Bunuel
In late 1961, the legendary general Douglas MacArthur told President Kennedy
he considered the “domino theory,” which was the justification for America’s involvement in Vietnam, ridiculous in the nuclear age
A. he considered the “domino theory,” which was the justification for America’s involvement in Vietnam, ridiculous
B. that he considered the “domino theory,” the justification for America’s involvement in Vietnam, ridiculous
C. that he considered the “domino theory” to be the justification for America’s involvement in Vietnam, making it ridiculous
D. that he, MacArthur, considered the “domino theory,” the justification for America’s involvement in Vietnam, to be ridiculous
E. that he, MacArthur, considered the “domino theory” as the justification for America’s involvement in Vietnam, and it was ridiculous
Magoosh Official Explanation:
A question about conversations between General MacArthur and President Kennedy.
Split #1: idioms. The correct idiom for “consider” isto consider A B
“to consider” + [noun] + [noun/adjective]
Here, this should be “considered the ‘domino theory’ ridiculous.” Putting an “as” or “to be” between the noun & adjective is incorrect. Choices (C) & (D) & (E) make these mistakes.
Split #2: in the formal language of the GMAT, anything “told” should begin with the word “that.” Choice (A) is the only one that omits the “that” so it is wrong.These two splits are enough to isolate (B) as the answer, but it’s important to appreciate other problems with the wrong answers. (A) is simply bloated and wordy. In (C), the meaning changes: here, the idea that the “domino theory” is the “justification for America’s involvement in Vietnam” is presented as MacArthur’s own idea, rather than objective fact; furthermore, the phrase “making it ridiculous” is both ambiguous and far too colloquial for the GMAT. In (D), we have the unnecessary and redundant repetition of MacArthur’s name. In (E), the final “it” is ambiguous and incorrect.
The best answer is (B).