Dear Friends,
saiprasannaHere is a detailed explanation to this question-
suchoudh wrote:
The manager at the office supply store believes that the new CLP-300 laserjet printer will be used more as a replacement for printers in small offices and libraries rather than for high quality and feature-packed machines in large company settings because its noise emission, only 43 decibels, is far less than most other laserjet printers, which make about 50 decibels of noise each.
(A) more as a replacement for printers in small offices and libraries rather than for high quality and feature-packed machines in large company settings because its noise emission, only 43 decibels, is far less than
(B) more as a replacement for printers in small offices and libraries than high quality and feature-packed machines in large company settings because it emits only 43 decibels of noise, far quieter than
(C) as a replacement for printers in small offices and libraries more than for high quality and feature-packed machines in large company settings because it emits only 43 decibels of noise, far less than
(D) as a replacement for printers in small offices and libraries more than high quality and feature-packed machines in large company settings because its noise emission of only 43 decibels is far quieter than it is for
(E) as a replacement more for printers in small offices and libraries rather than for high quality and feature-packed machines in large company settings because its noise emission, only 43 decibels, is far less than it is for
Choice A: This answer choice incorrectly compares "noise emissions" to "other laserjet printers", rather than to the printers' noise emissions. Additionally, the use of the word "rather" here is redundant as the phrase "more as a" conveys the required sense of contrast quite well. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.
Choice B: This answer choice maintains appropriate comparison and pronoun use, conveys the intended meaning of the sentence, and is quite concise. Thus, this answer choice is correct.
Choice C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence by using the word "more" to modify "than for high quality and feature-packed machines", rather than as an adverb modifying the verb "use". This change brings ambiguity into the sentence; the sentence could either mean that the new printers will be used as replacements for printers in small offices and libraries more than they will be used as replacements for printers in large company settings, or that the new printers will be used as replacements for printers in small offices and libraries more than they will be used in large company settings. The former meaning is the intended meaning of the sentence while the latter is an aberration. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.
Choice D: This answer choice suffers from a pronoun error; "it" refers to "its noise emission", meaning the new printer's noise emission. Therefore, the use of "it" is inappropriate in the phrase "far quieter than it is for most other laserjet printers", as this phrase is supposed to convey that the noise emissions of
the other printers are not as quiet as the noise emissions of the new printers. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.
Choice E: This answer choice suffers from the same pronoun error seen in Option D. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.
Hence, B is the best answer choice.There is one important aspect of the correct answer choice that would be prudent to take a closer look at. On the surface, it may seem that Option B suffers from a parallelism error as it does not follow the "more as X than as Y" format; however, this is not the case. To understand this point, we must take a close look at the meaning of this sentence. Put simply, the meaning is that the manager believes that the new printer will be used as a replacement for printers in certain locations rather than as replacements for "high quality and feature-laden machines" in other locations. Therefore, the correct construction for this comparison is "more as a replacement for X than (a replacement for) Y".
To understand the concept of "Avoiding Pronoun Ambiguity on GMAT", you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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