Official Solution:The structure of the auditory systems in bats enable them to echolocate, an ability to send and detect bisonar pulses to clicks and other calls using sound waves with frequencies mainly between 61.0 to 61.5.A. The structure of the auditory systems in bats enable them to echolocate, an ability to send and detect bisonar pulses to clicks and other calls using sound waves with frequencies mainly between 61.0 to 61.5.
B. Bats have auditory systems, whose structure enables them to echolocate, an ability to send and detect sound waves, which range from bisonar pulses to clicks and other calls and have frequencies mainly between 61.0 and 61.5.
C. Bats have auditory systems, whose structure enables them to echolocate by sending and detecting sound waves with frequencies mainly between 61.0 to 61.5, which range from bisonar pulses to clicks and other calls.
D. The structure of the auditory systems in bats enables them to echolocate, sending and detecting bisonar pulses, clicks and other calls and using sound waves with frequencies mainly from 61.0 to 61.5.
E. The auditory systems of bats have special structure that enables them to echolocate, sending and detecting sound waves, bisonar pulses, clicks to other calls, with frequencies mainly between 61.0 and 61.5.
(A) The singular subject structure does not agree with plural verb enable. "Between X to Y" is wrong; the correct usage is "between X and Y".
(B)
CORRECT. The verb enables agrees with its subject structure. The word echolocate is properly explained introducing an absolute phrase.
(C) The idiom between X to Y is wrong. The correct usage is between X and Y.
D. This construction indicates that “sound waves” and “bisonar pulses, clicks and other calls” are two different things, because they occur in 2 parallel items separated by the conjunction “and”. Their bearing on each other is lost because of this conjunction.
The present participle “sending and detecting“ modifies the verb of the preceding clause “enables”. Nonetheless, it also refers to the subject of the preceding clause “the structure”. The construction indicates as though the structure (not the bats) sends and detects bisonar pulses and uses sound waves. (
*see note 1)
This construction does not clarify that echolocate itself is the ability to send and receive sound waves - using an absolute phrase to define the term echolocate is preferable. (
**see note 2)
E. There is no conjunction before the last item of a list: bisonar pulses, clicks to other calls. Moreover, the implication that sound waves (sent and detected by the bats) range from bisonar pulses to clicks and other calls is lost.
The sentence indicates that the auditory system (not the bats) sends and detects bisonar pulses and uses sound waves - this meaning is acceptable, even though it distorts the original meaning.* (
*see note 1)
This construction does not clarify that echolocate itself is the ability to send and receive sound waves - using an absolute phrase to define the term echolocate is preferable. (
**see note 2)
** Note 2: A present participle modifier is technically a verb modifier - it modifies the verb of the preceding clause. However at the same time it is also essential that the preceding clause has a subject that actually performs the action depicted by the participle. Take the following example: “Steffi Graf won the match, finishing the final game with 3 consecutive aces.” Here the present participle “finishing..” modifies “won”, the verb of the preceding clause (How did Steffi Graf win?). Nonetheless, it also refers to the subject of the preceding clause “Steffi Graf”, who performed the action “finishing”.
** Note 2: In option C, D and E, the usage of “echolocate” and “sending and detecting sound waves” are redundant because “echolocate” itself is “sending and detecting sound waves”, as has been clarified in the original sentence and in option B. The constructions in options C, D and E are comparable to saying “I irrigated the field (by) supplying water through channels.” The word “irrigate” itself means “supplying water through channels”.
Answer: B
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11 Feb 2016, 05:16
52%
(01:48)
wrong 
