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31 Aug 2019, 04:17
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A
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
75%
(hard)
Question Stats:
43% (01:27) correct
57%
(01:11)
wrong
based on 229
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
During medieval times, Augustine monks in Scotland favored using watercress as a means to combat scurvy and administering hemlock as a painkiller, revealing a detailed knowledge of the medicinal properties of herbs.
A. to combat scurvy and administering
B. to combat scurvy and to administer
C. of combating scurvy and of administering
D. of combating scurvy and administer
E. for combating scurvy and the administration of
A. to combat scurvy and administering
B. to combat scurvy and to administer
C. of combating scurvy and of administering
D. of combating scurvy and administer
E. for combating scurvy and the administration of
Source: GMAT Free
03 Sep 2019, 05:38
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SajjadAhmad
Official Explanation
Creating a filter: in this sentence, there is a potential parallelism issue between "combat" and "administering." Should "administering" be "administer"? The intended meaning of the sentence will be the judge. We look closer at what it's trying to say. We're talking about a use of watercress and a different use hemlock. "Administering" is parallel with "using," and therefore is correct. That means that (A) might be right, so far, and we can take our observation to filter the other answer choices.
Applying the filter: based on our decision about (A), choices (B), (D), and (E) are defective. In (C), "administering" looks like it's parallel with "using," but it's preceded by "of" and therefore grammatically under the jurisdiction of "combating," which is contrary to the intended meaning. So (C) is wrong. That leaves (A) as the correct answer. We didn't have to worry about whether the "to combat" or "of combating" was better here, but the answer to that is that, when we are talking about a verb, the infinitive will be superior, whereas a preposition such as "of" is best used with a true noun, not a gerund.
The correct answer is (A).
ravigupta2912
26 Nov 2020, 02:13
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favored using watercress as a means to combat scurvy and administering hemlock as a painkiller
Why isn't the OA B? "as a means to A (combat) and B (administer)". My worry is that again some technical knowledge about the prompt is being tested in order to get to the correct answer.
Why isn't the OA B? "as a means to A (combat) and B (administer)". My worry is that again some technical knowledge about the prompt is being tested in order to get to the correct answer.
