Question 6

Its first bike lane - and the country's first - was built...

The best version of the underlined portion is "first-," which uses a hyphen to connect the two clauses effectively. This punctuation indicates that the phrase "and the country's first" is an additional descriptive element of the subject.

A) (as it is now) first,

This option incorrectly uses a comma after "first," which disrupts the flow of the sentence and fails to properly connect the two related thoughts. The phrase "and the country's first" needs to be connected to "first" rather than separated by a comma.

B) first

Using "first" alone lacks the necessary context. It does not include the additional information provided by "and the country's first," resulting in an incomplete thought that diminishes the clarity of the statement.

C) first:

This option incorrectly uses a colon, which is typically used to introduce a list or an explanation. The colon does not fit in this context, as the phrase following "first" is not a list or elaboration but rather an additional descriptor.

D) first-

This option correctly uses a hyphen to connect "first" with the additional phrase "and the country's first." The hyphen signals that the second part is directly related to the first, maintaining the sentence's coherence and flow.

Conclusion

Option D is the definitive correct answer, as it effectively connects the two related parts of the sentence while preserving clarity. All other options fail to maintain the sentence structure, either by introducing unnecessary punctuation or omitting essential context. Thus, "first-" is the best choice for conveying the intended meaning clearly and accurately.