12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 3: More people travel to

Manhattan Prep Official Explanation

First Glance: Differences in the answer choices provide clues about what a problem might be testing. Before reading the sentence, glance at the beginning of the underline and down the beginning (just the beginning!) of the five answer choices to look for one early clue as to what this sentence is testing.

Answers (A), (D), and (E) begin with more people, indicating that Comparisons are being tested. Answer (B) starts with the modifier In an average week, and choice (C) starts with the noun The number, so be on the lookout for Structure and Meaning issues as well.

Issues:
(1) Comparisons/Pronouns/Meaning
The sentence compares how many people travel to Hong Kong in an average week and how many people travel to many other cities in an entire year. Check the structure of each comparison.

Answer (A) states that more people travel to Hong Kong … than other large cities experience. It is illogical to say that cities experience people. Eliminate (A).

Answer (C) compares the number of people who travel to Hong Kong and that of other cities. If that refers to the number of other cities, the comparison is illogical. If that is the number of people of other cities, the modifier of other cities implies that the people belong to these cities, which is also illogical. Finally, that also can’t refer to the number of people who travel … of other cities, as that is grammatically incorrect (it would need to say travel to). Eliminate (C).

(2) Modifiers/Parallelism/Meaning
Answer (B) opens with the modifier in an average week, followed by a comma. Because the comma separates this modifier from the rest of the clause, it must modify both parts of the parallel structure in the comparison—and this results in an illogical meaning for the second half of the comparison. While a number of people can travel to Hong Kong in an average week, it is illogical to say that the number of people who travel to other large cities in an entire year do so in an average week. Eliminate answer (B) for illogical meaning.

Answer (D) has the same error. The modifier in an average week is set up between commas that separate the subject and verb, making it an adverbial modifier that applies to both parallel elements. As with answer (B), people can’t travel to other cities both in an entire year and in an average week. Eliminate answer (D) for illogical meaning.

The Correct Answer: Answer (E) correctly compares the number of people who travel to Hong Kong in an average week and the number of people who travel to other large cities in an entire year. The parallel structure of the comparison ensures that the verb travel is implied in the second part of the comparison (More people travel to Hong Kong… than [travel] to many other large cities), and the modifier in an average week is correctly placed to refer only to the first half of the comparison.