Those who listened to the first speech of the new Soviet leader were

Question

Competition Mode Question

Those who listened to the first speech of the new Soviet leader were struck by  its direct, less polemical tone than was common  in speeches by Soviet leaders during the previous eighteen years.

A. its direct, less polemical tone than was common
B. its direct tone, less polemical than was common
C. its direct, less polemical tone than had been common
D. the direct tone, less polemical than it had commonly been
E. the direct tone, less polemical than it commonly was

eakabuah · Accepted Answer

B seems best to me.

Meaning: Those who listened to the first speech of the new Soviet leader were struct by its direct tone, less polemical than was common in speeches by Soviet leaders during the previous eighteen years.
The logical antecedent for its in A, B, and C is the first speech. 
We can eliminate C and D for unjustified use of past perfect tense had been. The first speech made by Soviet leaders during the previous eighteen years were not background activities for the speeches made by Soviet leaders during the previous eighteen years were not background activities for the first speech of the new Soviet leader, hence there is no need to use the past perfect tense.
In addition, what is the antecedent of it in D and E? Is it tone, or first speech? We can, therefore, eliminate D and E based on pronoun ambiguity.

Between A and B, A is awkward. It is the tone of the speech that is direct. The tone of the speech is further modified as less polemical than was common in speeches by Soviet leaders during the previous eighteen years. Hence B is better than A based on the meaning of the sentence.

Those who listened to the first speech of the new Soviet leader were struck by its direct, less polemical tone than was common in speeches by Soviet leaders during the previous eighteen years.

A.  its direct, less polemical tone  than  was common 
B.  its direct tone , less polemical than  was common 
C. its direct, less polemical tone than  had been  common
D. the direct tone, less polemical than  it had commonly been 
E. the direct tone, less polemical than  it commonly was

Archit3110 · Answer

IMO B : 
 its direct tone, less polemical than was common
better idiomatic and adjective clause than other options

Those who listened to the first speech of the new Soviet leader were struck by  its direct, less polemical tone than was common  in speeches by Soviet leaders during the previous eighteen years.

A. its direct, less polemical tone than was common
B. its direct tone, less polemical than was common
C. its direct, less polemical tone than had been common
D. the direct tone, less polemical than it had commonly been
E. the direct tone, less polemical than it commonly was

unraveled · Answer

Those who listened to the first speech of the new Soviet leader were struck by  its direct, less polemical tone than was common  in speeches by Soviet leaders during the previous eighteen years.

A. its direct, less polemical tone than was common
B. its direct tone, less polemical than was common
C. its direct, less polemical tone than had been common
D. the direct tone, less polemical than it had commonly been
E. the direct tone, less polemical than it commonly was

'its' is ambiguous. Using 'had been' with one past event instead for past 18 years would have been better.

IMO Answer E.

ostrick5465 · Answer

A. its direct, less polemical tone than  was common  => Past perfect is needed
B. its direct tone, less polemical than  was common  => Past perfect is needed
C. its direct, less polemical tone than had been common
D. the direct tone, less polemical than it had commonly been => "it" seems to mention to "the direct tone" rather than "the speech" => D eliminated
E. the direct tone, less polemical than it  commonly was  => Past perfect is needed

C is the best choice.

exc4libur · Answer

Ans (B)

madgmat2019 · Answer

A. its direct, less polemical  tone  than was common..........only - direct describes the tone....not including polemical.....because here there is no reference for than..
B. its direct tone, less polemical than was common
C. its direct, less polemical tone  than had been  common
D. the direct tone, less polemical  than it had commonly been 
E. the direct tone, less polemical  than it  commonly was

OA:B

globaldesi · Answer

Can someone opine of D

the direct tone, less polemical than it had commonly been 
here the phrase "less polemical than it had commonly been " modifies speech and it makes more sense

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

globaldesi  There is actually no clear antecedent for "it" in D. The only noun it can refer to is "the direct tone" of the leader's first speech, but surely the tone of  this speech  had not been used differently by other leaders. We need to compare the style or tone of this speech to the style or tone of other speeches. I can say "These pancakes are better than those I ate when I was a kid," but I can't say " These pancakes  are better than  they  were when I ate  them  as a kid," unless I am somehow eating the same pancakes.

GKomoku · Answer

perfect explanation 
thank you

VerbalBot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot: 

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

 This post was generated automatically.

Those who listened to the first speech of the new Soviet leader were

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Those who listened to the first speech of the new Soviet leader were

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards