Pack 5 Q5: Ancient Rome, using advancements not seen...

Question

Pack 5, Question 5 of 5:

Ancient Rome, using advancements not seen again until the nineteenth century, was renowned  as a civilization not only with central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, but  also as an advocate of artistic and musical endeavors.

A. as a civilization not only with central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, but
B. as a civilization that not only used central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, and
C. not only as a civilization with central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, but
D. not only as a civilization using central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, but
E. not only as a civilization with central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, and

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sampriya · Answer

Ancient Rome, using advancements not seen again until the nineteenth century, was renowned  as a civilization not only with central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, but  also as an advocate of artistic and musical endeavors.

not only must follow but also

A.  as a civilization  not only  with central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system,  but
B.  as a civilization that   not only   used central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system,   and 
C. not only  as a civilization with central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system,  but
D. not only  as a civilization using central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system,  but
E.  not only   as a civilization with central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system,   and

therefore from above we can eliminate options B and E

when we use the idiom not only X but also Y----> X and Y must be parallel with each other!!

we have two parallelism lists in this question one is not only as a X but also as a Y---> X and Y describe Ancient Rome
second one is : central heating, flush toilets and sophisticated plumbing system

in option A:
A.)  as a civilization  not only with central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, but- as a civilisation should not be taken out as common- it distorts the parallelism

between C and D (with vs using)
C. not only as a civilization  with  central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, but-  Correct!

D. not only as a civilization  using  central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, but- with is a better word than "using"

NandishSS · Answer

This question is testing the parallelism.

not only.... but also

if you observe also is not underlined and is followed by as hence not only should be followed by as hence incorrect

not only needs but also and not only is followed by used hence incorrect

Meaning issue it cannot be civilization with hence incorrect

Correct

not only needs but also.Meaning issue it cannot be civilization with hence incorrect

NandishSS · Answer

Hey @e-gmat,  generis

Meaning wise I choose civilization using. Which one is correct civilization with/using?

Raxit85 · Answer

Ancient Rome, using advancements not seen again until the nineteenth century, was renowned as a civilization not only with central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, but also as an advocate of artistic and musical endeavors.

Not only x...but also y, where x and y must be parallel.

A. as a civilization not only with central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, but - X and y are not parallel
B. as a civilization that not only used central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, and - Incorrect idiom, ...not only...and also.....
C. not only as a civilization with central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, but - x and y are parallel. not only as a civilization with A, B and C ,but also as an M and N. Not only as a noun + preoposition + noun...., but also as an noun...
D. not only as a civilization using central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, but - usage of using does not maintain parallelism and changes the meaning as using modifies to civilization, how can civilization use A, B and C?? People of civilization can use A, B and C. (Hope NandishSS may get your answer)
E. not only as a civilization with central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, and - Incorrect idiom, ...not only...and also.....

Imo. C

snoep · Answer

Ancient Rome, using advancements not seen again until the nineteenth century, was renowned as a civilization not only with central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, but also as an advocate of artistic and musical endeavors. not only...but also

A. as a civilization not only with central heating , flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, but not only with central heating ....but also as an advocate -> not parallel B. as a civilization that not only used central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, and not only used central heating .. C. not only as a civilization with central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, but was renowned not only as a civilization but also as an advocate - parallel civilization with central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system -> entire With phrase modifies civilization. We can also say civilization had! Looks good. D. not only as a civilization using central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, but was renowned not only as a civilization but also as an advocate - only outer structure is parallel is using an action or a noun here?. using advancements, Rome.... using central heating, rome was renowned as Civilization -> this is not the correct meaning. Rome was not renowned as Civilization using central heating. Or it could mean, rome was renowed as a civilization, which civilization, the one using central heating. ambiguity in the meaning. hence, incorrect! E. not only as a civilization with central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, and not only as, and also as -> missing but also C is the answer!

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Official Explanation:

Ancient Rome, using advancements not seen again until the nineteenth century, was renowned  as a civilization not only with central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system, but  also as an advocate of artistic and musical endeavors.

A.  as  a civilization not only  with  central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system,  but  
 B.  as  a civilization that not only  used  central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system,  and  
 C.  not only as  a civilization  with  central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system,  but  
 D.  not only as  a civilization  using  central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system,  but  
 E.  not only as  a civilization  with  central heating, flush toilets, and a sophisticated plumbing system,  and

A review of our answer choices reveals a split in how this portion of the sentence starts, either with “as a civilization” or “not only.” There is also a split with what coordinating conjunction to use (and/but).

The “not only” in the answer choices should automatically cause us to look closely at the sentence as a whole, because “not only” is part of a common idiom—not only X, but also Y. With this idiom, “but also” is always paired with “not only.” No other coordinating conjunction is used in this idiom, so the answer options that use “and” cannot be correct.  Options B and E are not the best answers.

Furthermore, with this idiom, the X and the Y must be parallel. The Y portion of the sentence is not underlined, so that is where we should look. “As an advocate” immediately follows the “but also,” so the noun in X should also follow the “not only.”  Option A cannot be the correct answer.

The only difference between C and D is the “with” and “using.” The Y portion of this idiom uses a preposition, so parallel construction would say X should also use a preposition. Additionally, “using” could potentially skew the meaning of this slightly, perhaps implying that Rome was simply using the technology of other civilizations versus being the only civilization with those advancements.  Option D is not the best answer.

Option C is the best answer.

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Well done,  sampriya ! Great job explaining how you handled each of the splits in this question!

Kudos to you!

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

You were very close,  NandishSS ! Check out the official explanation in the comment section to see where you went off track. You are also welcome to send a message or tag me at  EMPOWERgmatVerbal  if you have any questions!

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Well done,  Raxit85 ! You cracked the code on this one!

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Well done,  snoep ! Thanks for another set of explanations! To clarify your questions about option D, check out the official explanation. There, you'll find the difference between using "using" and "with" in this type of question.

Kudos to you!

VerbalBot · Answer

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Pack 5 Q5: Ancient Rome, using advancements not seen...

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