fluke wrote:
The recent discovery of a red oak tree sap that is anticipated to advance experimentation with natural substances in order to create cancer medicines will be able to provide chemists with a more potent mixture to work from than other trees and at a lower cost.
(A) The recent discovery of a red oak tree sap that is anticipated to advance experimentation with natural substances in order to create cancer medicines will be able to provide chemists with a more potent mixture to work from than other trees and at a lower cost
(B) The recent discovery of a red oak tree sap is anticipated to advance experimentation with natural substances in order to create cancer medicines and will be able to provide chemists with a more potent mixture to work from at a lower cost than the sap extracted from other trees
(C) The recent discovery of a red oak tree sap, which is anticipated to advance experimentation with natural substances in order to create cancer medicines, will be able to provide chemists with a more potent mixture to work from at a lower cost than other trees
(D) A recently discovered red oak tree sap, which is anticipated to advance experimentation with natural substances in order to create cancer medicines, will be able to provide chemists with a more potent mixture to work from than the sap extracted from other trees can, and at a lower cost
(E) A recently discovered red oak tree sap, which is anticipated to advance experimentation with natural substances in order to create cancer medicines, will be able to provide a more potent mixture to work from than other trees and to decrease the cost
OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:
The original sentence is long and confusing. In order to simplify the sentence, let's figure out what it is trying to say: The main verb of the sentence is
will be able. The subject appears to be
The recent discovery of a red oak tree sap, but it is not logical that
The recent discovery of sap... will be able to provide chemists with a more potent mixture because
discoveries don't provide
mixtures. What provides the mixture? The logical subject of the sentence is
sap; we should look for the answer that places
sap at the beginning of the sentence.
The comparison
more...than does not compare like—or parallel—items;
will be able to provide chemists with a more potent mixture to work from than other trees illogically compares
the ability to provide chemists with a more potent mixture and
other trees.
Mixtures cannot be more potent than
trees; it is the
abilities of the
mixtures and the
abilities of the
saps from other trees that are being compared.
Choice D is correct. This choice changes the subject to
A recently discovered red oak tree sap, which is the logical subject of the verb
will be able to provide. This option also compares the ability of the recently discovered sap to provide chemists with a more potent mixture with the ability of the sap extracted from other trees by using the word
can.
Choices B and C retain the incorrect subject,
The recent discovery of a sap, which illogically seems
to be able to provide chemists with a more potent mixture. These options also retain comparison errors. In B,
the new trees are able to provide chemists with a more potent mixture....than other saps, and we want to compare the
abilities of the
saps. C makes the comparison to
other trees. Both B and C are incorrect.
Choice E fixes the subject error but not the comparison error;
the more potent mixture than other trees is illogical .
Choice D is correct.