IMO A

I think 'that' ambiguously refers to the environment and natural base as well as to countries. So, it should be avoided.
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as varied as modifies countries. China, the Netherlands, and Hungary are all countries; therefore, you don't need to add anything else. A is correct as it is.

I'll go with D

My analogy ... boys as smart as Jon, Jack and Sam - is wrong
boys who are as smart as Jon, Jack and Sam - is right.

Though the common noun is being modified the references are given to proper nouns.

hmm.. Ok So there is a tie between A and D

i am going for A

Here the subject is green taxes
so called green taxes, which exact a price for the use of polluting or nonrenewable fuels, are having a positive effect on the environment and natural resource base of countries as varied as china, the Netherlands, and Hungary. -- no change to the meaning of the sentence.

Now, green taxes are having positive effects on X and Y.
Y - countries such as x,y,z.

here "as varied as" used for listing the countries.

Also in D, "that" could potentially point to countries or green taxes.

So called green taxes, which exact a price for the use of polluting or non renewable fuels, are having a positive effect on the environment and natural resource base of countries as varied as China, the Netherlands and Hungary.

A) As varied as- Correct, as varied as refers to countries correctly.
B) As varied as are- are is redundant
C) As varied as those of- as those of seems to refer to environment and natural resources and not countries.
D) That are as varied as- as is redundant
E) That are varied as are - that...are is not required.

I also thought that the sentence is refering to resources rather than countries hence my answer choice was C.
Please anyone provide a proper answer for eleminating C

Hello Sudheer12

There are two ways to eliminate C.

#1: Meaning.
In C, "those" technically refers to "resource base". Let replace "those" by "resource base" and see:

So-called green taxes are having a positive effect on the environmental and natural resource base of countries as varied as resource base of China, the Netherlands, and Hungary.

Let re-read the sentence and you'll see the duplicity. Why we need "of countries"? The revised C should be:
So-called green taxes are having a positive effect on the environmental and natural resource base of China, the Netherlands, and Hungary.
That's it, because you don't compare anything here.

#2: Grammars.
"those" is 100% wrong because "resource base" is SINGULAR. Technically, "those" MUST be replaced by "that".

Hope it helps.

Hi Sudheer, there is no resources present in the sentence; there is only resource base. Hence, the usage of those is anyway incorrect (since those can only refer to plural nouns, while resource base is singular).
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Taking this discussion further, I picked C too.

IMO, the environmental and natural resource base of countries || "those of (names of countries).

It is the plural "environmental and natural resource base" that is compared here. Hence "those" should be correct.

My main concern is why should the countries be compared when logically the "the environmental and natural resource base of countries" are bearing the impact of the "green taxes".

I am missing something crucial.

Hello Amoy, in the phrase environment and natural resource base, the noun is resource base (singular); environment and natural is just acting as adjective. If this is not immediately clear, perhaps you would have come across phrases such as social and political climate or social and economic climate, all of which are singular for the same reason.


There is no comparison (at least in a classical sense), since according to the sentence, China, the Netherlands, and Hungary all have same/similar characteristic: positive effect of green taxes.

So, rather than just saying: ...resource base of countries (such) as China, the Netherlands, and Hungary, the sentence is just stressing that these are varied countries: ...resource base of countries as varied as China, the Netherlands, and Hungary.
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Hi vabhs192003, would agree with you. When I scrolled up the thread, some posters have mentioned it as environmental (rather than environment).

Hence, the confusion.
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The sentence is not written correctly..
environment should be environmental


>>>> So called green taxes, which exact a price for the use of polluting or nonrenewable fuels, are having a positive effect on the environmental and natural resource base of countries as varied as China, the Netherlands, and Hungary.

No, "environment" is a noun, not adjective of "resource base". Hence "environment" is alright.

The positive effect is on two things:
1. Environment
2. Natural resource base

hello expert,
please can you explain the reasoning behind the correct as well as the wrong answers, i was able to eliminate option D and E and at last choose C, i am confuse about whether we the sentence is talking about fuels or green taxes ?
need a fast reply..

thanks

B. China, the Netherlands, and Hungary are not varied. Option B implies:
Countries are varied (true). China, the Netherlands, and Hungary are also varied (wrong). (Same reason to eliminate D.)

C. The pronoun "those" does not have an antecedent. If you consider "countries" the antecedent, then "countries of China, etc." does not make sense. "Those" as a relative pronoun is used to create a new copy of a noun in comparison structures (The cars I have are older than those you have; correct). However in option C, the usage of "those" is wrong.

Thus A is correct.


Your second query is not clear ("i am confuse about whether we the sentence is talking about fuels or green taxes") - the sentence is talking about both.

I do not really understand why D is incorrect.. Does "that" not simply specify which kind of country we mean ? countries THAT are as varied as china...

D (like B) COMPARES "countries" with "China, the Netherlands, and Hungary". The implied meaning is:

Countries are varied.
China, Hungary and Netherland are also varied.
Both vary in similar manner.

Hence D (and B) are wrong.

Could you please explain what is being compared?
Is it the taxes or the countries.
Please advice.

The point is that "as varied as" does NOT introduce a comparison here. The meaning implied is that the countries vary widely: from China to Hungary. Please refer to these posts:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/so-called-gr ... l#p1806912

https://gmatclub.com/forum/so-called-gr ... l#p1804624