Quote:
In most parts of Europe, Koine Greek was seen as a prestige language,
just as it had once been among the Roman intellectuals.
A. just as it had once been among the Roman intellectuals
B. just like it once had been among the Roman intellectuals
C. just as the Roman intellectuals had once done
D. similar to what the Roman intellectuals had done once
E. like what had once been done by the Roman intellectuals
Experts Global Explanation:
ComparisonA. This answer choice correctly compares how “Koine Greek” was seen in “most parts of Europe” to how it had once been seen “among the Roman intellectuals”. Further, Option A correctly uses the word “as” to draw a comparison between two clauses.
B. This answer choice incorrectly uses the word “like” to compare clauses; to compare clauses in an idiomatic manner, the word “as” must be used.
C. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence: by comparing the action of “Koine Greek” to the actions of the “Roman intellectuals”, Option C forms an incoherent meaning “just as the Roman intellectuals had once seen as a prestige language”. Further, Option C fails to maintain parallelism between the passive phrase “Koine Greek was seen as a prestige language” and the active phrase “just as the Roman intellectuals had once done”.
D. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence by utilizing the phrase “similar to”; the intended meaning of the sentence is that just as Koine Greek had once been seen as a prestige language among Roman intellectuals, it was later seen as a prestige language in most parts of Europe; however, the phrase “similar to” implies that the two actions were only somewhat alike. Further, Option D repeats the comparison error seen in Option C, incorrectly comparing the action of Koine Greek to the actions of the Roman intellectuals.
E. This answer choice repeats the error seen in Option B, incorrectly using “like” to compare clauses. Moreover, Option E incorrectly compares “Koine Greek” to an unnamed action that is referred to by the word “what”, taken by the Roman intellectuals.
A is the best answer choice.