12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 2: Earthquakes, the most

Question

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Earthquakes, the most frequent natural disaster in Japan, strike the 430 inhabited Japanese islands approximately 1,500 times per year, causing significant structural  damage, and they cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost  productivity every year.

(A) damage, and they cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost 
(B) damage, so as to cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost 
(C) damage and thus cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost
(D) damage that costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and
(E) damage, which thus costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and

rahumangal · Answer

Option (C) provides a more grammatically correct and logically structured sentence. The conjunction "and thus" appropriately connects the cause (earthquake) and effect (the cost to the nation).

Mukulkumar19 · Answer

(A) damage, and they cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost     incorrect use of comma 
 (B) damage, so as to cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost     so as to??? the purpose of Earthquake is damage?? 
 (C) damage and thus cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost 
 (D) damage that costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and    damage doesn't cost lost productivity 
 (E) damage, which thus costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and    again only damage doesn't cost the lost productivity

brp616 · Answer

I went with C but was not sure

I eliminated D and E because they reference 'lost repair costs and...' which lead into productivity, and a phrase with 'repair costs and lost productivity' makes a lot more sense.

A creates a run-on sentence that does not flow well and fails to connect the damage to repair costs and lost productivty

B uses 'so as to' which sounds clunky and I believe it implies that the damage they are causing is intentional, whereas obviously earthquakes are a natural phenomenon

C keeps lost in the right spot and uses a well-placed 'thus' to imply causation between the earthquakes, structural damage, and the repair costs/lost productivity

Sathvik02 · Answer

Earthquakes, the most frequent natural disaster in Japan, strike the 430 inhabited Japanese islands approximately 1,500 times per year, causing significant structural damage, and they cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost productivity every year.
Here the problem is the ambiguous "they". Well logically it should refer back to the earthquakes, since they are the one costing the nation $70 billion. But here it looks like "they" can also refer back to the "islands". So let's get rid of A. Now let's get rid off D & E because now they are altering the meaning by saying the structural damage is the one causing nation 70 billion. Definitely sounds logical but we cannot alter the meaning of the given original choice. B is damn weird, which uses so as, nonsensically telling earthquakes have this intension to cost the nation $70 billion. 
C is our only candidate surviving. C is structurally and grammatically sound and retains the logical meaning driven from option A.

unnati157 · Answer

The correct answer is (C):

(C) damage and thus cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost

Option D and E can be eliminated as they include the term 'lost repair costs' which does not fit in with the topic of lost productivity mentioned later. 
Option C maintains parallel structure by using "damage" and "cost" as parallel elements in the sentence. Additionally, "thus" appropriately connects the two clauses to indicate a cause-and-effect relationship.

jaysea · Answer

(A) damage, and they cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost -> attributes the costs to the earthquakes instead of to the damage caused, wrong
(B) damage, so as to cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost -> so as to cost is poor grammar here, wrong
(C) damage and thus cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost -> and thus is not appropriate here, wrong
(D) damage that costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and -> this phrase correctly attributes the costs to the damage caused. correct answer
(E) damage, which thus costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and -> which thus is not appropriate here, wrong

Sviatlana · Answer

The given sentence is confusing because it is said "damage, and they cost" -- this is repetitive
Option (C) makes it clearer by saying "damage and thus cost," combining the ideas more smoothly. It's like saying that earthquakes cause damage, and that's what ends up costing the nation $70 billion. It seems correct both logically and grammatically.

boomer1ang · Answer

Answer: A

(A) is correct, earthquake cost structural damage followed by 'they' referring to earthquakes
(B) eliminated due to phrase "so as to cost"
(C) thus cost is incorrect
(D) and (E) eliminated due to phrase "lost repair costs".

juancarlos12 · Answer

Earthquakes, the most frequent natural disaster in Japan, strike the 430 inhabited Japanese islands approximately 1,500 times per year, causing significant structural  damage, and they cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost  productivity every year.

(A) damage , and they  cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost -->Redundance
(B) damage , so as to  cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost -->Akward
(C) damage  and thus  cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost -->Parallel
(D) damage  that costs  the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and -->Change meaning
(E) damage,  which thus  costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and -->incorrect place of which

Right answer: C

Mentis678 · Answer

(A) damage, and they cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost 
'They' is a little ambiguous. Nothing else is much of a problem though. But we have a better option subsequently.
(B) damage, so as to cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost 
'so as to' changes the meaning. Out.
(C) damage and thus cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost
This corrects the ambiguity in A and retains the meaning. Best of lot.
(D) damage that costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and
'lost repair cost' changes the meaning.
(E) damage, which thus costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and
lost repair cost' changes the meaning.

C is the best option.

snoep · Answer

Answer: C

(A) damage, and  they  cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost

(B) damage,  so as to cost  the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost

(C) damage and thus cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost

(D) damage that costs the nation $70 billion in  lost repair costs  and

(E) damage,  which  thus costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and

Shwetamed · Answer

Aonly option that provides correct and concise meaning

Posted from my mobile device

Gprabhumir · Answer

Things are fine with this option except for "they". We don't know to whom is this they referring to. While the meaning is obvious, it's the Earthquakes, we cannot assume this in SC.
 Therefore, A is out.

