metallicafan wrote:
In Japan, a government advisory committee called for the breakup of Nippon Telephone and Telegraph Company, the largest telephone company in the world, so it would be two local phone companies and one long-distance provider.
(A) In Japan, a government advisory committee called for the breakup of Nippon Telephone and Telegraph Company, the largest telephone company in the world, so it would be
(B) The breakup of the world's largest telephone company, Nippon Telephone and Telegraph Company, was called for by a government advisory committee in Japan, so it would be
(C) A government advisory committee in Japan called for the breakup of Nippon Telephone and Telegraph Company, the world's largest telephone company, into
(D) The breakup of Nippon Telephone and Telegraph Company, the world's largest telephone company, was called for by a government advisory committee in Japan, so it would be
(E) Called for by a government advisory committee, the breakup of Nippon Telephone and Telegraph Company in Japan, the world's largest telephone company, was to be into
Quote:
This question is based on Construction.
The sentence is made up of a few pieces of information –
1. in Japan
2. a government advisory committee called for
3. the breakup of Nippon Telephone and Telegraph Company
4. the largest telephone company in the world
The most appropriate option is the one that puts together these pieces of information with the last part of the sentence in the most logical manner.
Option A contains the conjunction ‘so’, implying that the second part of the sentence is a consequence of the first. The sentence intends to convey the meaning that the committee has called for the breakup of the company into two local companies and one long-distance provider. Furthermore, the modal auxiliary verb ‘would’ introduces a note of probability into the sentence that is not implied by the first part of the sentence. Since the meaning conveyed is not logical,
Option A can be eliminated.
Option B contains an ambiguous pronoun. The pronoun ‘it’ could refer to ‘Japan’, ‘advisory committee’ or ‘the company’. This option also contains the same error of construction as Option A because of the conjunction ‘so’. So,
Option B can also be eliminated.
Option C is the most concise version of the sentence. All the pieces of information have been placed in the most appropriate manner. The option also contains the correct idiomatic usage – breakup of the company into. So,
Option C is appropriate.
Option D has a passive construction, which makes it wordy. There is also an ambiguous pronoun ‘it’ in this option. The antecedent of the pronoun is not clear, so
Option D can be eliminated. This option also contains the same error of construction as Options A and B because of the conjunction ‘so’.
The construction of this option is awkward and wordy. The phrase “breakup of the company was to be into” is clumsily worded. In this option, the modifier "the world's largest telephone company" has been placed after the noun 'Japan" implying that Japan is the world's largest telephone company. So,
Option E can also be eliminated.
Therefore, C is the most appropriate option. Jayanthi Kumar.