Around the World in 80 Questions (Day 2): The expected drop in the

Experts' Global Official Explanation:

Idioms + Meaning + Verb Forms

Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that the drop in the price of cotton could have a serious impact on agrarian nations and severely diminish the possibility of attaining a growth rate above 10 percent.

• When “impact” is used as a verb it is not followed by a preposition.
• “impact (noun) + on” is a correct, idiomatic construction.
• The infinitive verb form (“to + base form of verb"- "to + maintain" in this sentence) is the preferred construction for referring to the purpose or intent of an action.

A. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “diminish the possibility to attain”; the use of the infinitive verb form (“to + base form of verb” – “to + attain” in this sentence) incorrectly implies that the drop in cotton prices could diminish an unspecified possibility for the purpose of attaining an economic growth rate above 10 percent; the intended meaning is that the drop in cotton prices could diminish the specific possibility of attaining an economic growth rate above 10 percent; please remember, the infinitive verb form (“to + base form of verb"- "to + maintain" in this sentence) is the preferred construction for referring to the purpose or intent of an action. Further, Option A utilizes the unidiomatic construction “impact to”; the correct form of this construction is “impact on”; please remember, “impact (noun) + on” is a correct, idiomatic construction.

B. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “impede the possibility to attain”; the use of the infinitive verb form (“to + base form of verb” – “to + attain” in this sentence) incorrectly implies that the drop in cotton prices could impede an unspecified possibility for the purpose of attaining an economic growth rate above 10 percent; the intended meaning is that the drop in cotton prices could impede the specific possibility of attaining an economic growth rate above 10 percent; please remember, the infinitive verb form (“to + base form of verb"- "to + maintain" in this sentence) is the preferred construction for referring to the purpose or intent of an action. Additionally, Option B utilizes the unidiomatic construction “impact (verb) on”; please remember, when “impact” is used as a verb it is not followed by a preposition, in this case “on”. Besides, a minor observation here is that since it is about possibility, “impede” is an inferior term in comparison with “diminish”.

C. This answer choice utilizes the unidiomatic construction “impact (verb) on”; when “impact” is used as a verb it is not followed by a preposition in this case “on”. Besides, a minor observation here is that since it is about possibility, “impede” is an inferior term in comparison with “diminish”.

D. Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase “diminish the possibility of attaining”; the construction of this phrase conveys the intended meaning – that the drop in cotton prices could diminish the specific possibility of attaining an economic growth rate above 10 percent. Additionally, Option D utilizes the correct, idiomatic construction “impact on”. Besides, a minor observation here is that since it is about possibility, “diminish” in this answer choice is a superior term in comparison with “diminish” used in some of the other answer choices.

E. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “impede the possibility to attain”; the use of the infinitive verb form (“to + base form of verb” – “to + attain” in this sentence) incorrectly implies that the drop in cotton prices could impede an unspecified possibility for the purpose of attaining an economic growth rate above 10 percent; the intended meaning is that the drop in cotton prices could impede the specific possibility of attaining an economic growth rate above 10 percent; please remember, the infinitive verb form (“to + base form of verb"- "to + maintain" in this sentence) is the preferred construction for referring to the purpose or intent of an action. Besides, a minor observation here is that since it is about possibility, “impede” is an inferior term in comparison with “diminish”.

D is the best answer choice.