SC -Baseball

Question

This one if from PR verbal book. Please explain your view on this one

BAseball, the only major professional sport during the Great Depression, was  as present as teh weather, and as much discussed.  

a)
b) present like the weather was and it was also discussed as much
c) as present and was discussed as the weather was
d) so present as to be discussed like the weather
e) present and discussed as often as the weather was

gmat2me2 · Answer

Looks like E is the better choices of all.

as present in C and so present in D looks awkward.

E has the simple past tense "was present and discussed "

tsefsnoopy · Answer

I go for E,

we can simplify the sentence in a // structure

Baseball was present and discussed as often as the wheather was present and dissussed

Paul · Answer

A it is
E has some logical reasoning problem. Let's break it down:

BAseball was 
1) present  
and 
2) discussed as often as the weather was

The problem with 1 is that it implies that the weather also was "often" present. However, logically speaking, how can the weather be "often present"?

thearch · Answer

could you explain what's wrong with D, please? In the end (or at the end :roll:

) of the sentence , is the verb necessary?

mckenna · Answer

E.

Baseball, the only major professional sport during the Great Depression, was as present as the weather, and as much discussed. 
a) 
###As present as doesn't sound right.

b) present like the weather was and it was also discussed as much
###Incorrect use of "like". See the usage - As Vs Like
 
c) as present and was discussed as the weather was 
### If at all meaningful, the structure should have been so : 
###"as present as and as discussed as" or "as present and discussed as"
###Even though these constructs are grammatically correct, they still 
###suffer from the original problem - "as present as weather"

d) so present as to be discussed like the weather 
###

e) present and discussed as often as the weather was
###I am more comfortable with this usage - discussed as often as.

greenandwise · Answer

I initially chose E but I have to say I think the answer is A although I am still not sure...

Paul's reasoning seems right to some extent...."present as often as the weather was" sounds illogical but it could also be that since weather is always present the comparison is just meant to convey that as waether is always present (and never not present) similarly baseball was always present (and never not present).

But ultimately I thnk A is the right choice only because with A I can point to nothing that is absolutely wrong about it whereas with E there is that question about how logical the comparison is with weather.

mckenna · Answer

Comparision:
Weather is present all the time, and discussed very often. So is baseball.

I do agree that the "present" part of the sentence is not very logical. I'ld still pick the less evil E.

DLMD · Answer

is there ellipse in A?

was as present as the weather, and as much discussed ( as the weather )?

I initially chose E, but I do agree on Paul's comments.

If there is elipse in A, then A should be the right answer.

Paul · Answer

patrickpui, what is being tested is just the logical application of two disjunct sequence of actions to the subject of the given clause. As I previously mentioned, E implies that sometimes the weather was NOT present. Only A properly dissects the two actions as distinct because baseball can be " as present as the weather was "(A)  but not  " present as often as the weather was "(E). See the nuance here.

ywilfred · Answer

hmm... good point. I picked E myself. Now I understand why it's wrong. :-D

patrickpui · Answer

Thanks Paul. 

Anyone else want to comment on this question? This is a very interesting form of SC question. I don't think I have encountered to many of this. 

By the way, the OA is A.

Pat

SC -Baseball

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