With the cold war against the Soviet Union long over and our nations

Question

With the cold war against the Soviet Union long over and our nation’s youth losing ground academically to the rest of the world, it is time for our  society to reconsider its priorities regarding  education and national defense.

(A) society to reconsider its priorities regarding

(B) society’s members to reconsider the priorities of

(C) society to reprioritize the value of

(D) society to reconsider their priorities with respect to

(E) society to reconsider whether to prioritize

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0Lucky0 · Answer

With the cold war against the Soviet Union long over and our nation’s youth losing ground academically to the rest of the world, it is time for our  society to reconsider its priorities regarding  education and national defense.

(A) society to reconsider its priorities regarding
 Sounds pretty good, lets keep this.

(B) society ’s members  to reconsider the priorities of
 flawed construction.

(C) society to reprioritize the  value of 
 changes the meaning of the sentence.

(D) society to reconsider  their  priorities with respect to
 incorrect use of their.

(E) society to reconsider whether to prioritize
 changes the meaning of the sentence.

I believe A is the right answer.

$!vakumar.m · Answer

The intended meaning is that  the society (i.e., its members collectively) needs to reconsider  its priorities  on education and national defense in context with the background information given in first part of the sentence.
society is singular so 'its' is correct usage 'their' is incorrect - option D is out

(A) society to reconsider its priorities regarding - clear and concise construction - correct.

(B) society’s members to reconsider  the priorities of  - distorted meaning - Incorrect
our society's members - awkward - we can say our society because we are part of it but can we say our members? 
 
(C) society to reprioritize the value of - distorted meaning -are we going to reprioritize the value of education and national defense - Incorrect

(E) society to reconsider whether to prioritize - distorted meaning - aim is to reprioritize education and national defense and not to decide whether to prioritize or not - Incorrect

Answer A

RICHA1189 · Answer

IMO A it - no antecedent required for generalisation, possessive its - antecedent - society

Other options

D and B - wrong usage of plural with collective noun society

C - changes the meaning

E - use of the word wether is inappropriate

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The correct answer is (A).

The original version is the best one. The singular pronoun  its  is proper here because it refers to the singular  society ; the word  regarding  (which means “with respect to” or “concerning”), is also used properly here. Choices (B), (C), and (E) are grammatically correct, but they all fail to convey the sentence’s intended recommendation to shift priorities between education and national defense. Choice (D) incorrectly uses the plural pronoun form  their  instead of  its .

With the cold war against the Soviet Union long over and our nations

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With the cold war against the Soviet Union long over and our nations

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