Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
arj_singh1976 wrote:
Patience Lovell Wright, whose travelling waxworks exhibit preceded Madame Tussaud's work by 30 years, became well known as much because of having an eccentric personality as for having skillfully rendered popular public figures in wax.
(A) well known as much because of having an eccentric personality as for having skillfully rendered popular public figures in wax
(B) well known as much for having an eccentric personality as for her skillful wax renderings of popular public figures
(C) well known as much because of her eccentric personality as she was for her skillful wax renderings of popular public figure
(D) as well known for having an eccentric personality as having skillfully rendered popular public figures in wax
(E) as well known for her eccentric personality as for her skillful wax renderings of popular public figures
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that Patience Lovell Wright became as well known for her eccentric personality as she did for her skillful wax renderings of popular public figures.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Parallelism + Awkwardness/Redundancy• “as much A as B” is the correct, idiomatic construction; A and B must be parallel.
• “as A as B” is a correct, idiomatic usage; A and B must be parallel.
A: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrases “having an eccentric personality” and "having skillfully rendered popular public figures in wax”; the construction of these phrases incorrectly implies that Patience Lovell Wright became as well known for
taking the action of having an eccentric personality as she did for
having taken the action of skillfully rendering popular public figures in wax; the intended meaning is that Patience Lovell Wright became as well known for her eccentric personality,
itself, as she did for her skillful wax renderings of popular public figures,
themselves. Further, Option A uses the passive voice construction “having skillfully rendered popular public figures in wax”, rendering it awkward and needlessly wordy.
B: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “having an eccentric personality”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that Patience Lovell Wright became well known for
taking the action of having an eccentric personality; the intended meaning is that Patience Lovell Wright became well known for her eccentric personality,
itself. Further, Option B fails to maintain parallelism between A (“for having an eccentric personality”) and B (“for her skillful wax renderings of popular public figures”) in the idiomatic construction “as much A as B”; please remember, “as much A as B” is the correct, idiomatic construction; A and B must be parallel.
C: This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between A (“because of her eccentric personality”) and B (“she was for her skillful wax renderings of popular public figure”) in the idiomatic construction “as much A as B”; please remember, “as much A as B” is the correct, idiomatic construction; A and B must be parallel.
D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrases “having an eccentric personality” and "having skillfully rendered popular public figures in wax”; the construction of these phrases incorrectly implies that Patience Lovell Wright became as well known for
taking the action of having an eccentric personality as she did for
having taken the action of skillfully rendering popular public figures in wax; the intended meaning is that Patience Lovell Wright became as well known for her eccentric personality,
itself, as she did for her skillful wax renderings of popular public figures,
themselves. Further, Option D fails to maintain parallelism between A (“for having an eccentric personality”) and B (“having skillfully rendered popular public figures in wax”) in the idiomatic construction “as A as B”; please remember, “as A as B” is the correct, idiomatic construction; A and B must be parallel. Additionally, Option D uses the passive voice construction “having skillfully rendered popular public figures in wax”, rendering it awkward and needlessly wordy.
E: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrases “her eccentric personality” and “her skillful wax renderings of popular public figures”, conveying the intended meaning – that Patience Lovell Wright became as well known for her eccentric personality,
itself, as she did for her skillful wax renderings of popular public figures,
themselves. Further, Option E correctly maintains parallelism between A (“for her eccentric personality”) and B (“for her skillful wax renderings of popular public figures” in the idiomatic construction “as A as B”. Additionally, Option E is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.
Hence, E is the best answer choice.All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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