More SC questions

[kicker]

1. Why the answer is D? I picked C
Although it was expected that workers under forty would show hostility to the plan, the research report indicates that both (younger and the older people) approve of governmental appropriations for Social Security.
a...
b. younger people and the older
c. the younger and the older people
d. younger and older people
e. people who are younger and those who are older

2. Why the answer is A? I picked E
Geologists believe that the Bering land bridge, over which human beings (are thought to have first entered) the Americans, disappeared about 14,000 years ago when massive glaciers melted and caused the sea level to rise several hundred feet worldwide.
a. ..
b. were thought first to enter
c. were thought at first to enter
d. are thought of as first entering
e. were thought to first enter

3. Why the answer is E? I picked B
Contrary to popular opinion, the movement toward a service economy is (leading neither to lower standards of living, more of an unequal distribution of income, or )displacing the physical production of goods.
a...
b. leading neither to lower standards of living nor a more unequal distribution of income, or
c. not leading to either lower standards of living nor to more of an unequal distribution of income, and neither is it
d. not leading to lower standards of living, more of an unequal distribution of income, and it is not
e. not leading to lower standards of living or to a more unequal distribution of income, nor is it

4. Why the answer is E? I picked D
(The domesticated camel, which some scholars date) around the twelfth century B.C, was the key to the development of the spice trade in the ancient world.
a...
b. The domesticated camel, which some scholars have thought to occur
c. Domesticating the camel, dated by some scholars at
d. The domestication of the camel, thought by some sholars to have occurred
e. The camel's domestication, dated by some scholars to have been

5. Why the answer is C? I picked E
Because Halley's comet changes orbit slightly during the seventy-six-year interval between passing close to Earth, it may veer onto a collision course with a planet sometime in the distant future.
a...
b. of passing
c. between its passes
d. of its passes
e. as it passes

6. Why the answer is A? I picked E
The central issue before the court was how far the regulatory agencies should go (in requiring better working conditions in factories.)
a...
b. as far as requiring better working conditions in factories
c. in their requirement that factories should have better working conditions
d. as far as requiring that factories should have better working conditions
e. to require factories to have better working conditons

Thanks

[ajit_srivastava]

1. Why the answer is D? I picked C
Although it was expected that workers under forty would show hostility to the plan, the research report indicates that both (younger and the older people) approve of governmental appropriations for Social Security.
a...
b. younger people and the older
c. the younger and the older people
d. younger and older people
e. people who are younger and those who are older

Reply: " THE " is definite article. It would be wrong to use The younger and the older people ( as in D ).


2. Why the answer is A? I picked E
Geologists believe that the Bering land bridge, over which human beings (are thought to have first entered) the Americans, disappeared about 14,000 years ago when massive glaciers melted and caused the sea level to rise several hundred feet worldwide.
a. ..
b. were thought first to enter
c. were thought at first to enter
d. are thought of as first entering
e. were thought to first enter

Reply : Choice A is correct b'coz the belief of geologists is in present. The sentence shows that geologists still believe .........
Using choice " E" would reflect that the belief of geologist was valid some time back in past, which will go against the contruction of sentence b'coz sentence begins with " geologists believe ..... "

3. Why the answer is E? I picked B
Contrary to popular opinion, the movement toward a service economy is (leading neither to lower standards of living, more of an unequal distribution of income, or )displacing the physical production of goods.
a...
b. leading neither to lower standards of living nor a more unequal distribution of income, or
c. not leading to either lower standards of living nor to more of an unequal distribution of income, and neither is it
d. not leading to lower standards of living, more of an unequal distribution of income, and it is not
e. not leading to lower standards of living or to a more unequal distribution of income, nor is it

Reply : In my view correct answer is " D"

4. Why the answer is E? I picked D
(The domesticated camel, which some scholars date) around the twelfth century B.C, was the key to the development of the spice trade in the ancient world.
a...
b. The domesticated camel, which some scholars have thought to occur
c. Domesticating the camel, dated by some scholars at
d. The domestication of the camel, thought by some sholars to have occurred
e. The camel's domestication, dated by some scholars to have been

Reply: Both D and E are gramatically correct but E is more concise.
Please see carefully the sentence, it is the domistication of camel which was key to the developement of ........ Since " domistication of camel" requires singular verb the choice "E" should read as " the camel's domestication, dated by some scholars to has been.. not .... have been....
Your view ??



