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Updated on: 21 Jul 2021, 07:38
Originally posted by Arlene0504 on 25 Sep 2015, 23:31.
Last edited by Bunuel on 21 Jul 2021, 07:38, edited 6 times in total.
Last edited by Bunuel on 21 Jul 2021, 07:38, edited 6 times in total.
Renamed the topic and edited the question.
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B
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
25%
(medium)
Question Stats:
76% (01:42) correct
24%
(01:54)
wrong
based on 12267
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised corn and soybean prices.
(A) than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised
(B) than those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising
(C) than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
(D) as those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south hurt crops and therefore raise
(E) as they were a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
(A) than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised
(B) than those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising
(C) than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
(D) as those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south hurt crops and therefore raise
(E) as they were a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
Producer Level
First glance
The first word switches between than and as. The sentence will contain a comparison; should the comparison idiom use than or as?
Issues
(1) Comparison: X higher than Y; X higher as Y
The first three answers use than and the final two use as. Which should it be? Also, check that the comparison is an apples-to-apples comparison.
The correct idiom is either higher than or as high as. This sentence uses higher, so the correct pairing must be than. Eliminate answers (D) and (E).
Prices at the producer level are higher now
(A) than a year ago
(B) than those of a year ago
(C) than a year ago
What are the remaining answers comparing? Answers (A) and (C) compare now to a year ago. Answer (B) compares prices now to those (prices) of a year ago. While it can be acceptable to compare timeframes (as in OG 2017 #772 / OG 2016 #104 “this year” and “last [year]”), the more precise comparison in this problem is between the two prices: prices now versus prices of a year ago.
Answer (B) makes the proper comparison. Eliminate (A) and (C).
(2) Verb / Meaning: are hurting and therefore raised
The sentence is trying to convey a certain sequence of events: floods and drought are hurting crops and therefore causing something else to happen. This second event is caused by the first; therefore, this second event should take place at the same time as or later in time than the first event.
If crops are being hurt right now in the present, then it’s illogical to indicate that the consequence (raised prices) took place in the past. Eliminate answer (A).
(3) Structure / Meaning: and are hurting crops
Answers (C) and (E) both insert an and just before are hurting. What consequences does this have for the sentence structure?
Fix: The core sentences read:
(C) Prices are higher now than a year ago and are hurting crops...
(E) Prices are higher now as they were a year ago and are hurting crops...
In both cases, parallelism dictates that the subject prices must pair with the verb are hurting. In other words, the sentence indicates that the current prices are hurting crops. This is illogical. The floods and drought, not the prices, are hurting crops.
Eliminate answers (C) and (E) for faulty meaning.
The Correct Answer
Correct answer (B) makes a valid comparison between prices now and those (prices) of a year ago. It also clearly conveys the sequence of events: floods...and drought are...hurting crops now, and therefore (are) raising prices (also now).
*Note: the official explanation indicates that the word hurt, in answer (D), is in the simple past. The word hurt can also be simple present: floods and drought hurt crops (today or in general in the present) and therefore raise prices (again, today or in general). Answer (D) is still incorrect, but not for this particular reason stated in the official explanation.
Logical predication; Verb form
The sentence as written makes an illogical comparison between prices at the producer level and a time period (a year ago); surely the intended comparison is between such prices now and those of a year ago. The clause at the end of the sentence states that flooding and a drought are hurting crops, and as a result of this, they have raised prices of certain crops. Are hurting is in the present progressive tense, indicating an ongoing process; raised is in the simple past tense, indicating a completed action. It would be more appropriate to use the present progressive tense here as well, [are] raising.
(D) The comparative adjective higher requires the comparative term than instead of as; the tenses of the verbs in the latter half of the sentence, hurt (simple past) and raise (simple present), do not work together logically.
(A) Comparison (X higher than Y); Verb / Meaning (raised)
(B) CORRECT
(C) Comparison (X higher than Y); Structure / Meaning
(D) Comparison (X higher as Y)
(E) Comparison (X higher as Y); Structure / Meaning
(B) CORRECT
(C) Comparison (X higher than Y); Structure / Meaning
(D) Comparison (X higher as Y)
(E) Comparison (X higher as Y); Structure / Meaning
First glance
The first word switches between than and as. The sentence will contain a comparison; should the comparison idiom use than or as?
Issues
(1) Comparison: X higher than Y; X higher as Y
The first three answers use than and the final two use as. Which should it be? Also, check that the comparison is an apples-to-apples comparison.
The correct idiom is either higher than or as high as. This sentence uses higher, so the correct pairing must be than. Eliminate answers (D) and (E).
