Bunuel
A thing is “nauseous” if it makes one sick to the stomach; the unfortunate victim of this malaise is “nauseated.” The common misuse of “nauseous” can be illustrated with the following sentence: “When he sits too long, turns his head too abruptly, or walks any distance, he gets dizzy, loses balance, and becomes nauseous.” He doesn’t become nauseous unless he turns other people’s stomachs; he becomes nauseated. A person who is nauseated is no more nauseous than a person who has been poisoned is poisonous.
Based on the passage above, which phrase does NOT provide a logical completion to the following sentence?
A person who is nauseated is no more nauseous than a person who has been______
(A) murdered is murderous
(B) corrupted is corruptible
(C) awed is awesome
(D) irritated is irritating
(E) scared is scary
These kind of comparisons aren't GMAT style but no harm is understanding what is given - if for nothing but improving your own vocabulary.
The argument tells us that the term "nauseous" is used for something that causes nausea. It is not to be used for the person who has been caused nausea. So "he was nauseous" means he was making other people sick. It doesn't mean that he was sick. The word for that is "nauseated". He was nauseated.
The same has been explained by this comparison:
A person who is nauseated is no more nauseous than a person who has been poisoned is poisonous.
If someone gets poisoned, will we say he is poisonous (causes poison in others)? No. Similarly, when someone gets nauseated, we should not say he is nauseous (causes nausea in others). We should say he is nauseated. The person is the receiver of the malaise, not the giver.
Similarly,
(A) murdered is murderousIs a logical completion. It says the same thing. The receiver of the impact (murdered) cannot be claimed to be the giver (murderer)
(B) corrupted is corruptibleNot logical completion. This option says that the receiver of the impact (corrupted) cannot be claimed to be capable of receiving the impact (corruptible). This is not the same logic as nauseous and nauseated. In fact, we can say that one who has been corrupted was corruptible. Corruptible means can be corrupted.
It would be the logical completion if we say: corrupted is corrupter (one that corrupts)
(C) awed is awesomeIs a logical completion. One who has been awed cannot be said to cause awe in others.
(D) irritated is irritatingIs a logical completion. One who is irritated cannot be said to cause irritation in others.
(E) scared is scaryIs a logical completion. One who is scared cannot be said to cause others to be scared.
Answer (B)