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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in water levels near the equator speed up the Earth’s rotation, like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in.
(A) like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in
(B) like the increased speed of a figure skater when her arms are drawn in
(C) like a figure skater who increases speed while spinning with her arms drawn in
(D) just as a spinning figure skater who increases speed by drawing in her arms
(E) just as a spinning figure skater increases speed by drawing in her arms
Here like is used as a conjunction. This is not preferred/correct usage of like. I have copied this from a website :
Here is the rule:
Always use "like" as a preposition, never as a subordinating conjunction.
Historically, "like" has often been used as a subordinating conjunction, but in formal modern usage it is considered a definite no-no. The use of "like" as a conjunction had pretty nearly disappeared among the educated public, until a famous cigarette ad declared, "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should!" The media have so popularized this once forbidden usage that one now hears it (and reads it) almost everywhere. But although it has become generally accepted in colloquial speech and informal writing, it is still considered questionable in formal writing. Anyone who wishes to be taken seriously as a writer needs to be very careful about unnecessarily violating this particular shibboleth, because it is seen by most teachers and editors not only as an error, but as another one of those really big errors.
Here are some examples of "like" used as a subordinating conjunction, along with corrected versions of the sentences.
EXAMPLES:
~My face felt like it had been set on fire. My face felt as if it had been set on fire. My face felt as though it had been set on fire.
~In college the teachers don't spoonfeed you the material like the teachers in high school do. In college the teachers don't spoonfeed you the material, as the teachers in high school do In college the teachers don't spoonfeed you the material the way the teachers in high school do.
~When I was a freshman I studied like my life depended on it. When I was a freshman I studied as if my life depended on it. When I was a freshman I studied as though my life depended on it.
~Some people with only a modest income try to live like they were millionaires. Some people with only a modest income try to live as if they were millionaires. Some people with only a modest income try to live as though they were millionaires.
The same goes for using "like" as a conjunction. It has a respectable history of being used as a conjunction, and it is commonly used that way in informal speech and writing today. But it is not commonly used that way in the formal writing of educated people, and so I will not risk my reputation for it. The fact is, it is quite simple to avoid using "like" as a conjunction, just as it is to avoid comma splices.
Re: During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat
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11 Mar 2010, 14:44
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Hey All,
I didn't check the other thread, but I thought I'd add a few more details in here. As some have said, it is a comparison issue, but the notion of comparing "actions" versus "things" is a dangerous one. I warn you that the explanations below are complicated, so feel free to ask follow-up questions. First, let's consider a simple comparison example:
Like running, swimming is great.
No one would argue that we aren't comparing actions in that sentence, but these are gerunds (verbal nouns), so we have to use "like". Thus the distinction between "actions" and "nouns" starts to break down. Now watch this:
Like Einstein, Dave was a really smart guy.
You could argue here that we're comparing people (Einstein and Dave) OR actions (they were both smart guys), yet we still need "like".
In reality, we only use AS when comparing CLAUSES (a phrase with a verb in a tense). "Like Einstein" has no verb in a tense, so we use LIKE. Similarly, "Like running" doesn't have a verb in a tense, so we use LIKE. Let's consider the answer choices in this light...
257. During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in water levels near the equator speed up the Earth’s rotation, like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in.
(A) like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in PROBLEM: Believe it or not, in this iteration of the sentence, LIKE is more correct. Think of it like this. I could correctly write, "Faster and faster turned the merry-go-round, like a spinning figure skater." In this sentence, the second phrase has NO VERB in a tense, so LIKE is okay (we're comparing the NOUN "merry-go-round" with the NOUN "spinning figure skater" (spinning is an adjective there)).
Now before you all get up in arms, obviously this answer choice is in correct. We WANT to compare actions (namely the way that the Earth's rotation speeds up, as well as the skater's rotation). But in this answer choice, if we just threw in AS, we wouldn't have the verb that we need to make this a clause. The verb "increases" is inside a modifying phrase, initiated by the relative pronoun "whose", so we lack an actual action to be comparing. Complicated, I know, but a critical piece of information you must understand to answer these brutal comparison/modifier questions. (I'd also add that the wording of this particular sentence makes it sound like we're comparing "rotation" to "spinning figure skater", which makes it even more wrong.)
