It seems as if many people have been posting their thoughts on distorting the meaning of the original sentence, but remember,
only the non-underlined portion of the original sentence is to be taken as gospel, nothing else. The pieces within the underlined portion can be arranged differently to convey different meanings, some clear, and others not so clear. Let us take a closer look at the two contentious options in (C) and (E). I am not going to touch on (A), (B), or (D) since everyone seems to be in agreement on the usage of
when, which would indicate a singular moment in time. To the sentence, then, and our two options:
Bunuel wrote:
Public enthusiasm that had been growing for airline travel, still in its infancy, when Amelia Earhart’s plane disappeared in the 1930s, diminished for a while; however, today fear of flying is rare.
C. Growing public enthusiasm for airline travel, still in its infancy, diminished after a while after Amelia Earhart’s plane disappeared in the 1930s
E. After Amelia Earhart’s plane disappeared in the 1930s, the enthusiasm that had been growing for airline travel in its infancy diminished for a while
First off, I would say that in both sentences,
in its infancy refers back to
airline travel. In terms of the real-life timeline, airline travel was still a relatively new mode of travel by the 1930s. It would not make sense, in any case, to say that
enthusiasm was in its infancy. Following through with the developmental analogy, are we to understand that there had been a
birth or dawn of enthusiasm or a
birth or dawn of airline travel? Getting to the matter at hand, in option (C), it makes sense that something
growing might take a while to
diminish once news of a tragedy or disappearance of a similar vehicle reached the ears of the public. Hence,
after a while could characterize the gradual diminishment, as opposed to an instantaneous change. I agree:
after a while after sounds awful. But in terms of meaning, we have a clear subject,
growing public enthusiasm, a clear verb,
diminished, and a clear timeline of events, with enthusiasm tapering off
after the disappearance of a plane. Meanwhile, option (E) places the same
in its infancy in a very tight and overburdened spot, leaving us to wonder whether
the enthusiasm had been growing
since the dawn of airline travel or whether such enthusiasm had been growing specifically
for airline travel in its infancy. Both are valid interpretations, and ambiguity of meaning is the more egregious offense as far as the GMAT™ is concerned.
I would be happy to take on any additional queries related to this question or to the grammatical issues it introduces. As always, I want to wish everyone good luck with their studies.
- Andrew
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