Project SC Butler: Day 105 Sentence Correction (SC1)
The recent startup of the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland has raised concerns among critics about both the risk of
releasing dangerous hypothetical particles called strangelets and the risk of creating a black hole that could destroy the earth.
A) releasing dangerous hypothetical particles called strangelets and the risk of creating a black hole that could destroy the earth
B)
[risk of] releasing dangerous hypothetical particles called strangelets and
risking the destruction of the earth by creating a black hole
C)
[risk of] the release of dangerous particles called strangelets and
the risk of destroying the earth with a potential black hole
D)
[risk of] dangerous hypothetical particles called strangelets being released and the
risk of creating a black hole that could destroy the earth
E)
[risk of] dangerous hypothetical particles called strangelets
being released and the
risk of a black hole being created that could destroy the earth
The correct answer is A
EXPLANATION/ANALYSIS[Partly from the source; partly mine]
• Option A is correct. It maintains parallelism and [
is an instance in which active voice is better than passive voice].
• Choice B is incorrect because
risk of releasing is not parallel to
risking the destruction of• Choice C is similarly incorrect because
risk of the release is not parallel to
risk of destroying•
Choice D is incorrect because risk of dangerous (hypothetical particles) is not parallel to risk of creating• Option E is incorrect.
-- Parallelism is shaky.
True, both particles and black holes are nouns, but "black hole" is a noun phrase
that always contains the adjective black. "Black hole," the whole thing, is itself a commonly understood noun.
By contrast, the adjectives dangerous and hypothetical are not part of a familiar noun construct;
"particles" are familiar:
dangerous hypothetical particles in other words, is not a noun phrase
of the same type as black hole.
-- Compare (E) with (A). Voice?
No rule exists saying that active voice is always preferred.
Whether active or passive voice is preferable depends on context.
In this context, active voice in (A) makes the objects of the preposition OF (in RISK OF) much clearer.
Answer A is correct. COMMENTSPeepalTree and
tamal99 , welcome!
All the answers are correct.
warrior1991 wrote the best answer in which he
explained why each answer was wrong, e.g. pointed specifically to which phrases or words were not parallel. Kudos!