Using technology as new as space-age fabrics and as ordinary as common

Question

Using technology as new as space-age fabrics  and as ordinary as common dry-cleaning chemicals, scientists and historians, in their attempt at cleaning and preserving the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814, are hoping  that it will then last another 200 years.

(A) and as ordinary as common dry-cleaning chemicals, scientists and historians, in their attempt at cleaning and preserving the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814, are hoping

(B) and as ordinary as common dry-cleaning chemicals, scientists and historians are attempting to clean and preserve the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814, hoping

(C) and as ordinary as common dry-cleaning chemicals, an attempt by scientists and historians to clean and preserve the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814 is being made in the hope

(D) but also as ordinary as common dry-cleaning chemicals, scientists and historians who are attempting to clean and preserve the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814, hoping

(E) but also as ordinary as common dry-cleaning chemicals, an attempt by scientists and historians at cleaning and preserving the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814 in hopes

kaijen · Answer

how to choose between (A) and (B)? 

 it  will then last another 200 years 
What does "it" refer to?








Ans: (B)

GK_Gmat · Answer

I pick B. 

C, E are out because of modifier errors. D is out because it uses 'but also' incorrectly.

A is out because it uses 'attempt at cleaning & preserving' which is incorrect in this context. Correct usage in this context should be 'attempt to clean & preserve.

GMATBLACKBELT · Answer

Ya stuck btwn A and B. I know its crude, but when I'm stuck I just go for brevity and well over half the time the correct choice out of the two is the shorter choice. <--use as last option though.

So I go w/ B. 

"in their attempt at" seems awkward

Just realized: correct idiom is attempt to, not attempt at.

rohitkumar77 · Answer

b :

I choose bw a and b by this rule :-

attempt at is used only with nouns (or things that are equivalent to nouns): it was his third attempt at the world record. 
attempt to, by contrast, is used for infinitives: his attempt to break the world record was thwarted when he was injured.

so B ;

prihriv · Answer

Using technology as new as space-age fabrics  and as ordinary as common dry-cleaning chemicals, scientists and historians, in their attempt at cleaning and preserving the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814, are hoping  that it will then last another 200 years.

(A) and as ordinary as common dry-cleaning chemicals, scientists and historians,  in their attempt at cleaning and preserving the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814 , are hoping  meaning differ OUT  ]

(B) and as ordinary as common dry-cleaning chemicals, scientists and historians are attempting to clean and preserve the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814, hoping  better so keep it

(C) and as ordinary as common dry-cleaning chemicals,  an attempt  by scientists and historians to clean and preserve the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814 is being made in the hope   scientist and historians are modified here.OUT

(D)  but also  as ordinary as common dry-cleaning chemicals, scientists and historians who are attempting to clean and preserve the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814, hoping  not only required for but also usage here. OUT

(E) but also as ordinary as common dry-cleaning chemicals,  an attempt  by scientists and historians at cleaning and preserving the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814 in hopes   scientist and historians are modified here OUT

casperatwork · Answer

when do we use 'attempt at' and 'attempt to'

shaarang · Answer

Usually, "attempt" is followed by an infinitive. Eg. His attempt  to reduce  accidents.

However, if the word(s) that follow "attempt" is not a verb (usually in case of a noun or a gerund), "at" can be used. Eg. He failed in his attempt at  passing  the test. or It was my first attempt at  it .

Hoozan · Answer

Using technology as new as space-age fabrics  and as ordinary as common dry-cleaning chemicals, scientists and historians, in their attempt at cleaning and preserving the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814, are hoping  that it will then last another 200 years.

Meaning Analysis:   Scientists and historians are using new and ordinary technology to clean and preserve the s specific American flag. By doing so they hope that they will be able to preserve this flag for another 200 years.

