In recent years, the Australian government has taken significant measu

Question

In recent years, the Australian government has taken significant measures to preserve the art of the Aboriginal people,  whose paintings and sculptures are highly unique, their deceptively simple designs embellished with rich and imaginative symbolism and in a style that varies from artist to artist and region to region .

(A) whose paintings and sculptures are highly unique, their deceptively simple designs embellished with rich and imaginative symbolism and in a style that varies from artist to artist and region to region

(B) whose paintings and sculptures are highly unique, their deceptively simple designs are embellished with rich and imaginative symbolism and their style is varying from artist to artist and region to region

(C) whose paintings and sculptures are highly unique, their deceptively simple designs are embellished with rich and imaginative symbolism, and they are in styles that vary from artist to artist and region to region

(D) with paintings and sculptures highly unique, their deceptively simple designs embellished with rich and imaginative symbolism, and their style varies among artists and regions

(E) with paintings and sculptures that are highly unique, their deceptively simple designs embellished with rich and imaginative symbolism, and their styles vary among artists and regions

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zhanbo · Answer

My answer is  (A) . It took me 01:49.

(A) In this version, "their deceptively simple designs embellished with ..." is an absolute phrase. 
My issue with (A): "from artist to artist and region to region" should be "from artist to artist and  from  region to region" or other constructs. 
By scanning the other options, I see "their styles vary among artists and regions", which  might  be better. But Keep (A) for now.

(B) At first glance, it contains Comma Splice Error. 
If the sentence structure is supposed to be "X, Y, and Z", there should be a comma before "and their style is ...".
Even if the comma is added, X, Y and Z are not parallel in their meanings. 
In addition, "their style" should be "their styles". The use of progressive verb tense is not justified.

(C) As in (A), it uses "from artist to artist and region to region".
The sentence structure indicates "X, Y, and Z" construct, but the first clause ("the Australian government has taken significant measures to preserve the art of the Aboriginal people") does not parallel in meaning with the second and third clause. 
The second and third clause are more aligned with "whose paintings and sculptures are highly unique". After all, the antecedent for "their/they" is "whose paintings and sculptures". With such reasonable interpretation, however, the sentence fails to maintain parallelism.

(D) "their style varies among artists and regions" is a clause, which is not parallel with such phrase as "their deceptively simple designs embellished with rich and imaginative symbolism".
"their style" should be "their styles".
"with paintings and sculptures highly unique" is highly awkward.

(E) "their styles vary among artists and regions" is a clause, which is not parallel with such phrase as "their deceptively simple designs embellished with rich and imaginative symbolism".
The issue in (E) is more serious than that in (A).

PyjamaScientist · Answer

(A)  for me. I tool 01:57.

Though I am not sure if (A) is  spot-free  here. But, it is certainly the best among the given choices.

" their deceptively simple designs embellished with rich and imaginative symbolism and in a style that varies from artist to artist and region to region ", is a noun + noun modifier (or an absolute phrase) modifying the  Paintings and Sculptures . Rest of the choices have glaring comparison, verb-tense errors.

Sushil117 · Answer

(A) whose paintings and sculptures are highly unique, their deceptively simple designs embellished with rich and imaginative symbolism and in a style that varies from artist to artist and region to region
 not the best sounding but hold on to this one

(B) whose paintings and sculptures are highly unique, their deceptively simple designs are embellished with rich and imaginative symbolism and their style is varying from artist to artist and region to region
"style is varying"...not happening right now. Incorrect

(C) whose paintings and sculptures are highly unique, their deceptively simple designs are embellished with rich and imaginative symbolism, and they are in styles that vary from artist to artist and region to region
"their deceptively simple designs" talking about the Aboriginal people.however,"they are in styles " talks about paintings and scriptures .incorrect
also has the problem as D

(D) with paintings and sculptures highly unique, their deceptively simple designs embellished with rich and imaginative symbolism, and their style varies among artists and regions
their deceptively...their + adjective ..not parallel to "their style"...their + noun

(E) with paintings and sculptures that are highly unique, their deceptively simple designs embellished with rich and imaginative symbolism, and their styles vary among artists and regions
same as D
IMO A

Bunuel · Answer

Expert's Global Official Explanation:

Meaning + Parallelism + Modifiers

Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that “the Australian government” has taken measures to preserve the art of the Aboriginal people, and the paintings and sculptures produced by these people are highly unique and are embellished with rich and imaginative symbolism that varies from artist to artist and region to region.

