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29 Dec 2021, 00:26
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C
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
45%
(medium)
Question Stats:
48% (01:05) correct
52%
(01:29)
wrong
based on 111
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, the Panama Canal cut the 14,000 mile trip from New York to San Francisco by sea to only 6,000 miles.
A) the Panama Canal cut the 14,000 mile trip from New York to San Francisco by sea to only 6,000 miles
B) the Panama Canal cuts the 14,000 mile trip from New York to San Francisco by sea down to only 6,000 miles
C) the construction of the Panama Canal has allowed ships to cut the 14,000 mile trip from New York to San Francisco down to only 6,000 miles
D) the construction of the Panama Canal cut down the trip by sea from New York to San Francisco from 14,000 to 6,000 miles
E) the Panama Canal has cut from 14,000 miles down to 6,000 miles the trip by sea to San Francisco from New York
Moderator Note: This thread is temporarily locked.
29 Dec 2021, 00:29
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Quote:
• Modifiers
The first part of the sentence is an appositive.
Appositives typically consist of a noun phrase that explains or identifies a subject and are placed right before or right after the subject to which they refer.
• Try to see through the test writer' eyes
All five of these sentences are grammatical.
All of the verb tenses make sense.
None is a stylistic disaster, though some are slightly better than others.
Ask yourself: if not grammar; if not style; if not whatever else I think they ought to be testing, what could they possibly want me to miss?
Answer: meaning.
Which sentence produces the most logical meaning?
• Split #1: Modifiers and logic
Strictly speaking, a waterway (the Panama Canal) cannot be "one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken."
The canal is not a project. It is a throughway, a body of water, a passage.
If the construction of the Panama Canal were not in two of the options (and every option were similar or identical to the Panama Canal), we would be forced to ignore the issue.
But the construction of the Panama Canal is in two options—and it is the better choice to be modified by "one of the most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken."
The construction of the Panama Canal was indeed an engineering project, and a monumentally difficult project at that.
In options A, B, and E, the initial modifier (one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken) is followed by the Panama Canal.
Eliminate options A, B, and E.
(Option E has a fairly major stylistic problem, but you should not eliminate answer on the basis of style unless the error is horrendous or you are breaking a tie.
In option E, the object of the verb "cut" (the trip from NY to SF) does not immediately follow the verb.
Instead, we see the adverbial phrase "from 14,000 miles down to 6,000 miles." ← ← that thing is not the object of the verb cut.
Almost always, you should not separate a verb and its object with long phrases.
Imagine never having read any of these sentences and then reading option E first.)
There is another reason to exclude A, B, and E, which would be
• Split #2: Logic—choose precision
Options C and D remain.
In what way do they differ?
In option C, the construction of the canal allows ships to cut down the distance between New York and San Francisco.
In option D, the construction itself cuts down the distance between New York and San Francisco.
In a very precise sense, the construction itself does not cut down the distance of the trip.
The construction allows ships to cut down the distance of the trip [that they travel].
Compare options C and D.
Which is better? (C!) Which is worse? (D.)
You could also ask another question, with "aha" suspiciousness: does it hurt the sentence to include "ships"?
No? (No. Inserting the words ships does not hurt the sentence. The insertion is not bizarre, lengthy, or awkward.)
Okay, then does that inclusion make the sentence clearer or more sensible?
Yes, it is more sensible that ships cut down the distance than that the construction itself cuts down the distance.
Eliminate option D.
The best answer is option C.
NOTES
This question is tricky.
To sum up, try to stay precise.
Which is closer to an engineering project, the Panama Canal itself, or the construction of the Panama Canal?
The construction! The construction of the canal was, by definition, an engineering project.
We cannot say that the Panama Canal is or was, by definition, an engineering project.
Continue to be precise.
The construction of the canal allows ships that once actually traveled 14,000 miles to cut that distance to 6,000 miles by sailing through the canal.
Does the construction of the canal directly cut down the trip? No.
The nuance in option C is better.
And more to the point: the inclusion of "ships" in option C sets it apart quite clearly from the other four options.
The other answers are not as good as option C because they lack mention of ships.
Finally, one thing you do not need to worry about in this case is whether objects can possess agency.
In English, objects often can and must possess what looks like agency in order to prevent sentences from being ten blocks long.
In all formal writing, most of the time, it is better that things not possess human agency.
Nonetheless, there are times in which, in formal prose, a sentence cannot be written effectively unless we sort of "give" inanimate objects some power.
When all of the options contain some form of inanimate object "agency," stop worrying about that issue.
COMMENTS
Dipu10 and ChakAvi , welcome to SC Butler.
I am glad to have you.
Irrespective of how you answered, you all handled yourselves well, making good (if not winning) arguments for your case.
And I am very glad to see people dare to take on a tricky question!
Well done.
Kudos to correct answers.
I am in the U.S., so to people countries in which the new year begins on January 1, and which are ahead of the U.S. (I think parts of New Zealand and islands in the area, especially the atoll Kiribati, ring in the new year about 15 minutes from now):
Happy New Year!
29 Dec 2021, 00:53
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generis
One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken is a modifier and should properly modify a subject coming after the clause that is the Panama Canal.
So C & D are out.
One of the is singular so right verb form is cuts
A is out.
Between B and E
B has a clear meaning and better structured - cuts x down to y.
So, E is out.
B
