Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
sandipchowdhury wrote:
Less than 35 years after the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, their descendents, popularly known as killer bees, had migrated as far north as Southern Texas.
(A) Less than 35 years after the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil,
(B) In less than 35 years since releasing African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil,
(C) In less than the 35 years since African honeybees had been released outside Sao Paulo, Brazil,
(D) It took less than 35 years from the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, when
(E) It took less than the 35 years after the time that African honeybees were released outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, and then
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that less than 35 years after African honeybees were released outside Sao Paulo, the bees' descendants had migrated as far north as southern Texas.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Pronouns + Awkwardness/RedundancyA: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase "Less than 35 years after the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo" to modify the clause "their descendants...had migrated as far north as Southern Texas", less than 35 years after African honeybees were released, by someone else, outside Sao Paulo, the bees' descendants had migrated as far north as southern Texas. Further, Option A avoids the pronoun error seen in Options D and E, as it uses no pronouns. Additionally, Option A is free from awkwardness and redundancy.
B: Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of this sentence through the phrase "less than 35 years since releasing"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly modifies "their descendants", incorrectly implying that
the African honeybees released their
descendants outside Sao Paulo; the intended meaning is that
someone else released
the African honeybees outside Sao Paulo. Additionally, Option B uses the needlessly wordy phrase "In less than", leading to awkwardness and redundancy; this usage is redundant, as "In" can be deleted without a loss of clarity.
C: Trap. This answer choice redundantly uses the past perfect tense verb "had been released" alongside the word "since"; remember, when the chronology is clear because of terms such as "before/after/when/earlier/later"…or because of clear mention of dates, use past perfect tense is not required, though not incorrect either. Further, Option C uses the needlessly wordy phrase "In less than the", leading to further awkwardness and redundancy.
D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrases "It took less than" and "when their descendants...Texas"; the construction of these phrases incorrectly implies that the descendants of African honeybees had migrated as far north as Southern Texas, at the same time as the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, and some unspecified event occurred less than 35 years later; the intended meaning is that less than 35 years after African honeybees were released outside Sao Paulo, the bees' descendants had migrated as far north as southern Texas. Further, Option D suffers from a pronoun error, as the pronoun "It" lacks a clear referent.
E: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrases "It took less than" and "and then their descendants...Texas"; the construction of these phrases incorrectly implies that some unspecified event took place less than 35 years after African honeybees were released outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, and after that event, the bees' descendants had migrated as far north as Southern Texas. Further, Option E suffers from a pronoun error, as the pronoun "It" lacks a clear referent. Additionally, Option E redundantly uses the past perfect tense verb "had been released" alongside the word "then"; remember, when the chronology is clear because of terms such as "before/after/when/earlier/later"…or because of clear mention of dates, use past perfect tense is not required, though not incorrect either. Besides, Option E uses the needlessly wordy phrase "after the time that African honeybees were released", leading to further awkwardness.
Hence, A is the best answer choice.All the best!
Experts' Global Team
For what you said for option C, Does it applicable for Present Perfect Tense? or is it just limited to Past Perfect Tense?
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31 Oct 2021, 09:13
, so cross it off as inferior to A.
