"As to whether" should always be just "whether." The same is true for "which." Finally, adding a comma to the section renders it incorrect.  

In this sentence, the participial phrase "initially meant to provide new forms of interest for the salesman" is an interrupting phrase, a phrase that provides extra meaning to the sentence, but is not a necessary part of the sentence's construction. All such phrases must be set apart from the rest of the sentence by commas. "The competition, initially meant to provide new forms of interest for the salesman, soon created" is the only answer choice which makes such a change.

Sentences should almost always be written in the active voice, rather than the passive voice. There is no need for parentheses, and "their" is correct, not "they're." So "They will always love their dog" is the best answer.

The correct answer is: "may force them to have a long-distance relationship, which they have never had before," because it is the most efficiently phrased and is grammatically correct. 

The answer choice "may force them to have a long-distance relationship, and they have not had a long-distance relationship before" is incorrect because the phrase "and they have not" is unnecessarily wordy compared to the correct answer. 

The answer choice "may be forcing them to have a long-distance relationship, and that is something they have never had that before" is incorrect because "may be forcing" refers to present action, and Mr. and Mrs. Jeffries have not yet found out where they have been accepted to graduate school.

The answer choice "may be forcing them to have a long-distance relationship, which they have never had that before" is wrong because "which they have never had that before" is grammatically improper.

The answer choice "may force them to have a long-distance relationship and they have never had that before" is somewhat of a run-on sentence, and the correct answer is more succinctly phrased.

The key word to consider when answering this question is the conditional word "could" in the last portion of the sentence. Because the forecasted shop drop in oil prices is discussed in conditional terms after the comma, it must also be discussed in conditional terms before the comma, and in the way the sentence is presented, it is not. The only answer choice that features appropriate wording is "Forecasters warn that a sharp drop in oil prices"; the "that" allows for the conditional, in the sense of the forecasters warning that if a sharp drop in oil prices occurs, it could have dire consequences for the world economy.

Eliminate the answer choices which include the passive voice. This question also has to do with order of relevance. Consider that the initial prepositional phrase describes the guide's most relevant action. What is the most important thing the guide did? He cleared away the debris. That should be mentioned in the active voice before the fact that he allowed his group to follow his path. Choose the answer that most efficiently describes the primary action (in the active voice) and sets up the clauses about the consequences of his action.

Eliminate the answer choices which include the passive voice. This question also has to do with order of relevance. Consider that the initial prepositional phrase describes the carpenter’s most relevant action. What is the most important thing the carpenter did? He split the log down the middle. That should be mentioned in the active voice before the fact that his action allowed the wood to sit in the fireplace. Choose the answer that most efficiently describes the primary action (in the active voice) and sets up the clauses about the consequences of his action.

The "as" at the beginning of the sentence’s final clause, "as the study of…" makes that clause dependent—it can’t stand on its own. Thus, the underlined clause must remain independent, or else the sentence will become a fragment. 

The word "seismologist" must be linked to noun phrase that begins "no specialized term…" with a word that makes sense in context and is idiomatically correct.

"Other than" makes perfect sense in context, and adding a conjunction to the beginning of the sentence would leave us with two dependent clauses.

Eliminate the answer choices that include the passive voice. This question also has to do with order of relevance. Consider that the initial prepositional phrase describes the forester's most relevant action. What is the most important thing the forester did? He cleared away the debris. That should be mentioned in the active voice before the fact that his action allowed his vehicle to pass. Choose the answer that most efficiently describes the primary action (in the active voice) and sets up the clauses about the consequence of his action. If the subject of the first clause is the forester "swinging" his axe, he must be the subject of the second clause to avoid a dangling modifier error.

One can distinguish a from b, or distinguish between a and b. The correct answer is the only one that follows this idiomatic pattern.