Bunuel wrote:
By confronting a devastated economy through actions such as creating the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, opening the Securities and Exchange Commission, suspending the gold standard, launching massive public works programs, and improving the morale of a demoralized nation through his fireside chats, First Inaugural address, and other motivational speeches, Franklin Roosevelt both lifted the spirits of Americans across the country and set the United States on a course that helped propel it out of the Great Depression.
(A) launching massive public works programs, and improving the morale of a demoralized nation through his fireside chats
(B) and launching massive public works programs, and improving the morale of a demoralized nation through his fireside chats
(C) and launching massive public works programs, and by improving the morale of a nation demoralized through his fireside chats
(D) and through the launch of massive public works programs, and by improving the morale of a demoralized nation through his fireside chats
(E) and launching massive public works programs, and by improving the morale of a demoralized nation through his fireside chats
Official Explanation
Franklin Roosevelt did two things to set the United States on a course to propel itself out of the depression: (1) confronting a devastated economy (2) improving the morale of the demoralized country. Both these two actions and the list of steps taken to accomplish them need to be parallel. Since the first action (followed with its list of steps) is introduced with by the second action (followed with its list of steps) should also be introduced with by.
The correct insertion into the underlined portion of the sentence should begin with and
launching massive since this is the third and final step in the list of actions taken to confront a devastated economy.
The correct sentence should read:
By confronting a devastated economy through {list of actions in parallel}, and by improving the morale of a demoralized nation through {list of actions in parallel}The correct sentence should read:
By confronting a devastated economy through actions such as creating the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, opening the Securities and Exchange Commission, suspending the gold standard, and launching massive public works programs, and by improving the morale of a demoralized nation through his fireside chats, First Inaugural address, and other motivational speeches, Franklin Roosevelt both...A. the sentence is not parallel (i.e., the phrase by
confronting x through y...and improving m through n is not parallel); the word and should be inserted before the word
launching since
launching describes the third and final step in the first series of actions Franklin Roosevelt took
B. the sentence is not parallel (i.e., the phrase
by confronting x through y...and improving m through n is not parallel)
C. this sentence carries a pernicious distortion of meaning as the phrase
a demoralized nation through is replaced with the phrase
a nation demoralized through, which distorts the sentence to mean that Roosevelt's speeches were the source of the nation's demoralization
D. the phrase
through the launch of takes away the parallelism of the list of items taken to accomplish the first action (i.e., the phrase
creating..., opening..., and through the launch is not parallel)
E. the sentence is parallel (i.e.,
the phrase by confronting x through y...and by improving m through n is parallel)