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A
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Difficulty:
65%
(hard)
Question Stats:
48% (01:21) correct
52%
(01:31)
wrong
based on 15547
sessions
History
Date
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The gyrfalcon, an Arctic bird of prey, has survived a close brush with extinction; its numbers are now five times greater than when the use of DDT was sharply restricted in the early 1970's.
(A) extinction; its numbers are now five times greater than
(B) extinction; its numbers are now five times more than
(C) extinction, their numbers now fivefold what they were
(D) extinction, now with fivefold the numbers they had
(E) extinction, now with numbers five times greater than
(A) extinction; its numbers are now five times greater than
(B) extinction; its numbers are now five times more than
(C) extinction, their numbers now fivefold what they were
(D) extinction, now with fivefold the numbers they had
(E) extinction, now with numbers five times greater than
Show SpoilerPrevious version of option (E)
(E) extinction; its numbers are now five times greater than what they were
https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/07/science/science-watch-reduction-of-pesticides-nets-increase-in-bird-populations.html
As recently as a decade ago, the scientists noted, bald eagles were sighted in only 39 states. Now their number has increased by 92 percent to 37,000 and the living national symbol, which feeds mainly on fish, can be sighted in every state but Hawaii. The gyrfalcon, an Arctic species that feeds on snowshoe hares and grouse, has survived a close brush with extinction, its numbers rising fivefold since the early 1970's to 500. The number of peregrine falcons, which breed in cities and wilderness areas across the continent, have climbed 19 percent in 14 years to an estimated total of 1,200. But during the same period the population of Harris's hawk, a dweller of the Southwestern deserts, declined 38 percent to 5,600.
As recently as a decade ago, the scientists noted, bald eagles were sighted in only 39 states. Now their number has increased by 92 percent to 37,000 and the living national symbol, which feeds mainly on fish, can be sighted in every state but Hawaii. The gyrfalcon, an Arctic species that feeds on snowshoe hares and grouse, has survived a close brush with extinction, its numbers rising fivefold since the early 1970's to 500. The number of peregrine falcons, which breed in cities and wilderness areas across the continent, have climbed 19 percent in 14 years to an estimated total of 1,200. But during the same period the population of Harris's hawk, a dweller of the Southwestern deserts, declined 38 percent to 5,600.
Edit: Watch out - There is a similar but modified version of this question HERE
11 Aug 2011, 07:23
Kudos
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Let me put it this way. When you are comparing two nouns, the focus is on the nouns and not on the actions. For example:
John is taller than his brother . We don not say John is taller than his brother is. Because the comparison is just between two nouns namely John and his brother and not how tall both are.
However, look at this now.
John jumps higher than his brother- This is wrong; Here we are comparing John’s jumping with his brother‘s jumping, a comparison of two actions and hence both the actions must be explicitly stated.
In the given case, the numbers of the previous times are being compared with the numbers of the present time – essentially a comparison of two nouns. Hence, we can afford to drop the verbal comparison.
Context plays a large role in such cases than any given rule IMO.
Kudos to superfreak for his dogged quest of knowledge
John is taller than his brother . We don not say John is taller than his brother is. Because the comparison is just between two nouns namely John and his brother and not how tall both are.
However, look at this now.
John jumps higher than his brother- This is wrong; Here we are comparing John’s jumping with his brother‘s jumping, a comparison of two actions and hence both the actions must be explicitly stated.
In the given case, the numbers of the previous times are being compared with the numbers of the present time – essentially a comparison of two nouns. Hence, we can afford to drop the verbal comparison.
Context plays a large role in such cases than any given rule IMO.
Kudos to superfreak for his dogged quest of knowledge
01 Mar 2018, 15:51
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I kinda hate this question. And I swear that I’m basically a very happy person. 
So I wouldn't eliminate (A) right away. But it is awfully similar to (B), so let’s put them side-by-side:
Here’s the thing: if you’re comparing numbers themselves – not quantity in general, but actual numbers – it’s generally better to use “greater than” instead of “more than.” For example, you would read the mathematical expression 20 > 10 as “twenty is greater than ten.”
Or you consider the following two sentences:
Back to the GMAT question. Since we’re directly and literally comparing the numbers themselves, we need to use “greater than”, and not “more than”.
So we can eliminate (B), and hang onto (A).
So (C) is out.
So (D) is gone, too.
[edited by @plaverbach: GMATNinja made a full analysis on A vs E below]
We can eliminate (E), and (A) is the best we can do.
Quote:
Two things jump out at me right away in (A), and neither of them are a problem. First, the semicolon needs to separate two independent clauses, and it does exactly that. Second, the “its” needs to refer back to a singular noun, and it does exactly that – “its” refers to “the gyrfalcon.”
So I wouldn't eliminate (A) right away. But it is awfully similar to (B), so let’s put them side-by-side:
Quote:
The only difference is that (A) uses the phrase “greater than”, and (B) uses “more than.” In real life, I don’t think that either of these necessarily sounds better than the other, and I probably wouldn't notice if somebody said the incorrect version.
Here’s the thing: if you’re comparing numbers themselves – not quantity in general, but actual numbers – it’s generally better to use “greater than” instead of “more than.” For example, you would read the mathematical expression 20 > 10 as “twenty is greater than ten.”
Or you consider the following two sentences:
- I ate more burritos than Mike last night. → we’re comparing quantities of burritos in general, not the numbers themselves, so “more” is OK
- I ate a greater number of burritos than Mike last night. → now that we’re comparing the numbers, we need to use “greater”
- I ate a more number of burritos than Mike last night. → not remotely tempting to use “more” to compare the numbers themselves in this case, right?
Back to the GMAT question. Since we’re directly and literally comparing the numbers themselves, we need to use “greater than”, and not “more than”.
So we can eliminate (B), and hang onto (A).
Quote:
Hopefully, the pronouns jump right off the page at you. “Their” needs to refer to a plural noun, and… well, we don’t have any plurals earlier in the sentence. “The gyrfalcon” is singular.
So (C) is out.
Quote:
(D) has a similar problem as (C): there’s some general awkwardness, but the much more important issue is that “they” doesn’t have a logical referent. The only plural noun earlier in the sentence is “the numbers”, and that definitely wouldn’t work: “… now with fivefold the numbers the numbers had…” Yikes. Of course, “they” is logically trying to refer to “the gyrfalcon”, and that’s singular.
So (D) is gone, too.
Quote:
(E) is just a crappier version of (A). The only real difference is that (E) adds the phrase “what they were” to the end of the sentence, and there’s no good reason to do that – it adds nothing to the meaning, and just makes the sentence wordier and messier.
[edited by @plaverbach: GMATNinja made a full analysis on A vs E below]
We can eliminate (E), and (A) is the best we can do.
