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605-655 Level|   Comparisons|      
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Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution sca 07 Feb 2017, 01:35
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louisbharnabas
Hi all,
I was able to narrow down the options to A and E. The only difference between them are the words "despite" and "because". Could someone explain why E is wrong?
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"Widely available technology such as high-resolution scanners and Printers" helps in counterfeiting. Hence it does not make sense to say because such technology is available, counterefting has become difficult. Hence Option E is wrong.
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Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution sca 06 Sep 2018, 04:26
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Popular options are A, B and D.
To simplify the comparsions b\w the actual objects, I've made simple and close analogous sentences for these 3 options.
Only in option A, comparison is done b\w similar objects.

A. Today forgery is harder than it was in ancient times, when forgery was common.
(Today’s forgery v/s. Forgery in ancient times) <-- Right

B. Forgery is harder than it was in ancient times, when forgery was common.
(Forgery v/s. Forgery in ancient times) <-- Wrong

D. Today forgery is harder than when forgery was common in ancient times.
(Today’s forgery v/s. time) <-- Wrong


Hope, it helps in clarification.
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Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution sca 10 Mar 2019, 05:31
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B is wrong. Modifier error makes it sound like the technology occurs today, not its availability.

C has an illogical comparison. I compares ‘counterfeiting’ and ‘the time of the civil war.’
D again makes an illogical comparison between ‘counterfeiting’ and ‘when it was estimated.’
E uses ‘because of’ instead of ‘despite’ which gives the sentence the completely opposite meaning.

A is the right answer
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Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution sca 24 Jul 2019, 23:43
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OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
The intent of the sentence is to compare counterfeiting today to counterfeiting in the past, using difficulty as the measure. In the original sentence, the comparison is correctly drawn between “today…counterfeiting is” and “it [counterfeiting] was at the time of the Civil War.” Additionally, the use of “despite” accurately conveys the main point that although some new technologies are available, counterfeiting is nevertheless more difficult than it once was.

(A) CORRECT. The original sentence is correct as written.
(B) The intent of the sentence is to compare counterfeiting today to counterfeiting in the past. In this sentence, the placement of “today” after “high resolution scanners and printers” could lead to a misunderstanding about what occurs “today”: the equipment, or perhaps the wide availability of the equipment, rather than the counterfeiting itself.
(C) This sentence is missing “today,” which clearly indicated in the original sentence when the counterfeiting with scanners and printers occurs. The first instance of the pronoun "it" has also been dropped, creating an illogical comparison between an act, “counterfeiting,” and a time, “at the time of the Civil War.” A correct comparison could have been between “today” and “the time of the Civil War”: “…counterfeiting is more difficult today than at the time of the Civil War…”
(D) An illogical comparison is made between an act, “counterfeiting,” and a time, “when it was estimated.”
(E) The point of the original sentence is that counterfeiting is more difficult today “despite,” not “because of,” the technology that is available.
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Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution sca 22 Sep 2019, 19:35
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According to Mahattan Prep, the pronoun must refer to the same antecedent throughout the sentence. The first It in the sentence is referring to counterfeiting, but the second it is not. So how can answer A be correct?
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Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution sca 23 Sep 2019, 09:26
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Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution scanners and printers, counterfeiting is more difficult than it was at the time of the Civil War, when it was estimated that one-third of all currency in circulation was counterfeit.


(A) Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution scanners and printers, counterfeiting is more difficult than it was at the time of the Civil War, when it was estimated that one-third of all currency in circulation was counterfeit. - Comparing today with the past. Correct placement of today

(B) Despite widely available technology such as high-resolution scanners and printers today, counterfeiting is more difficult than it was at the time of the Civil War, when it was estimated that one-third of all currency in circulation was counterfeit. Today's placement change changes the meaning, now no comparison between past and present

(C) Despite widely available technology such as high-resolution scanners and printers, counterfeiting is more difficult than at the time of the Civil War, when it was estimated that one-third of all currency in circulation was counterfeit. - wrong comparison between counterfeiting and at the time of Civil war

(D) Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution scanners and printers, counterfeiting is more difficult than when it was estimated that one-third of all currency in circulation was counterfeit at the time of the Civil War. Wrong comparison.

(E) Today, because of widely available technology such as high-resolution scanners and printers, counterfeiting is more difficult than it was at the time of the Civil War, when it was estimated that one-third of all currency in circulation was counterfeit. It should have been a contrast but it made it a causal relationship
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Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution sca 04 Apr 2020, 05:46
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(A) Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution scanners and printers, counterfeiting is more difficult than it was at the time of the Civil War, when it was estimated that one-third of all currency in circulation was counterfeit.Correct comparison b/w time periods and Today is correctly modified by the following modifier

(B) Despite widely available technology such as high-resolution scanners and printers today, counterfeiting is more difficult than it was at the time of the Civil War, when it was estimated that one-third of all currency in circulation was counterfeit.the placement of today is not correct as it is a part f modifier of counterfeiting. Also the intended comparison b/w counterfeiting today and counterfeiting at the time of civil war becomes obscure

(C) Despite widely available technology such as high-resolution scanners and printers, counterfeiting is more difficult than at the time of the Civil War, when it was estimated that one-third of all currency in circulation was counterfeit.the comparison is faulty here as a comparison is being made b/w counterfeiting and a time period. Also the word today is essential to retain the intended meaning of the passage

(D) Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution scanners and printers, counterfeiting is more difficult than when it was estimated that one-third of all currency in circulation was counterfeit at the time of the Civil War.this option changes the position of when which should be used to modify the time of Civil war

(E) Today, because of widely available technology such as high-resolution scanners and printers, counterfeiting is more difficult than it was at the time of the Civil War, when it was estimated that one-third of all currency in circulation was counterfeit.this option seems to be saying that counterfeiting is more difficult today because of widely available tech which is clearly not the intended meaning
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Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution sca 18 Aug 2020, 07:04
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Can someone throw light on the usage of it for 2 antecedents in this question?

