Pack 21 Q1: The Honeybee Conservancy said adequate biodiversity...

The Honeybee Conservancy said adequate biodiversity, an ecosystem necessity that most biologists agree to be improved by honey bees in pollinating plants, will be endangered by the continued use of harmful pesticides on crops.

A) an ecosystem necessity that most biologists agree to be improved by honey bees in pollinating plants Correct

B) an ecosystem necessity most biologists agree that is improved by plants pollinated by honey bees Incorrect

meaning change

C) an ecosystem necessity that most biologists agree is improved by honey bee pollination of plants Incorrect

agree to be - correct idioms
pollination - wrong, pollinating - correct

D) which most biologists agree on as an ecosystem necessity improved by honey bees who pollinate plants Incorrect

meaning change -
who uses wrong

E) which most biologists agree to be an ecosystem necessity improved by plants pollinated by honey bees Incorrect

meaning change - adequate biodiversity is not a fact that most biologists agree, improved biodiversity is a fact
so eliminate

The Honeybee Conservancy said adequate biodiversity, an ecosystem necessity that most biologists agree to be improved by honey bees in pollinating plants, will be endangered by the continued use of harmful pesticides on crops.

A) an ecosystem necessity that most biologists agree to be improved by honey bees in pollinating plants
The use of 'honey bees in pollinating plants' is incorrect. This conveys the wrong meaning that honey bees are inside pollinating plants.
Eliminate

B) an ecosystem necessity most biologists agree that is improved by plants pollinated by honey bees
'biologists agree that....' should be followed by some idea.
OR 'that' should be placed after 'ecosystem necessity'
Eliminate

D) which most biologists agree on as an ecosystem necessity improved by honey bees who pollinate plants
This option says that
biologists agree that biodiversity is an ecosystem necessity
which is incorrect.
Biodiversity is already an ecosystem necessity. Therefore, 'biodiversity, which most biologists agree on as an ecosystem necessity' is not required.
Also, the use of who for honey bees is incorrect.
Eliminate

E) which most biologists agree to be an ecosystem necessity improved by plants pollinated by honey bees
Similar to (D)
The use of 'agree to be an ecosystem necessity' is incorrect.
Eliminate

C) an ecosystem necessity that most biologists agree is improved by honey bee pollination of plants
We are left with C

Choice C is the answer

Official Explanation

The Honeybee Conservancy said adequate biodiversity, an ecosystem necessity that most biologists agree to be improved by honey bees in pollinating plants, will be endangered by the continued use of harmful pesticides on crops.

A) an ecosystem necessity that most biologists agree to be improved by honey bees in pollinating plants
B) an ecosystem necessity most biologists agree that is improved by plants pollinated by honey bees
C) an ecosystem necessity that most biologists agree is improved by honey bee pollination of plants
D) which most biologists agree on as an ecosystem necessity improved by honey bees who pollinate plants
E) which most biologists agree to be an ecosystem necessity improved by plants pollinated by honey bees

After a quick glance over the options, there are a few key differences we can focus on:

1. “an ecosystem necessity” vs. “which most biologists agree on as/to be an ecosystem necessity” (Modifiers)
2. to be improved / that is improved / is improved / improved (Modifiers/Idioms)
3. in pollinating / pollinated / pollination / who pollinate / pollinated by (Verb/Meaning)

This sentence deals with modifiers. Here we are looking for the intended meaning of the sentence and the clause that correctly modifies the noun “biodiversity.” For this question, we’re mainly dealing with #3 on our list. Differences are highlighted in the text.

A) an ecosystem necessity that most biologists agree to be improved by honey bees in pollinating plants
This is INCORRECT. It is unclear what the relationship is between honey bees and pollination and how they are connected to an ecosystem necessity. If we read the phrase “by honey bees in pollinating plants” literally, this is saying that biodiversity can only be improved by honey bees that exist INSIDE pollinating plants, which is NOT the intended meaning.

B) an ecosystem necessity most biologists agree that is improved by plants pollinated by honey bees
This is INCORRECT. It is unclear what improves the ecosystem necessity—the plants and the fact they are pollinated, or the act of pollination itself? Also, the placement of the word “that” is problematic here - the fact that most biologists agree SHOULD be part of the “that” modifier. See option C to see how it should be done!

C) an ecosystem necessity that most biologists agree is improved by honey bee pollination of plants
This is CORRECT. This clearly explains the role of honey bees to pollination and how honey bees are connected to the improvement of an ecosystem necessity.

D) which most biologists agree on as an ecosystem necessity improved by honey bees who pollinate plants
This is INCORRECT. “Agree on” is not the correct idiomatic phrase. It’s also not a good idea to separate the modifier (an ecosystem necessity) from its antecedent (biodiversity).

E) which most biologists agree to be an ecosystem necessity improved by plants pollinated by honey bees
This is INCORRECT. It is unclear what improves the ecosystem necessity—the plants and the fact they are pollinated or the act of pollination itself. This option also separates the modifier (an ecosystem necessity) from its antecedent (biodiversity), which is a big no-no on the GMAT!

There you have it - option C is the correct choice!


Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.

Well done jhavyom! You cracked the code on this question, so kudos to you! Looking forward to seeing how you tackle Question 2!

The Honeybee Conservancy said adequate biodiversity, an ecosystem necessity that most biologists agree to be improved by honey bees in pollinating plants, will be endangered by the continued use of harmful pesticides on crops. (600-700)
-simple past tense ‘said’ is correct
-appositive ‘an ecosystem necessity…’

A) an ecosystem necessity that most biologists agree to be improved by honey bees in pollinating plants
-agree does not take the infinitive 'to be'; unidiomatic
B) an ecosystem necessity most biologists agree that is improved by plants pollinated by honey bees
-‘agree that’ is not unidiomatic but the placement of ‘that’ should come after ‘necessity’ as a modifier of ‘ecosystem necessity’
-the biodiversity is improved by the honey bees pollinating the plants
C) an ecosystem necessity that most biologists agree is improved by honey bee pollination of plants (Correct)
D) which most biologists agree on as an ecosystem necessity improved by honey bees who pollinate plants
-who is for people not things
-which should be 'that' as the latter acts as a restrictive modifier; it's not just any necessity, its an ecosystem necessity THAT
E) which most biologists agree to be an ecosystem necessity improved by plants pollinated by honey bees
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