"so as to cost the nation" , sounds like the damage is happening to cost the nation. Whereas, since there is a damage, nation has to incur costs on repairs and lost productivity.
Meaning changes.
 Therefore, B is out.

All good here!

There's a common error between D and E.
 "lost repair costs and productivity" . This is incorrect. It should be repair costs and lost productivity. Repairs aren't lost. 
Therefore, D & E are out.

C is our winner!

DG1989 · Answer

Earthquakes, the most frequent natural disaster in Japan, strike the 430 inhabited Japanese islands approximately 1,500 times per year, causing significant structural  damage, and they cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost  productivity every year.

(A) damage, and they cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost
(B) damage, so as to cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost
(C) damage and thus cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost
(D) damage that costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and
(E) damage, which thus costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and

Solution:   The given underlined segment is flawed as it doesn't link the costs to the damage. Instead it conveys the meaning that Earthquake costs the nation money in repair costs and lost productivity every year.

(A) damage, and they cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost
 Explanation:  As explained above, this is wrong.   INCORRECT

(B) damage, so as to cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost
 Explanation:  Here 'so as to' changes the intended meaning of the original sentence. This implies that there was a deliberate intention behind the damage to cost nation money. This is wrong.   INCORRECT

(C) damage and thus cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost
 Explanation:  As explained in choice A, this option links the earthquakes to the costs which is incorrect. Also use of 'thus' is awkward.   INCORRECT

(D) damage that costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and
 Explanation:  This choice is grammatically correct. The relative pronoun 'that' here clearly links the damage to the cause of costs to the nation. Also SV pair agreement is followed here.   CORRECT

(E) damage, which thus costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and
 Explanation:  This option is similar to choice C and is grammatically wrong.   INCORRECT

Option D   is the right choice

SushantPaudel · Answer

Let's go through each option and discuss why they are incorrect:

(A) damage, and they cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost

The use of "and" creates a coordination of two independent clauses, making the relationship between the clauses less clear. It would be better to use a conjunction that indicates cause and effect.

(B) damage, so as to cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost

"So as to" is awkward in this context.

(C) damage and thus cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost

This option is more acceptable, but it's not entirely precise.

(D) damage that costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and

The relative pronoun "that" is appropriate for introducing a defining clause, but the placement and structure of the phrase "that costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and" make it awkward.

(E) damage, which thus costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and

It adds "thus," which is considered redundant.

So, C is correct answer here.

Elite097 · Answer

Earthquakes, the most frequent natural disaster in Japan, strike the 430 inhabited Japanese islands approximately 1,500 times per year, causing significant structural damage, and they cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost productivity every year.

(A) damage, and they cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost-- 
the point is not tht earthquakes cost the nation something but the damage costs

(B) damage, so as to cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost-
so as to shows cause and effect and is not the required use here

(C) damage and thus cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost
And thus represents the correct causality

(D) damage that costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and
Modifier error- lost is placed incorrectly

(E) damage, which thus costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and
Modifier error- lost is placed incorrectly

Ans C

mayankdgmat · Answer

Question is on parallelism,

Earthquake

(1) strike the Japan at particular interval
(2) cost the nation $70 billion

(A)  damage, and they cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost 
 "They" is ambiguous pronoun may refer to earthquake, islands. Eliminate 
(B)  damage, so as to cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost 
 Looks like damage is costing nation not earthquake. Out 
(C) damage and thus cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost
 Parallelism maintained. Hold on to this one. 
(D)  damage that costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and 
 how can damage cost the nation, it should be earthquake. Out 
(E)  damage, which thus costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and  
 Similar to option (d) which is modifying damage wrongly. Out

C is our answer

rezk1 · Answer

(D) damage that costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and

AviNFC · Answer

(A) damage, and they cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost  In second portion, it seems earthquakes cost the nation. The effect from the first portion is not reflected. 
(B) damage, so as to cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost  Its not goal of earthquake to cost the nation 
(C) damage and thus cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost  Correct. Earthquakes strike and thus their effects 
(D) damage that costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and  lost productivity cannot be a type of structural damage. Lost is misplaced 
(E) damage, which thus costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and   structural damage cannot cost lost productivity. Lost is misplaced

Ans C

sanjitscorps18 · Answer

(A) damage, and they cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost 
-- doesn't have a specific antecedent. 'they' could also refer to the islands as well

(B) damage, so as to cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost 
-- "so as to" is not a correct phrase to use. It suggests that earthquakes are not

(C) damage and thus cost the nation $70 billion in repair costs and lost
 -- correct usage

(D) damage that costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and
-- "lost repair costs" is an incorrect usage

(E) damage, which thus costs the nation $70 billion in lost repair costs and
-- "lost repair costs" is an incorrect usage

Option C

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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 2: Earthquakes, the most

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