Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
Economist wrote:
It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from seawater, but at present this process is prohibitively expensive.
(A) lt may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from seawater
(B) Someday, it may be worthwhile to try and recover uranium from seawater
(C) Trying to recover uranium out of seawater may someday be worthwhile
(D) To try for the recovery of uranium out of seawater may someday be worthwhile
(E) Recovering uranium from seawater may be worthwhile to try to do someday
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Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that although it may be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from seawater, someday, at present this process is prohibitively expensive.
Concepts tested here: Idioms +Meaning + Verb Form + Redundancy/Awkwardness[/b]
• “to try to” is a correct, idiomatic usage.
A: Correct. This answer choice correctly uses the idiomatic construction “to try to”. Further, Option A uses the phrase “to try to recover uranium from seawater”, conveying the intended meaning- that the process of recovering uranium from seawater is prohibitively expensive at present. Additionally, Option A is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.
B: Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “to try and” rather than the idiomatic construction “to try to”; please remember, “to try to” is a correct, idiomatic usage.
C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “Trying to recover…”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the process of
trying to recover uranium from seawater is prohibitively expensive at present; the intended meaning is that the process of recovering uranium from seawater is prohibitively expensive at present.
D: This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “to try for” rather than the idiomatic construction “to try to”; please remember, “to try to” is a correct, idiomatic usage.
E: This answer choice uses the redundant phrase “to try to do” and the passive voice construction "Recovering uranium from seawater may be worthwhile", rendering it needlessly wordy and awkward.
Hence, A is the best answer choice.All the best!
Experts' Global Team