The supporting paragraphs in the essay below contain four irrelevant sentences that do not relate to the thesis of the paper or support the topic sentences of the paragraph in which they appear. Read the essay carefully; then write the numbers of the four irrelevant sentences in the spaces provided at the bottom.

Question

The Dangers of Housecleaning

(1) Many of the dangers of modern life are not out on the highway or in the workplace. (2) Instead, dangers lurk where they are least unexpected: at home. (3) I don’t mean the dangers of faulty wiring, cheap ladders, or leaking microwaves. (4) No, I’ve found that trying to keep a clean house can be very hazardous to my health. Though our culture associates cleanliness with health and wellness, the truth is quite the opposite. Housekeeping is a deceptively risky act, forcing the cleaner to confront several potential health risks.
(5) For one thing, it does not pay to keep a clean kitchen. (6) The oven, for instance, fights back. (7) Whenever I stick my head into the oven’s greasy interior to spray it with Easy-Off, I end up being choked by a chemical cloud. (8) I am glad I don’t live in the city, where I would have to put up with air pollution as well. (9) When I scrub off the foam, I always break off my nails on the black, rock-hard globs cemented to the oven door. (10) Cleaning the refrigerator can be dangerous, too. (11) As I lean down to wipe out the vegetable drawer, the open freezer lies in wait. (12) It knows I must straighten up again, and that I will inevitably bang my head on the freezer door. (13) Garbage bags also resist tidiness. (14) When I pull a bag out of the kitchen can, seams split and liquid seeps out onto my shoes. (15) A jagged can lid slices through the bag, ready to slash my legs if I should bump the bag. (16) The only bags that don’t rip open, it seems, are the ones that cost a fortune to buy.
(17) The living room becomes another danger zone when I attempt to clean. (18) The light fixtures on the ceiling, for example, resent being taken down for cleaning. (19) They refuse to come loose from the screws that anchor them; then they drop like rocks to the floor. (20) Moving furniture to vacuum the rug underneath causes trouble, too. (21) If I drag a heavy armchair across the rug, one of its legs will snap off. (22) If I try to lift one side of the heavy sofa, the vacuum cord will wrap around my ankle and trip me. (23) Moving furniture in general is a lot easier to do when there is someone around to help.
(24) Finally, the most dangerous room to clean is the bathroom. (25) The bathtub will seek revenge if I try to clean it, for instance. (26) It will become so slippery that even a rubber bathmat won’t stay put. (27) My particular bathtub is an odd lavender color and has such a curved bottom anyway that it is a hazard to stand in whether it is clean or not. (28) Taking a shower in my clean tub can end up in a disastrous slip. (29) The bathroom floor, too, enjoys a layer of dirt. (30) A clean, waxed floor will attract any stray drops of water in the room in order to turn itself into a slippery skating rink. (31) A job that always leads to danger is cleaning out the medicine cabinet over the sink. (32) No matter how careful I am, glass bottles have a way of spilling from the shelves and shattering in the sink. (33) And finding all the missing slivers is impossible no matter how well I clean up. (34) Later, as I pad into the bathroom, a glass splinter will dig itself into my foot.
(35) After the experiences I have had in my house, I have decided that keeping a clean house is not as important as I thought. Until homes are safeguarded against the hazards I’ve described—and chemical companies can promise healthy organic substitutes for products like Easy-Off—there is no sense in risking my well-being in the pursuit of tidiness. (36) Cleanliness is, in the final estimation, not worth the risk. I would rather live with the dust and grime—and stay healthy.

Numbers of the four irrelevant sentences: _____ _____ _____ _____

Answer 1

8, 23, 27, 29