I think answer is Option D. SO THAT is correct idiom. A is the only close contender, but I think SUCH needs ''that'' construction which is missing in A.

Awaiting for official answer.

Thank You
Vighnewh

(A) lack computer skills to such a large degree as to make it difficult to absorb them into a national economy becoming
The meaning is off; "Older professionals...lack skills as to make it" seems to convey that older professionals deliberately lack these skills to make it difficult...correct idiom would be "to such a large degree that".

(B) lack computer skills to a large enough degree that they will be difficult to absorb into a nation’s economy that becomes
This is not too bad but the ending is a little bit of IMO. nation's economy that becomes, which nation are we talking about? national would be better. Also why use simple present tense? is becoming more digital something that has always been true?

(C) lack of computer skills is so large as to be difficult to absorb them into a nation’s economy that becomes
This should be in possessive form. A better version would be; "Older professionals', who seek..., lack of..." .Also same meaning and idiom error as in option A

(D) are so lacking in computer skills that it will be difficult to absorb them into a national economy becoming
Correct
Here usage of "it" is expletive for the delayed subject of "to absorb them..."
Also ""lacking in" is used as an adjective so it is fine
For more; https://www.quora.com/In-English-what-i ... nd-lack-in

(E) are lacking so much in computer skills as to be difficult to absorb into a nation’s economy becoming
Meaning/Idiom error as in option A

(A) lack computer skills to such a large degree as to make it difficult to absorb them into a national economy becoming
"as to make it difficult" conveys the meaning as if the lacking is deliberate effort to achieve the negative effect.incorrect

(B) lack computer skills to a large enough degree that they will be difficult to absorb into a nation’s economy that becomes
not a habitual action or rule rather it's process still going on. ""that becomes" " is incorrect

(C) lack of computer skills is so large as to be difficult to absorb them into a nation’s economy that becomes
"so ..as" same as A .""that becomes" " same as B

(D) are so lacking in computer skills that it will be difficult to absorb them into a national economy becoming
seems fine

(E) are lacking so much in computer skills as to be difficult to absorb into a nation’s economy becoming
same as A "so...as to" ,conveys the meaning of deliberate action to achieve undesired result. incorrect
IMO D

shouldn't that refer to a singular noun?

My answer is (D).

The split between "becoming increasingly dependent on digital technology" and "that becomes increasingly dependent on digital technology".
I favor "increasingly dependent on digital technology" for its brevity. Between the two actual options, I feel "that becomes increasingly dependent on digital technology" is slightly better. Ultimately, it is a false split.

(A) Except for the seemingly unnecessarily long construct of "to such a large degree as to", I could not rule it out right away. Keep for now.

(B) Should be: They will be difficult to be absorbed into...

(C) If "lack" is used as a noun, we can say "their /the lack of computer skills". Here, "lack" is used as a verb, and it should not be followed by "of".

(D) Keep for now.

(E) Should be difficult to be absorbed into...

Now, I must choose one between (A) and (D).
(A), by using infinitive, indicates that older professionals lack computer skills in order to achieve the goal that they will be difficult to be absorbed into a nation's economy (and, in so doing, they can continue to collect more welfare assistance). It is not likely the author's intension, especially considering that they are indeed "seeking a new job for the first time in decades".
So, eventually, I picked (D) over (A).

shohan2722 , the word that plays many roles in English.
In this case, "that" is not a "copy" pronoun for which an antecedent is required.
You might be thinking of a sentence such as this one:
The economy of Sweden is similar to that of Norway. (that = economy)

In one of the options, "that" is part of an idiom of consequence or causality: So X That Y.
We say that something is so [adjective = X] that something else [Y] happens.
→ The soup was so hot that steam wafted from the bowl.

In fact, "that" is rarely a standalone pronoun.
You might want to take a look at the posts to which I link below, posts about the word "that."
They may seem somewhat dense at first but are a good starting point.

See GMATNinja , "WTF is 'That' Doing in My Sentence," here.

Mike McGarry, "The Many Uses of 'That,'" which you can find here—though I do not agree with him that GMAT will typically accept "that" as what he calls a "demonstrative pronoun."

Hope that helps.
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Experts' Global Official Explanation:

Idioms + Tenses + Meaning + Redundancy/Awkwardness + Verb Forms

Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that older professionals seeking a new job for the first time in decades are so lacking in computer skills that it will be difficult to absorb them into a national economy that is becoming increasingly dependent on digital technology.

• “enough + to” is a correct, idiomatic usage; besides, “enough” is used to show “adequacy” and generally not used to show a cause-effect relationship; rather, “so + cause + that + effect” or “so + cause + as to + effect” are some of the preferred constructions for conveying a cause-effect relationship.
• The simple present continuous tense is used to refer to actions that are currently ongoing and continuous in nature.
• The simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.
• The simple future tense is used to refer to actions that will take place in the future.

A. Trap. This answer choice fails to maintain the idiomatic construction “so cause … as to effect”, as it omits the word “so”; please remember, the correct, idiomatic usage is “so cause…as to effect” or “so cause…that effect”. Besides, Option A uses the needlessly wordy phrase “to such a large degree as to make”, leading to awkwardness.

B. Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple present tense verbs “lack” and “becomes”, incorrectly implying that older professionals lacking computer skills and the national economy becoming increasingly dependent on digital technology are universal truths; however, both these actions are current, ongoing processes; please remember, the simple present continuous tense (hence, “becoming” rather than “becomes” in this sentence) is used to refer to actions that are currently ongoing. Further, Option B fails to maintain the idiomatic construction “so cause…that effect”, as it omits the word “so” and incorrectly included the word “enough”; please remember, the correct usage is “so cause…as to effect” or “so cause…that effect”, and “enough” is generally not used to show a cause-effect relationship. Besides, Option B uses the needlessly wordy phrase “to a large enough degree that they will be”, leading to awkwardness.

C. This answer choice uses a noun phrase “lack of computer skills is so large”, leading to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning of this sentence is that older professionals seeking a new job for the first time in decades are so lacking in computer skills that it will be difficult to absorb them into a national economy that is becoming increasingly dependent on digital technology. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the simple future tense verb “becomes” to refer to an ongoing action; please remember, the simple present continuous tense (hence, “becoming” rather than “becomes” in this sentence) is the correct usage for referring to actions that are currently ongoing.

D. Correct. This answer choice correctly uses the idiomatic construction “so cause (lacking in computer skills)…that effect” (it will be difficult to absorb…), conveying the intended meaning of the sentence- that older professionals seeking a new job for the first time in decades are so lacking in computer skills that it will be difficult to absorb them into a national economy that is becoming increasingly dependent on digital technology. Further, Option D avoids the tense error seen in Options A and C, as it uses the present participle (“verb+ing” - “becoming” in this sentence) to refer to a currently ongoing action; please remember, the present participle (“verb+ing” - “becoming” in this sentence) is used to refer to ongoing actions in any time frame. Additionally, Option D is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

E. Trap. This answer choice fails to maintain the idiomatic construction “so cause…as to effect”, as it introduces the superfluous word “much” and places “so” within the phrase expressing the cause “are lacking in computer skills”, leading to awkwardness; please remember, the correct, idiomatic usage is “so cause…as to effect” or “so cause…that effect”.

D is the best answer choice.
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Experts' Global Video Explanation:


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What is “it” in option D doing? What is it pointing to?



Posted from my mobile device

Hello 1potato2potato,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, here "it" is a placeholder pronoun, a pronoun that refers to a "that/who/whether" clause.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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