The Great Wall Space Agency’s recent attempts to launch a man into spa

Question

The Great Wall Space Agency’s recent attempts to launch a man into space, a major goal of their space program for the past few years,  has not substantially decreased the gaps existing  between the technology-rich and technology-poor cities around the space center.

(A) has not substantially decreased the gaps existing

(B) has not been substantial in decreasing the gap that exists

(C) has not made a substantial decrease in the gap that exists

(D) have not substantially decreased the gap that exists

(E) have not been substantial in a decrease of the gap that exists

I am confused regarding the structure of this question .... i will break it down in the next post .

shelrod007 · Answer

I tried to break the question in the following manner

The   Great Wall Space Agency’s   recent   attempts   to launch a man into space, a major goal of   their   space program for the past few years,   has not substantially decreased  ........

Great Wall Space Agency's : is in the possessive form , singular 
attempts : Singular verb ..

But who is the their referring to here ? if their is referring to agency then it should be it ?

I am not sure if i have split the sentence wrong

aditya8062 · Answer

D it is:  have not substantially decreased the gap that exists

The Great Wall Space Agency’s recent  attempts  to launch a man into space, a major goal of their space program for the past few years,  have  not substantially decreased the gap that exists between the technology-rich and technology-poor cities around the space center.

You are right about "their" but because it is in the non underlined part so that is moot point; however, i will strongly suggest you to check the source again

shelrod007 · Answer

aditya8062  I am referring to the gmat andriod toolkit ... another question here isn't attempts here the verb to the Great Wall Space Agency’s ?

I mean if i ask the question who's attempts ? It would point me back to "The Great Wall Space Agency's ...

aditya8062 · Answer

not sure what u r asking

kindly write more readable sentences. for instance if i would have asked this same question then i would have written the following: isn't "attempts", the verb, refers to the  "Great Wall Space Agency’s" ? (see how i have used the "apposition" and "italicized" words). this makes it more readable !!

shelrod007 · Answer

Re phrasing my question .

In the sentence

The  Great Wall Space Agency’s  recent  attempts  to launch a man into space

attempts : Is the verb , Who attempts ? 
Great Wall Space Agency’s : Is the subject .

Then why does the underlined part begin with 'has' ?

The Great Wall Space Agency’s recent attempts to launch a man into space, a major goal of their space program for the past few years,  has not substantially decreased the gaps existing  between the technology-rich and technology-poor cities around the space center.

aditya8062 · Answer

YOU are not parsing the construction correctly

in the construction:  The Great Wall Space Agency’s recent  attempts  to launch a man into space, a major goal of their space program for the past few years,  have   not  substantially  decreased  the gap that exists between the technology-rich and technology-poor cities around the space center. ------------>the bold  "attempts"  is the NOUN and its VERB is  "have not decreased"

kinjiGC · Answer

"Great Wall Space Agency’s recent" is just a modifier for "attempts". hence attempts is the subject of the sentence.

EducationAisle · Answer

What is the source of this question?

The pronoun  their  (in the non-underlined portion  a major goal of their space program for the past few years ) does  not  have any valid antecedent.

Carcass · Answer

First of all you must follow the guidelines aka rules for posting in verbal section: the title of a new post CAN NOT be SC, simply. Thanks

Back to the question.

The source is from manhattanreview, so indeed a good resource.

The Great Wall Space Agency’s recent attempts to launch a man into space, a major goal of their space program for the past few years,  has not substantially decreased the gaps existing  between the technology-rich and technology-poor cities around the space center.

The Great Wall Space Agency’s recent attempts ................................... have not substantially decreased the gap that exists .........and bla bla bla. This is the gist of the question. Pretty much simple

As regard their in my opinion it is fine: the main goal is the launch of a man into space and as it turns out is the major goal of THEIR space programS, the programs of the agency. Maybe a typo.........the sentence is still fine.

Hope this helps

EducationAisle · Answer

Well, one might opine that  their  is in the non-underlined portion, and so, it's not a big deal even if it is incorrectly used in this sentence.

However, the bigger problem is that test takers then get  accustomed  to reading such sentences and so, it becomes difficult for them to identify this as  anomaly , even when it is tested. This is especially significant, since GMAT  does  test you on these aspects.

Even if it's a typo, it should be highlighted so that GMAT aspirants are aware of this.

p.s.  their  has nothing to do with  program/programs . In either case (whether it is  program  or  programs ),  their  is incorrect.

Carcass · Answer

I have spotted some important flaws..........oh well

AkshdeepS · Answer

(A)  has not  substantially decreased the gaps existing

(B)  has not  been substantial in decreasing the gap that exists

(C)   has not  made a substantial decrease in the gap that exists

(D) have not substantially decreased the gap that exists

(E)  have not been  substantial in a decrease of the gap that exists

A, B, C are out for SV error - "attempts have not" is correct

E is out for "been". Also, "substantial" is an adjective wrongly modifying a prepositional phrase "in a decrease"

Hence (D)

lary301254M7 · Answer

I have the same concern even though I got the correct answer.
Pretty sure the attempts are major goals for The Great Wall Space Agency's programs or "its" program.
"Their" would imply the attempts are major goals for the attempts' space program; this simply does not make sense.

Bunuel · Answer

MANHATTAN REVIEW OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:

The first thing you have to determine in this sentence is whether the verb ‘to have’ should be in the singular or plural form. To what does the verb ‘has’ refer? It refers to the attempts. You can shorten this sentence and isolate the core: the attempts (x) have done something (y). That means that only D and E can be possible answers. Choice E is too wordy. Choice D is the correct answer.

VerbalBot · Answer

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The Great Wall Space Agency’s recent attempts to launch a man into spa

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The Great Wall Space Agency’s recent attempts to launch a man into spa

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