Prices at the producer level are higher now
(A) than a year ago
(B) than those of a year ago
(C) than a year ago
What are the remaining answers comparing? Answers (A) and (C) compare now to a year ago. Answer (B) compares prices now to those (prices) of a year ago. While it can be acceptable to compare timeframes (as in OG 2017 #772 / OG 2016 #104 “this year” and “last [year]”), the more precise comparison in this problem is between the two prices: prices now versus prices of a year ago.
Answer (B) makes the proper comparison. Eliminate (A) and (C).
(2) Verb / Meaning: are hurting and therefore raised
The sentence is trying to convey a certain sequence of events: floods and drought are hurting crops and therefore causing something else to happen. This second event is caused by the first; therefore, this second event should take place at the same time as or later in time than the first event.
If crops are being hurt right now in the present, then it’s illogical to indicate that the consequence (raised prices) took place in the past. Eliminate answer (A).
(3) Structure / Meaning: and are hurting crops
Answers (C) and (E) both insert an and just before are hurting. What consequences does this have for the sentence structure?
Fix: The core sentences read:
(C) Prices are higher now than a year ago and are hurting crops...
(E) Prices are higher now as they were a year ago and are hurting crops...
In both cases, parallelism dictates that the subject prices must pair with the verb are hurting. In other words, the sentence indicates that the current prices are hurting crops. This is illogical. The floods and drought, not the prices, are hurting crops.
Eliminate answers (C) and (E) for faulty meaning.
The Correct Answer
Correct answer (B) makes a valid comparison between prices now and those (prices) of a year ago. It also clearly conveys the sequence of events: floods...and drought are...hurting crops now, and therefore (are) raising prices (also now).
*Note: the official explanation indicates that the word hurt, in answer (D), is in the simple past. The word hurt can also be simple present: floods and drought hurt crops (today or in general in the present) and therefore raise prices (again, today or in general). Answer (D) is still incorrect, but not for this particular reason stated in the official explanation.
Logical predication; Verb form
The sentence as written makes an illogical comparison between prices at the producer level and a time period (a year ago); surely the intended comparison is between such prices now and those of a year ago. The clause at the end of the sentence states that flooding and a drought are hurting crops, and as a result of this, they have raised prices of certain crops. Are hurting is in the present progressive tense, indicating an ongoing process; raised is in the simple past tense, indicating a completed action. It would be more appropriate to use the present progressive tense here as well, [are] raising.
(D) The comparative adjective higher requires the comparative term than instead of as; the tenses of the verbs in the latter half of the sentence, hurt (simple past) and raise (simple present), do not work together logically.
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26 Sep 2015, 01:02
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First thing: Please look into transcription; corn and soybean prices should not be underlined.
For those who want to go into the complicated process finding the nuances in meaning created by ellipsis, they can do that; but before that one should ensure that one can eliminate as many choices as possible on grammar alone. IMO, this problem can be easily solved without bothering about the differences in meaning of comparison. We can forthwith dispense with D and E for using the ‘as’ comparator instead of the ‘than’ comparator. Among A, B and C:
A: than a year ago and are going down, even though floods I the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised --- are hurting and raised are blatant shift of tense. So gone.
B: than those of a year ago, and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising ---Grammatically good
C: than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising—This is a fragment; the conjunction ‘and’ creates confusion as to what are hurting crops and raising. They seem to point to the subject the sentence prices at producer level;
As a foot-note, I wish to add a small comment by no less than Ron on this
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/foru ... 32362.html
For those who want to go into the complicated process finding the nuances in meaning created by ellipsis, they can do that; but before that one should ensure that one can eliminate as many choices as possible on grammar alone. IMO, this problem can be easily solved without bothering about the differences in meaning of comparison. We can forthwith dispense with D and E for using the ‘as’ comparator instead of the ‘than’ comparator. Among A, B and C:
A: than a year ago and are going down, even though floods I the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised --- are hurting and raised are blatant shift of tense. So gone.
B: than those of a year ago, and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising ---Grammatically good
C: than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising—This is a fragment; the conjunction ‘and’ creates confusion as to what are hurting crops and raising. They seem to point to the subject the sentence prices at producer level;
As a foot-note, I wish to add a small comment by no less than Ron on this
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/foru ... 32362.html
Quote:
27 Jan 2019, 15:42
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Hello Everyone!
This is a great example of a sentence that focuses on idiom structure and comparisons! Let's start by taking a quick look over each option, and highlight any major differences in orange:
Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised corn and soybean prices.
