Even though they do not sting or bite, [u]many people are surprised to

Question

Even though they do not sting or bite, many people are surprised to learn that cicadas are benign creatures because they appear threatening.

A. many people are surprised to learn that cicadas are benign creatures because they appear threatening
B. many people are surprised to learn that cicadas are benign creatures ,who appear threatening
C. surprising to many people is to learn that cicadas are benign creatures because they appear threatening
D. cicadas appear threatening, therefore, many people are surprised to learn that they are benign
E. cicadas appear threatening, which causes many people to be surprised when learning that they are benign

Pls give the answer as well as the the explanation for the above question.

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maaadhu · Answer

Mayur,

All the answer choices have flaws.

I think best among lot is D

Even though they do not sting or bite, - who dont sting - Cicadas

So only D & E are possible.

E is too awkward to be correct.

A semicolon required before "therefore" in D

So correct answer choice reads as

D. cicadas appear threatening; therefore, many people are surprised to learn that they are benign "creatures" - creatures is missing

Experts correct me if I am wrong

mayur666 · Answer

maaadhu,

The official answer is D. Even I was not convinced with the answer. I was also thinking of the same issue. The two independent clauses in the sentence cannot be combined by comma followed by 'therefore'. It should either be combined by a semicolon or by a comma followed by one of the FANBOYS.

fameatop · Answer

Even though they do not sting or bite,  many people are surprised to learn that cicadas are benign creatures because they appear threatening. 
A. many people are surprised to learn that cicadas are benign creatures because they appear threatening
B. many people are surprised to learn that cicadas are benign creatures ,who appear threatening
C. surprising to many people is to learn that cicadas are benign creatures because they appear threatening
D. cicadas appear threatening, therefore, many people are surprised to learn that they are benign 
E. cicadas appear threatening, which causes many people to be surprised when learning that they are benign

Before answering this question, I would like to know the source of this question because the options are poorly constructed. Every option contains a mistake or other. Option D is best among the rest, but has flaws as well. 
Even though they do not sting or bite, cicadas appear threatening ,   therefore,  many people are surprised to learn that they are benign

The only problem with this sentence is that THEREFORE acts as CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB, which MUST be preceded by semicolon & followed by a comma as it is in the middle of the sentence. Correct sentence should be
Even though they do not sting or bite, cicadas appear threatening ;  therefore, many people are surprised to learn that they are benign.

I would suggest everyone to stop referring using this source for SC.

mayur666 · Answer

The source is Princeton Review 1,012 practice questions.

Bunuel · Answer

OPEN DISCUSSION OF THIS QUESTION IS HERE: even-though-they-do-not-sting-or-bite-many-people-are-surprised-to-le-199626.html

Even though they do not sting or bite, [u]many people are surprised to

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