In 2004 poor global weather forced the company to reduce its stockpile

Question

In 2004 poor global weather forced the company to reduce its stockpile of oil to about 1,000 barrels, about 20 percent  less than those of the 2003 reserves .

A. less than those of the 2003 reserves

B. less than the 2003 reserves

C. less than 2003

D. fewer than 2003

E. fewer than that of the company's 2003 stockpile

daagh · Answer

The comparison is between the 2003 reserves and 2004 reserves. 
 
less than those of the 2003 reserves --- than those is wrong comparison.  'Those' refers to oil barrels.

less than the 2003 reserves -  correct choice

less than 2003 – compares reserves with a year.

fewer than 2003 compares a year;  fewer than is wrong becos, stockpiles or reserves are a quantum

fewer than that of the company's 2003 stockpile –   if ‘that’ refers to the oil barrels, then it is wrong comparison ; if that refers to the stock pile, then it is redundant sine it reads as stockpile of the company’s stockpile. In addition the use of ‘fewer’ is inapt in the context

mvictor · Answer

agree with @daagh's explanation.

the comparison is between the stockpiles in 2003 and the ones in 2004.
C and D are right away eliminated.

percent fewer - nope, we need percent less
E is out.

between A and B, B is better.
A has "those" which already implies the reserves, then we have again reserves...the reserves of the reserves...not good.

B is the best answer.

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:

Creating a filter: When we read the prompt, we find two flags in the underlined portion, the pronoun "those," and also a comparison, which contains the pronoun. The vague pronoun is muddling the comparison. Both logically and grammatically, what are we exactly comparing -- barrels, years, or reserves? Or stockpiles? It can only be one. We have a filter, so we look for an answer choice to dispel this concern.

Applying the filter: Choices (C) and (D) are both simple and thus tempting. But they compare "1,000 barrels" with a year, 2003. We can't compare barrels with a year. Look for more objective problems, we see that choice (E) says "fewer than that." What is "that" compared to? It can't be "barrels," because that's plural, and it can't be "stockpile," because (E) mentions a stockpile later. So (E) has a bad reference and is out. We want to get rid of (A) now. The imaginary author is trying to say that the stockpile becomes 20 percent smaller. The stockpile became 1,000 barrels, according to the sentence. And the words "stockpile" and "reserves" are synonymous; they can be compared. That means (B) is okay. And, finally, we can see a defect in choice (A): the word "those," being plural, would have to refer to "barrels," but then we would have to use "fewer," not "less," since barrels are countable items. The comparison word "fewer" must be used with countable items and the word "less" with non-countable quantities.

The correct answer is (B).

In 2004 poor global weather forced the company to reduce its stockpile

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In 2004 poor global weather forced the company to reduce its stockpile

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