SAT English Practice Question

The speaker of the following passage is a historian who is explaining to a group of students the history of the printing press. The speaker has used a semicolon to separate two closely related independent clauses, each of which could stand alone as a complete sentence. However, the punctuation is incorrect because no conjunction is used to link the two clauses. Which choice correctly combines the two clauses? The invention of the printing press transformed the process of knowledge distribution; however, it took several centuries for the printing press to become widely adopted and to have a significant impact on society.

1. A.The invention of the printing press transformed the process of knowledge distribution; however, it took several centuries for the printing press to become widely adopted and to have a significant impact on society.
2. B.The invention of the printing press transformed the process of knowledge distribution, however, it took several centuries for the printing press to become widely adopted and to have a significant impact on society.
3. C.The invention of the printing press transformed the process of knowledge distribution; it took several centuries, however, for the printing press to become widely adopted and to have a significant impact on society.
4. D.The invention of the printing press transformed the process of knowledge distribution, it took several centuries for the printing press to become widely adopted and to have a significant impact on society.