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13 Mar 2022, 01:08
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C
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
5%
(low)
Question Stats:
77% (00:41) correct
23%
(01:02)
wrong
based on 166
sessions
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Cellular phones and fax machines are to today's business world just as dictation and a stenographer was to a former time.
A) just as dictation and a stenographer was
B) as dictation and stenographers have been
C) what dictation and stenographers were
D) what dictation and a stenographer is
E) just like dictation and stenographers were
18 Mar 2022, 02:03
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Official Explanation
Quote:
Cellular phones and fax machines are to today's business world just as dictation and a stenographer was to a former time.
A) just as dictation and a stenographer was
B) as dictation and stenographers have been
C) what dictation and stenographers were
D) what dictation and a stenographer is
E) just like dictation and stenographers were
A) just as dictation and a stenographer was
B) as dictation and stenographers have been
C) what dictation and stenographers were
D) what dictation and a stenographer is
E) just like dictation and stenographers were
Magoosh Official Explanation
A. No. Idiom: "a is to b what y was to z."
Also, subject-verb agreement ("dictation and a stenographer" are plural and should go with "were," not "was").
B. No. Idiom: "a is to b what y was to z."
Also, verb tense. You should use the simple past because the "former time" is over.
C. Yes. The correct idiom is: "a is to b what y was to z."
D. No. Subject-verb agreement ("dictation and a stenographer" should go with "are" not "is," except the correct tense would be "were").
E. No. Idiom: "a is to b what y was to z."
Aside from a botched idiom, in the comparison, like should be as. See Notes, below.
The best answer is C.
• My notes
-- IDIOM: A is to B what Y was to Z
The pattern in this idiom makes it fairly easy to spot.
This idiom may seem rather obscure, but you would be surprised to discover how frequently it turns up in formal writing.
Do not memorize it.
You have now read about it a couple of times.
Because this idiom is almost mathematical (as if we were comparing two ratios), I suspect that you will recognize it when you see it from now on.
-- LIKE vs AS
Please see my explanation of the difference between like and as in this post, here.
One shortcut I discuss is that in comparisons, like must never be followed by a verb, whereas as is almost always followed by a verb.
Correct: Like bergamot, cilantro tastes soapy to some people. [No verb coupled with "like."]
Correct: Just as bergamot tastes soapy to some people, so too does cilantro. [A verb IS coupled with "as."]
Keep up the good work, everyone.
General Discussion
13 Mar 2022, 03:09
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My answer is (C). It took me 21 seconds.
"A is to B what C is to D" is an idiom being tested in this question.
(A) It does not match the idiom "A is to B what C is to D". (I now see some discussions online that also support "A is to B as C is to D". I am not sure if the use of "as" is totally wrong. It would be nice that "A is to B as C is to D" is totally wrong. That is how I was able to quickly eliminate (AB)).
Besides, "dictation and a stenographer" are plural.
(B) It does not match the idiom "A is to B what C is to D".
Besides, the use of "have been" is incorrect. The discussion is about a past event.
(C) No problem
(D) "dictation and a stenographer" are plural.
The us of "is" is incorrect. The discussion is about a past event.
(E) "like" cannot be used as conjunction.
"A is to B what C is to D" is an idiom being tested in this question.
(A) It does not match the idiom "A is to B what C is to D". (I now see some discussions online that also support "A is to B as C is to D". I am not sure if the use of "as" is totally wrong. It would be nice that "A is to B as C is to D" is totally wrong. That is how I was able to quickly eliminate (AB)).
Besides, "dictation and a stenographer" are plural.
(B) It does not match the idiom "A is to B what C is to D".
Besides, the use of "have been" is incorrect. The discussion is about a past event.
(C) No problem
(D) "dictation and a stenographer" are plural.
The us of "is" is incorrect. The discussion is about a past event.
(E) "like" cannot be used as conjunction.