(A) than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised
(B) than those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising
(C) than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
(D) as those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south hurt crops and therefore raise
(E) as they were a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
After a quick glance over the options, a few key differences jump out:
1. than vs. as (idiom structure)
2. a year ago / those of a year ago / they were a year ago (parallelism with comparisons)
3. even though / despite (transitions)
4. raised / raising / raise (verb tense)
Let's start with #1 on our list: than vs. as. No matter which one we choose, it will eliminate 2-3 options rather quickly, so let's start there. This is an issue of idiom structure. Whenever we see comparative language (in this case, the word "higher"), we know that the sentence is comparing two items and must be worded a certain way:
X is higher than Y = CORRECT
X is higher as Y = WRONG
Let's see which options do this correctly, and eliminate the ones that do not:
(A) than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised
(B) than those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising
(C) than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
(D) as those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south hurt crops and therefore raise
(E) as they were a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
We can eliminate options D & E because they don't follow the proper "X is higher than Y" idiom structure. That was easy!
Now, let's move on to #2 on our list: parallelism with comparisons. Whenever we compare two items by using the idiom structure "X is higher than Y," the X and Y in the idiom need to be parallel. Let's look at the original sentence closely to determine what two items it's comparing:
Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised corn and soybean prices.
We can see that the sentence should compare the prices today versus prices from a year ago. Let's make sure each option compares similar things:
(A) than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised
This is INCORRECT because it compares the prices today to a year ago, which isn't parallel. You cannot compare prices to years - they're not the same thing!
(B) than those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising
This is CORRECT! The word "those" clearly refers to prices, so this is comparing the prices today to the prices from last year, which is parallel!
(C) than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
This is also INCORRECT because it compares prices to years, which aren't parallel items.
There you have it - option B is the correct choice! It's the only one that compares two like items, and it uses the correct idiom structure for comparisons!
Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
This is a great example of a sentence that focuses on idiom structure and comparisons! Let's start by taking a quick look over each option, and highlight any major differences in orange:
Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised corn and soybean prices.
(A) than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised
(B) than those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising
(C) than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
(D) as those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south hurt crops and therefore raise
(E) as they were a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
After a quick glance over the options, a few key differences jump out:
1. than vs. as (idiom structure)
2. a year ago / those of a year ago / they were a year ago (parallelism with comparisons)
3. even though / despite (transitions)
4. raised / raising / raise (verb tense)
Let's start with #1 on our list: than vs. as. No matter which one we choose, it will eliminate 2-3 options rather quickly, so let's start there. This is an issue of idiom structure. Whenever we see comparative language (in this case, the word "higher"), we know that the sentence is comparing two items and must be worded a certain way:
X is higher than Y = CORRECT
X is higher as Y = WRONG
Let's see which options do this correctly, and eliminate the ones that do not:
(A) than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised
(B) than those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising
(C) than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
(D) as those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south hurt crops and therefore raise
(E) as they were a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
We can eliminate options D & E because they don't follow the proper "X is higher than Y" idiom structure. That was easy!
Now, let's move on to #2 on our list: parallelism with comparisons. Whenever we compare two items by using the idiom structure "X is higher than Y," the X and Y in the idiom need to be parallel. Let's look at the original sentence closely to determine what two items it's comparing:
Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised corn and soybean prices.
We can see that the sentence should compare the prices today versus prices from a year ago. Let's make sure each option compares similar things:
(A) than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised
This is INCORRECT because it compares the prices today to a year ago, which isn't parallel. You cannot compare prices to years - they're not the same thing!
(B) than those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising
This is CORRECT! The word "those" clearly refers to prices, so this is comparing the prices today to the prices from last year, which is parallel!
(C) than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
This is also INCORRECT because it compares prices to years, which aren't parallel items.
There you have it - option B is the correct choice! It's the only one that compares two like items, and it uses the correct idiom structure for comparisons!
Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
27 Sep 2016, 00:57
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zoezhuyan, I agree with my colleague Ron Purewal (cited above) that the comparisons in A and C aren't necessarily faulty. There are other reasons to eliminate those choices. However, I want to make a slight correction to your analysis above. Your use of "that of" or "those of" in parentheses makes it appear that the implied comparison is between two nouns. Actually, your choices should read ("they were") or ("it was"). The comparison is actually between two adverbial modifiers. Prices are different now than they were last year. This is important because I can't say something like this:
American crows are larger today than in ancient China.
If we filled in "those," this might make sense: "American crows are larger today than those (crows) in ancient China." However, the actual implied meaning here is a comparison between two modifiers: "today" and "in ancient China." "American crows are larger today than (they were) in ancient China." This would make it seem that American crows existed in ancient China!
American crows are larger today than in ancient China.
If we filled in "those," this might make sense: "American crows are larger today than those (crows) in ancient China." However, the actual implied meaning here is a comparison between two modifiers: "today" and "in ancient China." "American crows are larger today than (they were) in ancient China." This would make it seem that American crows existed in ancient China!