Sentence Structure: 
Using  (Noun modifier modifying "scientists and historians") 
technology  (element 1 of comparison) 
as new as  (first comparison marker) 
space-age fabrics  (element 2 of comparison)
 and  (parallelism marker) 
as ordinary as  (second comparison marker) 
common dry-cleaning chemicals  (element 3 of comparison ; element 1 is compared with element 3) 
, scientists and historians  (Subject) (Noun that is modified by the entire preceding noun modifier    "Using technology...chemicals"   ) 
, in their attempt at  (additional information about scientists and historians)  
cleaning  (element 1 of parallel list) 
and  (parallel marker) 
preserving  (element 2 of parallel list) 
the American flag  (object of the sentence) 
that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814,  (relative pronoun modifier beginning with "that" and modifying the previous noun "American flag")   (Note - This modifier qualifies as an essential modifier since it begins with relative pronoun "that") 
are hoping  (Verb of the subject "scientists and historians") 
that  (connector) 
it  (Subject - "it" refers to the "American flag") 
will then last  (Verb "will last" of previous subject "it") 
another 200 years.  (additional information stating the duration of how long the flag is expected to last)

(A) and as ordinary as common dry-cleaning chemicals, scientists and historians, in their attempt at cleaning and preserving the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814,  are hoping  -  Incorrect.

(1)  Meaning  - this sentence states that by using new and ordinary technology scientists and historians hope to preserve the flag for another 200 years. While I don't find this completely wrong, I believe it makes much more sense to say that "scientists and historians (by using technology) are preserving the flag" 
(2)  Structure  - The bigger issue out here, I believe, is the fact that "in their attempt" is placed in a COMMA PAIR thus rendering it as a non essential modifier. This information is important while deciphering the meaning of the sentence.

If we want, we can hold on to (A) and move on until we find a better answer.

(B) and as ordinary as common dry-cleaning chemicals, scientists and historians are attempting to clean and preserve the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814, hoping -  Correct.  
This sentence makes much more sense that (A). "hoping" is not an action modifier stating the result of the previous clause. By using technology, scientists and historians are trying to preserve the flag and as a result are hoping that they will succeed in preserving the flag for another 200 years

(C) and as ordinary as common dry-cleaning chemicals,  an attempt  by scientists and historians to clean and preserve the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814 i s being made  in the hope -  Incorrect

(1)  Modifier error  - Now the noun modifier "using" is modifying the noun "an attempt". It is illogical to say that the "attempt" is using technology 
(1)  Note -  "is being made" is correct in my opinion since "being" is correctly used as a passive progressive tense.
E.g- The tenants  are being evacuated  from the building

(D)  but also  as ordinary as common dry-cleaning chemicals, scientists and historians who are attempting to clean and preserve the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814, hoping -  Incorrect.

(1)  Idiom error  - we need "not only" before "but also"

(E)  but also  as ordinary as common dry-cleaning chemicals,  an attempt  by scientists and historians at cleaning and preserving the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814 in hopes -  Incorrect.
  Errors of  (C)  and  (D)  are repeated

Correct choice:   (B)

thangvietnam · Answer

the meaning in choice A is

using the technology, the scientists are hopping

"using " modify "are hopping". this is not logical. these 2 actions can not be in modification relation.

choice B is
using the technology, the scientist are attemp to preserve.
this is good.

NiravUmaretiya · Answer

A vs B

Both seem parallel at first glance, so you have to choose to identify a grammatical mistake in one of them or a meaning-based mistake in it.

Grammatical error is hard to find, but the meaning issue is far more obvious.

--> Scientists and historians are   not hoping    that that flag will be preserved for the next 200 years using modern and common technologies.

--> They are   rather attempting   to clean the flag using modern and common technologies.

With this approach, B makes maximum sense.

AbhishekDhanraJ72 · Answer

Someone please explain other than idiom error in option A, what is wrong?

Posted from my mobile device

AbhishekDhanraJ72 · Answer

Someone please explain other than idiom error in option A, what is wrong?

Posted from my mobile device

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  AbhishekDhanraJ72 ,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, Option A incorrectly places information that is vital to the core meaning of the sentence - the fact that the scientists and historians are attempting to clean and preserve the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1814 - between two commas; remember, information that is important to the core meaning of the sentence must never be placed between commas.

To understand the usage of a pair of commas on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~4 minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeYAQvFwbNs

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

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Using technology as new as space-age fabrics and as ordinary as common

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Using technology as new as space-age fabrics and as ordinary as common

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