Help me answer this Writing question

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>This is from the passage improvement section:
Questions 33-35 refer to the following passage.
(1) When people describe me as “determined” or “tenacious,” I know they really mean that I am a truly stubborn person. (2) I first recognize that I am a very stubborn person when I was in grade school and wanted to be able to juggle like my big brother. (3) He taught himself to juggle and by the age of six could juggle three balls perfectly. (4) My brother went in for juggling, as though he had been born with exceptional eye-hand coordination.
(5) I, on the other hand, seemingly had no natural juggling ability. (6) But I wouldn’t give up. (7) I practiced endlessly, and slowly I began to get better. (8) Juggling just didn’t come easily to me the way it had to my brother. (9) Eventually my stubbornness paid off.
(10) Throughout my life, though, I have been criticized for this very quality. (11) I am aware that what I see as determination, they sometimes see as a lack of realism. (12) My high school friends, for instance, thought I was overly optimistic because I was determined that I would someday play guitar in a rock band. (13) They recognized, as I did, that I was a mediocre guitarist. (14) I almost came to believe that my goal was unrealistic, but I almost came to believe that my goal was unrealistic, but I wouldn’t give up. (15) In the end, my improvement was modest, and I never did join a band, but I don’t regret my efforts. (16) Nevertheless, I can play a few songs, which is more than my brother can do.</p>

<ol>
<li>In context, which of the following would best replace “went in for” in sentence 4?
My brother went in for juggling, as though he had been born with exceptional eye-hand coordination.
A.had a talent for
B.has what it takes for
C.had been good at
D.would be good at</li>
</ol>

<p>I chose C. The answer is A. I see no logic in why the answer is A. It just seems so subjective. Can someone give me a clear explanation on why the one is wrong and the other is correct?</p>

2

<p>This whole thing is a verb-tense problem.</p>

<p>B. “has what” puts the action in the simple present. Since the story is about the past, the present tense doesn’t fit.</p>

<p>C. “had been” puts the action in the distant past, PRIOR to the action being discussed in the previous sentence. The past perfect also indicates completed actions or states. If he “had been” good at juggling, then he was no longer good at juggling at the age of six. That’s a contradiction.</p>

<p>D. “would be” indicates the future. Nothing else in context suggests the future.</p>

<p>A. “had a talent” uses “had” as a finite verb, not an auxiliary verb. So it describes the simple past. The surrounding sentences are also in the simple past. It’s the only verb with a tense that fits.</p>