5. Why the answer is C? I picked E
Because Halley's comet changes orbit slightly during the seventy-six-year interval between passing close to Earth, it may veer onto a collision course with a planet sometime in the distant future.
a...
b. of passing
c. between its passes
d. of its passes
e. as it passes

Reply : I am sorry, i am confused with the struture of sentence.

6. Why the answer is A? I picked E
The central issue before the court was how far the regulatory agencies should go (in requiring better working conditions in factories.)
a...
b. as far as requiring better working conditions in factories
c. in their requirement that factories should have better working conditions
d. as far as requiring that factories should have better working conditions
e. to require factories to have better working conditons


Reply : The Choice " E" gramatically incorrect b'coz after verb like " Require " we can't use infinitive. the Choice could have been correct, had it read like " to require factories have better working conditions"

All other options except "A" are awkward and wordy. So "A" is correct choice.

I hope your points are clarified.

Thanks

ajit kumar

[Erin]

1. Why the answer is D? I picked C
Although it was expected that workers under forty would show hostility to the plan, the research report indicates that both younger and the older people approve of governmental appropriations for Social Security.
a...
b. younger people and the older
c. the younger and the older people
d. younger and older people
e. people who are younger and those who are older

Hi, Linda.

This is a simple question of article usage. If we use "the," then we are referring to a specific group, i.e., a subset of all Americans. If we omit "the," then we are referring to all Americans.

2. Why the answer is A? I picked E
Geologists believe that the Bering land bridge, over which human beings are thought to have first entered the Americans, disappeared about 14,000 years ago when massive glaciers melted and caused the sea level to rise several hundred feet worldwide.
a. ..
b. were thought first to enter
c. were thought at first to enter
d. are thought of as first entering
e. were thought to first enter

First, we need to understand that we are considering two verb tenses here: "were/are thought" and "to enter/to have entered."

GMAT loves to trick us with this type of question because many people incorrectly think that if we say "geologists think that dinosaurs died..." that the think needs to be in the past tense since we are talking about dinosaurs, which lived millions of years ago.

This kind of thinking will cause us to lose our point! We need to look at each subject and verb and figure out the tense based on the meaning for each. In this sentence, geologists think something NOW, right? Right. Therefore, we MUST use present tense.

Now for the other tense to consider. When we talk about actions in the present, we use this structure:

Present Tense
Dolphins are thought to possess basic ability to communicate.

Past Tense
Dinosaurs are thought to have become extinct as the result of the impact of a meteor with Earth.

3. Why the answer is E? I picked B
Contrary to popular opinion, the movement toward a service economy is leading neither to lower standards of living, more of an unequal distribution of income, or displacing the physical production of goods.
a...
b. leading neither to lower standards of living nor (to) a more unequal distribution of income, or

We do NOT have correct parallel structure here, Linda.

c. not leading to either lower standards of living nor to more of an unequal distribution of income, and neither is it
d. not leading to lower standards of living, more of an unequal distribution of income, and it is not
e. not leading to lower standards of living or to a more unequal distribution of income, nor is it

This is correct. I know it's a bit tricky because we are using two conjunctions ("or" and "nor"), but it is absolutely correct. In class I call this "parallel structure inside parallel structure."

Look at this simplified example of the same structure:

I'm sick and don't feel like going out with you guys for Mexican food. I don't want to eat spicy food or drink frozen drinks, nor do I want to go to a noisy restaurant.

4. Why the answer is E? I picked D
The domesticated camel, which some scholars date around the twelfth century B.C, was the key to the development of the spice trade in the ancient world.
a...
b. The domesticated camel, which some scholars have thought to occur
c. Domesticating the camel, dated by some scholars at
d. The domestication of the camel, thought by some sholars to have occurred
e. The camel's domestication, dated by some scholars to have been

TYPO!! You are right!

More on this question here:

http://www.TestMagic.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=848

5. Why the answer is C? I picked E
Because Halley's comet changes orbit slightly during the seventy-six-year interval between passing close to Earth, it may veer onto a collision course with a planet sometime in the distant future.
a...
b. of passing
c. between its passes
d. of its passes
e. as it passes

"interval," by definition, is the gap in time between two events. Therefore, we should use "between" when we want to talk about the interval (or "break") between two events.

The other thing we need to consider is whether to use the verb "pass" or the noun "pass." Since we are talking about a period of time between two events, we should use the noun form since the noun form refers to the event.

