PrashantPonde wrote:
Neuroscientists distinguish organic amnesia, which has some physical cause such as an occurrence of blunt force trauma to the head, from psychogenic amnesia, which is purely psychological in origin.
Choices:
(A) organic amnesia, which has some physical cause such as an occurrence of blunt force trauma to the head, from psychogenic amnesia, which is purely psychological in origin
(B) organic amnesia from psychogenic amnesia, the first of which has some physical cause such as an occurrence of blunt force trauma to the head, and the second of which is purely psychological in origin
(C) between organic amnesia, in which they have experienced some physical cause such as an occurrence of blunt force trauma to the head, and psychogenic amnesia, which is purely psychological in origin
(D) between organic amnesia, which has some physical cause such as an occurrence of blunt force trauma to the head, and psychogenic amnesia, which is purely psychological in origin
(E) between organic amnesia, in which some physical cause exists such as an occurrence of blunt force trauma to the head, and psychogenic amnesia, which is purely psychological in origin
The question is based on Idiomatic Usage and Parallelism.
The verb just before the underlined portion begins is ‘distinguish’.
The phrase is either
distinguish X from Y, or
distinguish between X and Y.
‘Distinguish from’ is used when we want to show that a
certain quality differentiates X from Y.
E.g.: The
efficiency of XYZ car distinguishes it
from all the other cars in that segment.
‘Distinguish between’ is used when we want to
demonstrate or point out the differences between X and Y.
E.g.: The study
distinguishes between commuters who use private transport and
commuters who use public transport.
In this sentence, it is the latter meaning that is conveyed. The neuroscientists are pointing out that the two types of amnesia are different. There is no suggestion that one is superior to the other or that there is some quality that sets one or the other apart. There are modifiers to describe the cause of each.
Options A and B contain the former phrase and Options C, D, and E contain the latter. Since the meaning conveyed by the latter phrase is required, Options A and B can be eliminated.
Let us examine the options further:
In Option B, the modifiers are not placed next to their respective subjects, but have been clubbed together at the end, affecting the clarity of the sentence. So,
Option B can be eliminated.
In Option C, the pronoun “they” refers to “Neuroscientists”, conveying the meaning that neuroscientists have experienced some……..head. The meaning thus conveyed is illogical, so
Option C can be eliminated.
In Option E, there is a lack of parallelism in the way the two types of amnesia are described. The modifiers are not structured in a similar manner. Furthermore, the meaning conveyed by the phrase “in which some physical cause exists” is that some physical causes exists in organic amnesia. The meaning is illogical as a cause cannot exist in the thing. So,
Option E can also be eliminated.
The only difference between A and D is that of the phrase. However, as discussed above, the meaning required by the sentence is conveyed by the phrase ‘distinguish between’, so,
Option A can be eliminated.
Therefore, D is the most appropriate option.Jayanthi Kumar.
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Crackverbal Prep Team
www.crackverbal.com