Although it claims to delve into political issues, television can be
superficial such as when each of the three major networks broadcast exactly the same statement from a political candidate.
Option Elimination -
This is a good question. Let's consolidate our learnings on basics first.
1. "such as" is typically used to share examples: a list of items or nouns
2. "as when" is used to describe situations or events. E.g., As when the storm arrived, everyone sought shelter.
3. One deception here is "can be," which can also be used in the "if X then Y" conditional. But we must remember that "if" conditional describes the hypothetical or uncertain condition. E.g., If the weather clears up, the outdoor event can be a success. In this sentence, we have an uncertain situation: "If the weather clears up," we don't know, and if it does, the condition can be fulfilled.
4. In our question, "can be" has been used to describe the general tendency. Television can be superficial, which means TV has the tendency or potential to be superficial; it is not conditional. E.g., The Chef can be creative in the kitchen. This means the Chef can be creative in the Kitchen without any conditional.
Option Elimination -
(A) superficial such as when each of the three major networks - "each" singular and "broadcast" plural. SV issue. We intended to use "as when" to describe the adverbial situation.
(B) superficial, as can sometimes occur if all of the three major networks - "as can sometimes occur" is redundant in the presence of "can be." There is no conditional here as in "if all of the three major networks broadcast," only "TV can be superficial." Here, we are describing a general tendency or a situation that "TV can be superficial," and we need "as when" to describe that situation.
GMAT uses deception under challenging questions. Here are some of the similar questions to make ourselves aware of some of the deceptions. The only mantra in such questions is "meaning." If we can spend time understanding the meaning, then we stand a chance to solve these questions successfully.
https://gmatclub.com/forum/as-criminal- ... l#p3293101https://gmatclub.com/forum/not-only-did ... l#p3293065https://gmatclub.com/forum/gone-are-the ... l#p3291266 (C) superficial if the three major networks all - This is a bit complicated.
If the three major networks all broadcast, TV can be superficial. ("All" can be singular when it refers to a group (All of the team is at the stadium), but "all" can be plural when it refers to individual members of the group (All of the team are wearing different jerseys.)). Here, "the three major networks all" is plural. "All" refers to the individual major networks, and the intent is to emphasize that each of them can take a specific action (broadcasting the same statement). So, in this context, "all" is used in a plural sense to indicate each network individually. There is no "grammatical" problem with this sentence. The challenge here is that it's not conditional. There is no uncertainty. TV can be superficial, and it just happens. We need to describe a situation when it happens.
(D) superficial whenever each of the three major networks - "each" singular and "broadcast" plural. SV issue. We use "whenever" to describe situations that occur repeatedly. E.g. Whenever she hears her favorite song on the radio, she can't help but dance. The word "whenever" introduces a recurring or conditional relationship between the event (hearing her favorite song) and her response (dancing). It conveys that her dancing is a reaction that occurs each time the specified condition (hearing the favorite song) is met.
But in our question, we don't mean to convert the general situation but a specific political situation. Of course, the three networks can show the same advertisements or the same series or movies. They don't become superficial every time they do something similar.
(E) superficial, as when the three major networks each - "TV can be superficial" intends to convey that TV has a tendency or potential to be superficial. And "as when" describes that situation. This is also adverbial and modifies the entire clause. "each" acts as a pronoun. It's an indefinite pronoun referring to every one of the three major networks individually.