There are a few more things to talk about with this question, so please be sure to post back should you have any further questions (please notice my GMAT English!! )

6. Why the answer is A? I picked E
The central issue before the court was how far the regulatory agencies should go in requiring better working conditions in factories.
a. in requiring better working conditions in factories
b. as far as requiring better working conditions in factories
c. in their requirement that factories should have better working conditions
d. as far as requiring that factories should have better working conditions
e. to require factories to have better working conditons

Thanks

Whew! What a tricky question!Both A and E are grammatically correct, but they have a very slight difference in meaning. For this question, we most likely want the meaning in A, not the meaning in E. And, whenever we have two options that are both grammatically correct, and the only difference is one of meaning, we MUST go with the original meaning. In other words, if A is grammatically correct, not wordy, redundant, awkward, etc., and another answer choice is also grammatically correct, not wordy, redundant, awkward, etc., we must go with A.

But I'm sure you want to know the meaning difference and the rule, right? Okay, here you go:

I know you won't like this, but with this meaning, we use "in." For example:

I want to know how far you will go in helping me.

I think you remember from class that we talked about "helpful" + "in," right? Well, this is very similar--"helping me" is a process. In this sentence, I am wondering how long you would stay with me while you are helping me, how many different things you would do to help me. For example, would you break the law while you are helping me if you thought I would benefit? Would you ignore your friends and family while you are helping me? Again: During the process, how much would you do?

(A) has a similar meaning in this sentence. Let's now look at the meaning of E.

I want to know how far you will go to help me.

In this sentence, we are using the infinitive of purpose, which we use to express a goal. If I use this structure, I am wondering how much effort you would expend to help me. In other words, would you come to me at midnight? Would you travel 50 miles, 100 miles, 1,000 miles to help me? Would you spend all your time and money to come to help me? Would you give up your job, health, and family to help me? Again: How much would you do to be able to be in a situation to help me??

I know that these two are very, very close in meaning, but read what I've written very carefully, and be sure to post back with any further questions!

HTH!!

Erin

TestMagic help you before your test?

Please remember to post after your test.

Please? Please?

[ajit_srivastava]

1. Why the answer is D? I picked C
Although it was expected that workers under forty would show hostility to the plan, the research report indicates that both younger and the older people approve of governmental appropriations for Social Security.
a...
b. younger people and the older
c. the younger and the older people
d. younger and older people
e. people who are younger and those who are older

Hi, Linda.

This is a simple question of article usage. If we use "the," then we are referring to a specific group, i.e., a subset of all Americans. If we omit "the," then we are referring to all Americans.

2. Why the answer is A? I picked E
Geologists believe that the Bering land bridge, over which human beings are thought to have first entered the Americans, disappeared about 14,000 years ago when massive glaciers melted and caused the sea level to rise several hundred feet worldwide.
a. ..
b. were thought first to enter
c. were thought at first to enter
d. are thought of as first entering
e. were thought to first enter

First, we need to understand that we are considering two verb tenses here: "were/are thought" and "to enter/to have entered."

GMAT loves to trick us with this type of question because many people incorrectly think that if we say "geologists think that dinosaurs died..." that the think needs to be in the past tense since we are talking about dinosaurs, which lived millions of years ago.

This kind of thinking will cause us to lose our point! We need to look at each subject and verb and figure out the tense based on the meaning for each. In this sentence, geologists think something NOW, right? Right. Therefore, we MUST use present tense.

Now for the other tense to consider. When we talk about actions in the present, we use this structure:

Present Tense
Dolphins are thought to possess basic ability to communicate.

Past Tense
Dinosaurs are thought to have become extinct as the result of the impact of a meteor with Earth.

3. Why the answer is E? I picked B
Contrary to popular opinion, the movement toward a service economy is leading neither to lower standards of living, more of an unequal distribution of income, or displacing the physical production of goods.
a...
b. leading neither to lower standards of living nor (to) a more unequal distribution of income, or

We do NOT have correct parallel structure here, Linda.

c. not leading to either lower standards of living nor to more of an unequal distribution of income, and neither is it
d. not leading to lower standards of living, more of an unequal distribution of income, and it is not
e. not leading to lower standards of living or to a more unequal distribution of income, nor is it

This is correct. I know it's a bit tricky because we are using two conjunctions ("or" and "nor"), but it is absolutely correct. In class I call this "parallel structure inside parallel structure."