• A list separated by commas represents similar elements; in this case, the three phrases involved have different roles in the correct meaning of the sentence.
• In the “clause + comma + modifying phrase” construction, the modifying phrase acts upon the noun immediately preceding the comma, and the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
• Information that is permanent in nature is best expressed through the simple present tense.
• The simple present continuous tense is used to refer to actions that are currently ongoing and continuous in nature.

A. Correct.  This answer choice correctly uses “whose paintings and sculptures are highly unique” to modify “Aboriginal people”, conveying the intended meaning of the crucial part of the sentence- that “the Australian government” has taken measures to preserve the art of the Aboriginal people, and the paintings and sculptures produced by these people are highly unique. Further, Option A correctly uses a conjunction (“and” in this sentence) to join the interdependent modifying phrases “with rich and imaginative symbolism” and “in a style that varies…”, keeping them separate from the independent modifying phrase “whose paintings and…”.Additionally, Option A correctly uses the simple present tense verb “varies” to refer to information that is permanent in nature.

B. Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the clause “their deceptively simple designs are… and their style is varying…”; the construction of this clause incorrectly implies that the style of the paintings and sculptures varies from artist to artist and region to region; the intended meaning of the crucial part of the sentence is that the designs of the paintings and sculptures are embellished with rich and imaginative symbolism and are also embellished in a style that varies from artist to artist and region to region. Further, Option B incorrectly uses the present continuous verb “is varying” to refer to information that is permanent in nature; remember, information that is permanent in nature is best expressed through the simple present tense.

C. Trap. This answer choice incorrectly places the independent phrase “whose paintings and sculptures are highly unique” in a list alongside the interdependent phrases, “their deceptively simple designs are embellished…” and “they are in styles that vary …”; please remember, a list separated by commas represents similar elements; in this case, the three phrases involved have different roles in the correct meaning of the sentence.

D. This answer choice incorrectly uses “with paintings and sculptures highly unique” to modify “Aboriginal people”, incorrectly implying that “the Australian government” has taken measures to preserve the art of only those Aboriginal people who have unique paintings and sculptures; the intended meaning of the sentence is that “the Australian government” has taken measures to preserve the art of the Aboriginal people, and the paintings and sculptures produced by these people are highly unique; please remember, in the “clause + comma + modifying phrase” construction, the modifying phrase acts upon the noun immediately preceding the comma, and the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Further, Option D incorrectly places the independent phrase “with paintings and sculptures highly unique” in a list alongside the interdependent phrases, “their deceptively simple designs are embellished…” and “their style varies among artists and regions”; please remember, a list separated by commas represents similar elements; in this case, the three phrases involved have different roles in the correct meaning of the sentence.

E. This answer choice incorrectly uses “with paintings and sculptures that are highly unique” to modify “Aboriginal people”, incorrectly implying that “the Australian government” has taken measures to preserve the art of only those Aboriginal people who have unique paintings and sculptures; the intended meaning of the sentence is that “the Australian government” has taken measures to preserve the art of the Aboriginal people, and the paintings and sculptures produced by these people are highly unique; please remember, in the “clause + comma + modifying phrase” construction, the modifying phrase acts upon the noun immediately preceding the comma, and the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Further, Option E incorrectly places the independent phrase “with paintings and sculptures that are highly unique” in a list alongside the interdependent phrases, “their deceptively simple designs are embellished…” and “their styles vary among artists and regions”; please remember, a list separated by commas represents similar elements; in this case, the three phrases involved have different roles in the correct meaning of the sentence.

A is the best answer choice.

Bunuel · Answer

Expert's Global Video Explanation:

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In recent years, the Australian government has taken significant measu

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In recent years, the Australian government has taken significant measu

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