(1) definition of the serial comma
(2) traditional rules for using commas
(3) controversial policy change
(4) writers, editors, and printers

)‫© כל הזכויות שמורות למרכז ארצי לבחינות ולהערכה (ע"ר‬
.‫ בלא אישור בכתב מהמרכז הארצי לבחינות ולהערכה‬- ‫ כולה או חלקים ממנה‬- ‫ או ללמדה‬,‫אין להעתיק או להפיץ בחינה זו או קטעים ממנה בכל צורה ובכל אמצעי‬