The atmosphere forms a gaseous envelope around the earth, protecting

The atmosphere forms a gaseous envelope around the earth, protecting it from the cold of space, harmful ultraviolet light, and meteors that are large, but not the largest.

A. and meteors that are large, but not the largest ----after 'and' there is a relative clause - Non -parallel.
B. and all but the largest meteors -- this is the correct choice, maintaining proper parallelism.
C. and most meteors, except those that are very large --change in the meaning--very large and the largest are not the same.
D. and large meteors, excepting the largest -- The third item of the list is unparallel because of the prepositional phrase.
E. and with the exception of the largest, meteors-- 1. meaning is distorted by saying just meteors. It should be 'large meteors'. 2. with the exception of is wordy

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Imo. A

Meaning: The atmosphere forms a gaseous envelope surrounding the earth and such formations protects the earth from cold (of space), harmful UV light and meteors (that are large, but not the largest).

The atmosphere forms a gaseous envelope around the earth, protecting it from the cold of space, harmful ultraviolet light, and meteors that are large, but not the largest.

A. and meteors that are large, but not the largest - Parallelism maintained and relative pronoun refers to the meteors and contrast information mentioned correctly with ellipsis. Seems no error, hold it.
B. and all but the largest meteors - Parallelism error, which distorts the meaning of the sentence.
C. and most meteors, except those that are very large - Meaning of the option is contradicting with original sentence (which is correct one).
D. and large meteors, excepting the largest - Idiom error, i.e. excepting is not preferred by the GMAC
E. and with the exception of the largest, meteors - Parallelism error, which distorts the meaning of the sentence.

The atmosphere forms a gaseous envelope around the earth, protecting it from the cold of space, harmful ultraviolet light, and meteors that are large, but not the largest.



I would say C

gaseous envelope protecting earth from the cold, light, and meteors ...

A. and meteors that are large, but not the largest -- we don't know what is the largest
B. and all but the largest meteors -- largest doesn't suit well
C. and most meteors, except those that are very large -- protect from most meteors except the large ones correct
D. and large meteors, excepting the largest -- awkward
E. and with the exception of the largest, meteors-- need comma

The atmosphere forms a gaseous envelope around the earth, protecting it from the cold of space, harmful ultraviolet light, and meteors that are large, but not the largest.

from the cold of space [noun phrase], harmful ultraviolet light [noun phrase] and [noun phrase] - only choice with noun phrase is choice A, C and D. However, the sentence after comma for A and D is awkward and doesn't show the intended meaning

A. and meteors that are large, but not the largest - what is the largest ? not concise
B. and all but the largest meteors
C. and most meteors, except those that are very large
D. and large meteors, excepting the largest - what is the largest ? not concise
E. and with the exception of the largest, meteors

Therefore C is the correct answer.

A. and meteors that are large, but not the largest....wordy
B. and all but the largest meteors.....correct
C. and most meteors, except those that are very large.......usage of Most and except doesn't fit here
D. and large meteors, excepting the largest...incorrect
E. and with the exception of the largest, meteors....awkward



OA:B

Posted from my mobile device

Eliminated D and E due to obvious errors..
Eliminated C as it changes the meaning by introducing thee word 'most'
Between A and B- B seems to be more clear about the meaning.

Is the correct answer B?

The atmosphere forms a gaseous envelope around the earth, protecting it from the cold of space, harmful ultraviolet light, and meteors that are large, but not the largest.

A. and meteors that are large, but not the largest
Incorrect. There should be '...not the largest + NOUN' in order to be parallel with '...meteors'.

B. and all but the largest meteors
Correct

C. and most meteors, except those that are very large
Incorrect. "...those' is used here inappropriately.

D. and large meteors, excepting the largest
Incorrect. "...excepting the largest" should end with the noun to be parallel with meteors.

E. and with the exception of the largest, meteors
Incorrect. There should be '...with the exception of ' +NOUN.
Comma is not used appropriately.

The correct is B

Official Explanation

Correct Answer: B

All of the other choices are unnecessarily wordy and/or less direct. Choices a and e also disrupt the parallel structure of the list. Choice e is also awkward.
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Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that the atmosphere protects the Earth from the cold of space, harmful ultraviolet light, and all meteors but the largest.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Parallelism + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• All elements in a list must be parallel.

A: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "meteors that are large"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the atmosphere protects Earth specifically from large meteors, but not from the largest; the intended meaning is that the atmosphere protects the Earth from meteors of all sizes but the largest. Further, Option A fails to maintain parallelism among "the cold of space", "harmful ultraviolet light", and "meteors that are large, but not the largest"; please remember, all elements in a list must be parallel. Additionally, Option A uses the needlessly wordy phrase "meteors that are large, but not the largest", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

B: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase "all but the largest meteors", conveying the intended meaning - that the atmosphere protects the Earth from meteors of all sizes but the largest. Further, Option B maintains parallelism among "the cold of space", "harmful ultraviolet light", and "all but the largest meteors". Additionally, Option B is free of any awkwardness or redundancy

C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "except those that are very large"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the atmosphere protects Earth from meteors but not from those that are very large; the intended meaning is that the atmosphere protects the Earth from meteors, but not from the absolute largest meteors. Additionally, Option C uses the needlessly wordy phrase "most meteors, except those that are very large", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "large meteors"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the atmosphere protects Earth specifically from large meteors, but not from the largest; the intended meaning is that the atmosphere protects the Earth from meteors of all sizes but the largest. Additionally, Option D uses the needlessly wordy phrase "large meteors, excepting the largest", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

E: This answer choice ails to maintain parallelism among "the cold of space", "harmful ultraviolet light", and "with the exception of the largest, meteors"; please remember, all elements in a list must be parallel. Additionally, Option E uses the needlessly wordy phrase "with the exception of the largest", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

Hence, B is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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This might be a dumb question, The original statement talks only about meteors that are "large", but not the largest.

Choice B says "All" but the largest meteors which includes small meteors or medium sized meteors which is not talked in the original sentence.

Klenson

The best approach when dealing with meaning is to discard any notion of an "original" sentence. All 5 choices are equal attempts to produce a meaningful sentence, except that one is correct. If A is not that one, then it can have all the same meaning problems as the others. In other words, it's not correct to discard a choice just because it introduces a new idea or "changes the meaning," unless we compare that choice to all 5 and determine that it doesn't fit the author's intent.

As for this case, notice that the meaning of A and B is not that different. We can bring in enough real-world knowledge to recognize that the atmosphere can certainly burn up small meteors. It does so every day. We also know that larger meteors are the major concern. So if the atmosphere can burn up all but the largest meteors, that means it is burning up the little stuff (true, but not a threat). But it is also burning up large meteors that are not the largest. So there's no serious conflict here.
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