(B) like the increased speed of a figure skater when her arms are drawn in PROBLEM: Comparison logic. It's not the increased speed we want to compare to, though the LIKE is correct (this isn't a clause, as the verb "are drawn in" is within another modifying phrase, initiated by the relative pronoun "when").
(C) like a figure skater who increases speed while spinning with her arms drawn in PROBLEM: Comparison logic. It's not like a figure skater who increases speed with her arms drawn in, but it's like THE WAY speed increases when the arms are drawn in (as nitya said, we need the clause, not the noun).
(D) just as a spinning figure skater who increases speed by drawing in her arms PROBLEM: Fragmentary. Just like we saw in A, the "who" phrase is a modifier, so we never get a main verb here, meaning we CANNOT use AS correctly here. It would need to be something like "just as a spinning figure skater who draws in her arms increases her speed". Now we have the verb "increases" as a main verb, so we're allowed to use "as".
(E) just as a spinning figure skater increases speed by drawing in her arms ANSWER: Voila. We get the AS, and the main verb "INCREASES".
As I said above, I'm happy to answer follow-up questions here. Hope this helped!
-t
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Tommy Wallach | Manhattan GMAT Instructor | San Francisco
Schools: Cornell (Bach. of Sci.), UCLA Anderson (MBA)
Re: During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat
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22 Oct 2009, 18:08
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Like is used to compare only nouns. (i.e. use like to say two things are similar, and let the clause that follows tell how they are similar) The earth, like other planets, spins on an axis. Like other planets, the earth spins on an axis.
As is used to compare clauses. (i.e. use as if two actions are similar) A globe spins around an axis, as does the Earth itself.
A few rules of thumb: (1) you should have two verbs in a sentence with an As comparison, one verb in a sentence with a Like comparison. (2) Like comparisons work the same way as noun modifiers--make sure the right nouns are touching! (3) The GMAT tends to use like mostly at the beginning of sentences. It is tough to put like at the end of a sentence and get the meaning right.
During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in water levels near the equator speed up the Earth’s rotation, like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in.
(A) like a spinning figure skater ...LIKE compares nouns, but the comparison is Earth's rotation = a spinning figure skater. Should be Earth = skater.
(B) like the increased speed of a figure skater...LIKE compares nouns, but the comparison is Earth's rotation = the increased speed. Should be Earth = skater.
(C) like a figure skater...LIKE compares nouns, but the comparison is Earth's rotation = a figure skater. Should be Earth = skater.
(D) just as a spinning figure skater (modifier: who increases speed by drawing in her arms)...AS incorrectly compares nouns. There is no verb in the as phrase, as required.
(E) just as a spinning figure skater increases speed by drawing in her arms. CORRECT. AS correctly compares the verbs speed up and increases speed.
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Emily Sledge | Manhattan GMAT Instructor | St. Louis
Schools: Wharton (R2 - submitted); HBS (R2 - submitted); IIMA (admitted for 1 year PGPX)
Re: During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat
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15 Jul 2004, 14:02
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Parallelism at work here
the non-underlined part says - the buildup .. and drop ... speed up the earth's rotation .. just as a spinning figure skater increases her speed ..
The remaining part should be parallel in form.
In choice D - the pronoun who distorts parallelism because the focus of the sentence shifts to the skater (who increases her speed) .. it may also imply the existence of some skaters who MAY NOT be able to do so.
Re: During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat
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31 Mar 2009, 10:25
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from other forum "You are comparing actions, so you must use "just as." Between D and E, D is not logically parallel. Remember, you are comparing the actions. You are comparing the increase in earth's rotation to the increase in speed of the skater. D uses "who" to modify the skater, and as a result, the increase in rotation is incorrectly compared to the skater, instead of the increase in speed."
