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AbdurRakib
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Updated on: 14 Jun 2021, 13:20
Originally posted by AbdurRakib on 14 Jun 2017, 11:41.
Last edited by Bunuel on 14 Jun 2021, 13:20, edited 1 time in total.
Last edited by Bunuel on 14 Jun 2021, 13:20, edited 1 time in total.
Edited the question.
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E
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
45%
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Question Stats:
60% (01:25) correct
40%
(01:42)
wrong
based on 10936
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Industry analysts said that the recent rise in fuel prices may be an early signal of the possibility of gasoline and heating oil prices staying higher than usually through the end of the year.
(A) of the possibility of gasoline and heating oil prices staying higher than usually through
(B) of the possibility that gasoline and heating oil prices could stay higher than usual throughout
(C) of prices of gasoline and heating oil possibly staying higher than usually through
(D) that prices of gasoline and heating oil could stay higher than they usually are throughout
(E) that prices of gasoline and heating oil will stay higher than usual through
(A) of the possibility of gasoline and heating oil prices staying higher than usually through
(B) of the possibility that gasoline and heating oil prices could stay higher than usual throughout
(C) of prices of gasoline and heating oil possibly staying higher than usually through
(D) that prices of gasoline and heating oil could stay higher than they usually are throughout
(E) that prices of gasoline and heating oil will stay higher than usual through
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/09/business/fuel-prices-move-higher-and-trend-is-expected-to-persist.html
Fuel prices have risen over the last two weeks, and analysts warn that the increase may be an early signal that prices of gasoline and heating oil could stay higher than usual through the end of the year, in large part because of chronically low stockpiles of crude oil and petroleum products in the United States.
Fuel prices have risen over the last two weeks, and analysts warn that the increase may be an early signal that prices of gasoline and heating oil could stay higher than usual through the end of the year, in large part because of chronically low stockpiles of crude oil and petroleum products in the United States.
Through the end of the year means from now until the end of the year, period by period or event by event. As we are in June now, through the end means the rest of June, the entire of July, August, September, and so on until the last day of December. On the contrary, throughout the end of the year doesn't convey any sensible meaning except to refer to the last of the year. The end of the year marks a particular short point of time. There is no meaning in saying throughout that the short period.
Through means from one point to another. Throughout means entirely
Through means from one point to another. Throughout means entirely
15 Jan 2021, 09:13
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Let’s take a look at each option:
More importantly, that redundancy skews the meaning a bit. Was "gasoline and heating oil prices staying higher than usual" previously NOT a possibility? But because there's been a recent rise in fuel prices, "gasoline and heating oil prices staying higher than usual" is NOW a possibility?? That's not quite the author's intention. We aren't talking about a change in what's actually possible. Instead, we're talking about what the recent rise in fuel prices might signal.
Second, “usually” is not used correctly here. Notice that we have a comparison between the normal ("usual") prices and the current prices. As always, we want the comparison to remain parallel — "higher" is an adjective that describes “prices”, so “usual” (as an adjective) should also describe “prices.” The correct form here is “usual,” not “usually”.
We also have an idiom problem. We normally don’t encourage worrying about idioms (to see why, check out this article), but here’s a quick explanation of the difference between “through” and “throughout”:
We can get rid of (B).
There's also a subtle difference in meaning here: "staying" almost makes it sound like the prices are CURRENTLY "higher than usual through the end of the year." But that's not logical because we are talking about a conditional in the future -- we don't know whether the prices will be higher yet. That's no smoking gun, but it's certainly another vote against this one.
We can get rid of (C).
But we still have redundant conditionals (“may be” and “could”). And, as in (B), “through” would be more appropriate than “throughout.”
Also, the use of "are" introduces a subtle ambiguity in meaning. "Higher than they usually are throughout the end of the year" seems to suggest that we are referring to some consistent end-of-year price level (one that is generally repeated year after year) and comparing current prices of gasoline and heating oil to the usual level (a bit like this example, where we are referring to past data and trends: "Hotel prices are lower than they usually are at this time of year.").
Again, that is a very subtle meaning issue. But we already have a couple votes against (D), so let's see if (E) is any better.
(E) is the best option!
Quote:
A few things are off here. First, we already have “may be” in the first part of the sentence, so we don’t need another indication that the phrase is conditional. So the word “possibility” is redundant.
More importantly, that redundancy skews the meaning a bit. Was "gasoline and heating oil prices staying higher than usual" previously NOT a possibility? But because there's been a recent rise in fuel prices, "gasoline and heating oil prices staying higher than usual" is NOW a possibility?? That's not quite the author's intention. We aren't talking about a change in what's actually possible. Instead, we're talking about what the recent rise in fuel prices might signal.
Second, “usually” is not used correctly here. Notice that we have a comparison between the normal ("usual") prices and the current prices. As always, we want the comparison to remain parallel — "higher" is an adjective that describes “prices”, so “usual” (as an adjective) should also describe “prices.” The correct form here is “usual,” not “usually”.
Quote:
In (B), we have THREE indicators of conditional: "may be," "possibility" and "could." So we have the redundancy issue that we saw in (A), only worse, and the corresponding meaning issue.
We also have an idiom problem. We normally don’t encourage worrying about idioms (to see why, check out this article), but here’s a quick explanation of the difference between “through” and “throughout”:
- When discussing time, “through” implies a moving towards the end or completion of something. For example, ”the quarantine will last through the month of June” — it will last until the end of June.
- “Throughout”, when discussing time, usually means during the entire situation. For example, “the birds sang throughout the day” — the birds were singing all day.
- In this sentence, what we care about is that the prices could stay high up until the end of the year, so “through” is better.
We can get rid of (B).
Quote:
Again, “usually” is incorrect, as explained above, and that on its own is probably a good enough reason to get rid of (C). The redundant conditionals (“may be” and “possibly”) give us another vote against this choice.
There's also a subtle difference in meaning here: "staying" almost makes it sound like the prices are CURRENTLY "higher than usual through the end of the year." But that's not logical because we are talking about a conditional in the future -- we don't know whether the prices will be higher yet. That's no smoking gun, but it's certainly another vote against this one.
We can get rid of (C).
Quote:
The use of "usually" here is ok because it modifies the verb "are," not “prices.”
But we still have redundant conditionals (“may be” and “could”). And, as in (B), “through” would be more appropriate than “throughout.”
Also, the use of "are" introduces a subtle ambiguity in meaning. "Higher than they usually are throughout the end of the year" seems to suggest that we are referring to some consistent end-of-year price level (one that is generally repeated year after year) and comparing current prices of gasoline and heating oil to the usual level (a bit like this example, where we are referring to past data and trends: "Hotel prices are lower than they usually are at this time of year.").
Again, that is a very subtle meaning issue. But we already have a couple votes against (D), so let's see if (E) is any better.
Quote:
Here we have only “may be” as our conditional, so no redundancy issues. “Through” is the appropriate idiom, and “usual” correctly modifies “prices” and keeps the comparison parallel.
(E) is the best option!