It is the first part of the sentence is used for counterfeiting whereas in the second part of the sentence, 'it' is used standalone before 'was estimated' . Is this usage correct?
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Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution sca 18 Aug 2020, 08:12
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ahujaparth10
Can someone throw light on the usage of it for 2 antecedents in this question?

It is the first part of the sentence is used for counterfeiting whereas in the second part of the sentence, 'it' is used standalone before 'was estimated' . Is this usage correct?
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The use of "it" in two ways in the correct version is fine.

The first time "it" is used, "it" clearly refers to "counterfeiting."

The second time "it" is used, "it" is clearly an expletive standing in for the delayed subject "that one-third of all currency in circulation was counterfeit."

No ambiguity or confusion is created via the use of "it" in two different ways.
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Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution sca 18 Aug 2020, 11:54
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ahujaparth10
Can someone throw light on the usage of it for 2 antecedents in this question?

It is the first part of the sentence is used for counterfeiting whereas in the second part of the sentence, 'it' is used standalone before 'was estimated' . Is this usage correct?
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Yes!

That's correctly explained by Marty Sir! MartyTargetTestPrep
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Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution sca 27 Sep 2020, 06:50
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bsd_lover

Manhattan Prep Official Explanation


The intent of the sentence is to compare counterfeiting today to counterfeiting in the past, using difficulty as the measure. In the original sentence, the comparison is correctly drawn between “today…counterfeiting is” and “it [counterfeiting] was at the time of the Civil War.” Additionally, the use of “despite” accurately conveys the main point that although some new technologies are available, counterfeiting is nevertheless more difficult than it once was.

(A) CORRECT. The original sentence is correct as written.

(B) The intent of the sentence is to compare counterfeiting today to counterfeiting in the past. In this sentence, the placement of “today” after “high resolution scanners and printers” could lead to a misunderstanding about what occurs “today”: the equipment, or perhaps the wide availability of the equipment, rather than the counterfeiting itself.

(C) This sentence is missing “today,” which clearly indicated in the original sentence when the counterfeiting with scanners and printers occurs. The first instance of the pronoun "it" has also been dropped, creating an illogical comparison between an act, “counterfeiting,” and a time, “at the time of the Civil War.” A correct comparison could have been between “today” and “the time of the Civil War”: “…counterfeiting is more difficult today than at the time of the Civil War…”

(D) An illogical comparison is made between an act, “counterfeiting,” and a time, “when it was estimated.”

(E) The point of the original sentence is that counterfeiting is more difficult today “despite,” not “because of,” the technology that is available.
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When two Counterfeiting is compared between 2 different timeframe, Why D is incorrect?

Please check this OG question where numbers are compared in two different time frame[I can't post link, you can search the question]:

"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."




daagh GMATNinja
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Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution sca 30 Sep 2020, 02:09
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Is this sentence correct?

High-resolution scanners and printers are equipments, not technology itself. All five options treat high-resolution scanners and printers as technology.

Pl. through light on this.
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sayantanc2k daagh generis Abhi077 BillyZ

In option A, there are two pronouns "it".
First "it" has antecedent counterfeiting, but second "it" is placeholder.
Since, same pronoun cannot have two different antecedent, how is this option correct?

Thanks in advance!
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Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution sca 09 Oct 2020, 21:39
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DexterZabula
sayantanc2k daagh generis Abhi077 BillyZ

In option A, there are two pronouns "it".
First "it" has antecedent counterfeiting, but second "it" is placeholder.
Since, same pronoun cannot have two different antecedent, how is this option correct?

Thanks in advance!
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Hi,

Your doubt has been clarified here https://gmatclub.com/forum/today-despit ... l#p2592065 by MartyTargetTestPrep

Hope this helps. If you still have doubts, feel free to post them here :)
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Today, despite widely available technology such as high-resolution sca 05 Jul 2021, 03:33
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GMATNinja I am really confused with the usage of 'Despite' in this sentence. Doesn't this usage distort the meaning of the sentence?

Gagan
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In option A, "it" is used at one place for counterfeiting and at other place as a placeholder pronoun, is this completely fine in GMAT?

I understand that no other sentence is rectifying this or providing a better choice than A, so on the PoE basis A is correct, but still not okay with a Pronoun being used with twice for different things.
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aj1410
In option A, "it" is used at one place for counterfeiting and at other place as a placeholder pronoun, is this completely fine in GMAT?

I understand that no other sentence is rectifying this or providing a better choice than A, so on the PoE basis A is correct, but still not okay with a Pronoun being used with twice for different things.
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Hello aj1410,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, yes; this pronoun usage is incorrect and most likely would not be seen in an official GMAT question.

However, as you have rightly pointed out, Option A is still the best among the given five answer choices.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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