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Re: During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat
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29 Dec 2012, 23:29
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This problem tests the use of comparison markers Like Vs As. In this SC problem the non-underlined portion has a clause, thus the answer choice requires the conjunction (comparison marker) "AS". "Like" is used to compare two nouns or noun phrases.
The expected use of AS in this SC problem is "X does/did something, just as Y does/did something" e.g. Mary aced her LSAT exam, just as John cracked his GMAT test.
Here is the difference between D & E (D) just as a spinning figure skater who increases speed by drawing in her arms This choice only contains the noun phrase with "spinning figure skater" with modifier "who increases speed by drawing in her arms". Hence, the noun "spinning figure" is being compared with non-underlined clause "the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in water levels near the equator speed up the Earth’s rotation". Hence its the improper use of comparison marker. (E) just as a spinning figure skater increases speed by drawing in her arms Correct. This choice correctly compares two clauses - the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in water levels near the equator speed up the Earth’s rotation - just as a spinning figure skater increases speed by drawing in her arms
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Re: During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat
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07 Aug 2014, 00:10
Gnpth wrote:
During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in water levels near the equator speed up the Earth’s rotation, like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in.
(A) like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in (B) like the increased speed of a figure skater when her arms are drawn in (C) like a figure skater who increases speed while spinning with her arms drawn in (D) just as a spinning figure skater who increases speed by drawing in her arms (E) just as a spinning figure skater increases speed by drawing in her arms
this low difficulty question seems hard for me!
what I know for sure is that earth's rotation is compared with a spinning figure skater. from the meaning point of view I can drop B a modifier cannot end to a preposition; so A and C are out.
just as+ clause ---> D out E wins.
important split here is like Vs. just as. just as + clause & like+ noun so from this point of view I just can omit D. in options start with like, like is followed by noun+ modifier.. is it acceptable format?? can "Like" followed by noun+modifier? or it should come with simple noun??
Re: During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat
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07 Aug 2014, 02:32
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bb61 wrote:
in options start with like, like is followed by noun+ modifier.. is it acceptable format?? can "Like" followed by noun+modifier? or it should come with simple noun??
Hi,
As and Like can be used for comparison. But like cannot be used when we are stating a function.
For Comparison: Like has to be followed by Noun, and as has to be followed by clause.
For Function: As has to be followed by a noun. We dont have anything for Like since we cannot use Like to states someone or somethings function.
For more detail understanding of Like and As. Please see the below articles.
Re: During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat
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14 Apr 2015, 06:46
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The main idea here is comparison between "build up and drop im water level speed up..." and "figure skating increases speed". So we can't use "like" since it is used to compare nouns. Between D and E the latter is better because E doesn't use "who" that is redundant
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Re: During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat
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17 Apr 2015, 08:48
TGC wrote:
During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in water levels near the equator speed up the Earth’s rotation, like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in.
(A) like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in like is used to compare nouns only, but here it is compared to an action.
(B) like the increased speed of a figure skater when her arms are drawn in same error as in A.
(C) like a figure skater who increases speed while spinning with her arms drawn in same error as in A and B.
(D) just as a spinning figure skater who increases speed by drawing in her arms as + noun is used to describe the role/function
(E) just as a spinning figure skater increases speed by drawing in her arms correct
Re: During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat
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24 Nov 2015, 07:21
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IanSolo wrote:
Can anyone explain me why D it's wrong please? thanks
The comparison is between two 'processes'. So, 'like' is wrong. Now, only D & E are left. D - Just as a F/S who increases the speed. - Process (speeding up the earth) compared with a person (F/S). E - D - Just as a F/S increases the speed. - Process compared to process.
Re: During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat
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24 Nov 2015, 09:40
Point 1: Nicola Tesla was a scientist, not an example of radio
Point 2: Whenever we use a semicolon, the following clause should be an independent clause with an action verb.
(A) radio, such as Nikola Tesla ----- This choice makes Nikola as an example of radio.
(B) radio; including as Nikola Tesla --- we are using a semi-colon here and what follows is not a clause, because there is no verb for Nikola
(C) radio, including Nikola Tesla --- Now this choice uses a comma and a semi-colon. So, the following phrase starting with including, a modifier, is appropriate. Correct choice.
(D) radio; not least among them being Nikola Tesla -- No verb for Nikola in the latter part. A fragment
(E) radio; especially Nikola Tesla – No verb for Nikola in the second part. _________________
If you can't sync with the vibe of GMAT, you had better think!!!
Re: During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat
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12 Feb 2016, 10:48
The problem with B: B woefully compares the speed of the figure skater with what the buildup of ice and drop of water do. In E, however, the comparison is between the build up and the drops speeding up the rotation of the earth with the skater increasing the speed.
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Re: During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat
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22 May 2016, 21:02
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Gnpth wrote:
NEW PROJECT!: Renew Old Thread => Back to basic => Give your explanation- Get Kudos Point
During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in water levels near the equator speed up the Earth’s rotation, like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in.
(A) like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in (B) like the increased speed of a figure skater when her arms are drawn in (C) like a figure skater who increases speed while spinning with her arms drawn in (D) just as a spinning figure skater who increases speed by drawing in her arms (E) just as a spinning figure skater increases speed by drawing in her arms
Comparison is between why earth's rotation speed increases (buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in water levels near the equator causes this) and how skater's speed increases (drawing in the arms by skater causes this).
(A) like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in Comparison is not between spinning figure skater and rotating earth (B) like the increased speed of a figure skater when her arms are drawn in comparison is not between increased speed of skater and earth (C) like a figure skater who increases speed while spinning with her arms drawn in comparison is not between figure skater and rotating earth (D) just as a spinning figure skater who increases speed by drawing in her arms Just as is followed by noun (E) just as a spinning figure skater increases speed by drawing in her arms correct choice, we are comparing that how earth increases speed and how skater does that
E is the correct choice
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Re: During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat
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28 Jun 2018, 08:02
Quote:
During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in water levels near the equator speed up the Earth’s rotation, like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in.
(A) like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in
(B) like the increased speed of a figure skater when her arms are drawn in
(C) like a figure skater who increases speed while spinning with her arms drawn in
(D) just as a spinning figure skater who increases speed by drawing in her arms
(E) just as a spinning figure skater increases speed by drawing in her arms
As should be used here as we are comparing actions and not like which is used to compare nouns, pronoun phrases. This leaves us with D and E.
Re: During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat
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07 Jul 2018, 04:22
Let me try to make it simple:
During an ice age, the build-up of ice at the poles and the drop in water levels near the equator speed up the Earth’s rotation, like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in. (A) like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in (B) like the increased speed of a figure skater when her arms are drawn in (C) like a figure skater who increases speed while spinning with her arms drawn in (D) just as a spinning figure skater who increases speed by drawing in her arms (E) just as a spinning figure skater increases speed by drawing in her arms
Learning 1. Like is used to compare (show similarity) between nouns and AS is used to compare (show similarity) between two CLAUSES. Learning 2: Like as other modifiers follow the touch rule i.e. it should be just prior to what is modifies Learning 3: When we use AS to show similarity between two clauses, we should always have a main verb with “AS” clause.
Now here, we are comparing the “ Drop in water level speed up the earth rotation” clause. SO we must have a clause. And when there is a cause, we need AS not LIKE. So, ABC are out. In D, we don’t have any main verb after AS. “who increases speed by drawing in her arms” is a modifier. Hence, we are lacking a clause. – D is out – Not Parallel as well. In E, “just as a spinning figure skater increases speed” is a clause wth main verb “Increases” and it is rightly comparing to the first clause “ Drop in water level speed up the earth rotation”.
Re: During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat
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25 Feb 2019, 01:01
‘like’ compares nouns, but in A the Earth’s rotation is being compared to a spinning figure skater. In B the rotation is being compared to increased speed. So both of these are wrong. C has the same problem as A. D is wrong because ‘as’ is not used to compare nouns. So, I am going to say that E is the correct answer.
gmatclubot
Re: During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat
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25 Feb 2019, 01:01
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55% (01:26) correct 