Look at this simplified example of the same structure:

I'm sick and don't feel like going out with you guys for Mexican food. I don't want to eat spicy food or drink frozen drinks, nor do I want to go to a noisy restaurant.

4. Why the answer is E? I picked D
The domesticated camel, which some scholars date around the twelfth century B.C, was the key to the development of the spice trade in the ancient world.
a...
b. The domesticated camel, which some scholars have thought to occur
c. Domesticating the camel, dated by some scholars at
d. The domestication of the camel, thought by some sholars to have occurred
e. The camel's domestication, dated by some scholars to have been

TYPO!! You are right!

5. Why the answer is C? I picked E
Because Halley's comet changes orbit slightly during the seventy-six-year interval between passing close to Earth, it may veer onto a collision course with a planet sometime in the distant future.
a...
b. of passing
c. between its passes
d. of its passes
e. as it passes

"interval," by definition, is the gap in time between two events. Therefore, we should use "between" when we want to talk about the interval (or "break") between two events.

The other thing we need to consider is whether to use the verb "pass" or the noun "pass." Since we are talking about a period of time between two events, we should use the noun form since the noun form refers to the event.

There are a few more things to talk about with this question, so please be sure to post back should you have any further questions (please notice my GMAT English!! )

6. Why the answer is A? I picked E
The central issue before the court was how far the regulatory agencies should go in requiring better working conditions in factories.
a. in requiring better working conditions in factories
b. as far as requiring better working conditions in factories
c. in their requirement that factories should have better working conditions
d. as far as requiring that factories should have better working conditions
e. to require factories to have better working conditons

Thanks

Dear Erin
Thanks for the nice explanation to make a difference between two structures. However I still believe answer "e " is gramatically incorrect. As I earlier mentioned in my reply to Linda, we should not use infinitive after verbs like " Require ".
Please put your view forward.

Thanks

Whew! What a tricky question!Both A and E are grammatically correct, but they have a very slight difference in meaning. For this question, we most likely want the meaning in A, not the meaning in E. And, whenever we have two options that are both grammatically correct, and the only difference is one of meaning, we MUST go with the original meaning. In other words, if A is grammatically correct, not wordy, redundant, awkward, etc., and another answer choice is also grammatically correct, not wordy, redundant, awkward, etc., we must go with A.

But I'm sure you want to know the meaning difference and the rule, right? Okay, here you go:

I know you won't like this, but with this meaning, we use "in." For example:

I want to know how far you will go in helping me.

I think you remember from class that we talked about "helpful" + "in," right? Well, this is very similar--"helping me" is a process. In this sentence, I am wondering how long you would stay with me while you are helping me, how many different things you would do to help me. For example, would you break the law while you are helping me if you thought I would benefit? Would you ignore your friends and family while you are helping me? Again: During the process, how much would you do?

(A) has a similar meaning in this sentence. Let's now look at the meaning of E.

I want to know how far you will go to help me.

In this sentence, we are using the infinitive of purpose, which we use to express a goal. If I use this structure, I am wondering how much effort you would expend to help me. In other words, would you come to me at midnight? Would you travel 50 miles, 100 miles, 1,000 miles to help me? Would you spend all your time and money to come to help me? Would you give up your job, health, and family to help me? Again: How much would you do to be able to be in a situation to help me??

I know that these two are very, very close in meaning, but read what I've written very carefully, and be sure to post back with any further questions!




HTH!!

Erin

TestMagic help you before your test?

Please remember to post after your test.

Please? Please?

ajit kumar

[a user]

6. Why the answer is A? I picked E
The central issue before the court was how far the regulatory agencies should go (in requiring better working conditions in factories.)
a...
b. as far as requiring better working conditions in factories
c. in their requirement that factories should have better working conditions
d. as far as requiring that factories should have better working conditions
e. to require factories to have better working conditons

Dear Erin
Thanks for the nice explanation to make a difference between two structures. However I still believe answer "e " is gramatically incorrect. As I earlier mentioned in my reply to Linda, we should not use infinitive after verbs like " Require ".
Please put your view forward.

Thanks
ajit kumar

Ajit,

Please allow me to join in.
In my view, it's perfect to have infinitive after "Require".
For example:
The boss requires his employee to come to work on time.
The law requires every citizen to pay taxes.
The teacher requires his students to finish homework before taking the test.






Lee Shi