Wednesday, April 30, 2008

SC's Question number - 711 , 712

711). The Commerce Department announced that the economy grew during the second quarter at a 7.5 percent annual rate, while inflation eased when it might have been expected for it to rise.

(A) it might have been expected for it to rise


(B) it might have been expected to rise

(C) it might have been expected that it should rise (

D) its rise might have been expected

(E) there might have been an expectation it would rise

712).The commission acknowledged that no amount of money or staff members can ensure the safety of people who live in the vicinity of a nuclear plant, but it approved the installation because it believed that all reasonable precautions had been taken.

(A) no amount of money or staff members


(B) neither vast amounts of money nor staff members


(C) neither vast amounts of money nor numbers of staff members


(D) neither vast amounts of money nor a large staff

(E) no matter how large the staff or how vast the amount of money


Answers:

711). (OG 11th Ques no - 32) - OA - B - idiomatic - X is expected to Y is the correct idiomatic expression

A, C - incorrect - unidiomatic

D - incorrect - passive, violating parallelism - its rise is not parallel to inflation

E - incorrect - wordy

712). OA - D - parallel - neither X nor Y

A - incorrect - use of amount is wrong - cannot use amount for
staff members(countable)

B, C - incorrect - violating parallelism

E - incorrect - wordy and awkward





SC's Question number - 713 , 714

713). The commission has directed advertisers to restrict the use of the word “natural” to foods that do not contain color or flavor additives, chemical preservatives, or nothing that has been synthesized.

(A)
or nothing that has been

(B)
or that has been

(C) and nothing that is

(D) or anything that has been

(E) and anything


714). The commission proposed
that funding for the park’s development, which could be open to the public early next year, is obtained through a local bond issue.

(A) that funding for the park’s development, which could be open to the public early next year, is


(B) that funding for development of the park, which could be open to the public early next year, be


(C) funding for the development of the park, perhaps open to the public early next year, to be


(D) funds for the park’s development, perhaps open to the public early next year, be


(E) development funding for the park, which could be open to the public early next year, is to be

Answers:


713). (OG 11th Ques no - 14) - OA - D
- not X, Y, or Z

A, C - incorrect - double negative - ...not...nothing...

B - incorrect - that has been synthesized distorts the meaning by referring to foods, rather than to something added to a food

E - incorrect - and distorts the meaning and violates parallelism. List of prohibited ingredients must be connected by or

714). (OG 10th Ques no - 164) - OA - B

OE: Choice B is best.

A - incorrect - attaches the relative clause which could be open ... to the noun development, when, in fact, it is the park that could be open.

C - incorrect - omits that, the object of proposed that is needed to
introduce the clause describing the proposal. C also uses to be unidiomatically where be is correct: the commission proposed [that] funding ... to be obtained is wrong.

D - incorrect - incorrectly uses perhaps open to the public ... to modify development; the phrase should modify park.

E - incorrect - distorts meaning, says that the commission proposed development funding and that such funding could be open to the public ....

SC's Question number - 715 , 716

715). The commission’s office of compliance, inspections, and investigations plans to intensify its scrutiny of stock analysts to investigate not only whether research is an independent function at brokerage firms, but also whether conflicts result when analysts own the stocks they write about or when they are paid for their work by a firm’s investment.

(A) to investigate not only whether research is an independent function at brokerage firms, but also whether conflicts result when analysts own the stocks they write about or when they are

(B) to investigate not only whether research is an independent function at brokerage firms, but also if conflicts result when analysts own the stocks they write about or they are

(C) to not only investigate whether or not research is an independent function at brokerage firms, but also if conflicts result when analysts own the stocks they write about or are

(D) not only to investigate whether or not research is an independent function at brokerage firms, but also whether conflicts result when analysts own the stocks they write about or are

(E) not only to investigate whether research is an independent function at brokerage firms, but also whether conflicts result when analysts own the stocks they write about or when


716). The company announced that its profits declined much less in the second quarter than analysts had expected it to and its business will improve in the second half of the year.

(A) had expected it to and its business will improve

(B) had expected and that its business would improve

(C) expected it would and that it will improve its business

(D) expected them to and its business would improve

(E) expected and that it will have improved its business


Answers:


715). OA - A

B, C, D, E - incorrect - violating parallelism - not only X but also Y - X, Y should be parallel

C, D - incorrect - redundant - ...whether or not...

E - incorrect - awkward ending

716). (OG 10th Ques no - 250) - OA - B

OE: B, the best choice, avoids errors of agreement, correctly uses the parallel construction that x and that y, and uses would rather than will to refer to a promised but uncertain future event.

A, C - incorrect - singular it after expected has no grammatical referent: its antecedent cannot be The company, but rather must be the plural
profits. A and C also contain errors of verb form, using will where would is required.
A, D - incorrect - fail to maintain parallel structure: properly formed, the construction would have that after expected to parallel that after announced. Furthermore, in D, the addition of them to is unnecessary.

E - incorrect - illogically uses the future perfect will have improved to suggest completion of an action that will be continuous in the second half of the year.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

SC's Question number - 717 , 718

717). The company is negotiating to sell its profitable credit card subsidiary, which it plans to use money from to acquire some of the mortgage-servicing operations that are being sold by troubled savings institutions.

(A) subsidiary, which it plans to use money from


(B) subsidiary, from which it plans to use money

(C) subsidiary, and it plans the use of money from that

(D) subsidiary and plans to use money from that sale

(E) subsidiary and plans the use of money from that sale

718). The complex tax dispute between the Covered Bridge Mall and Harris
Township is not likely to be adjudicated for several years, and, in the meantime,
both sides are intent on creating difficulties for the other.

(A) both sides are intent on creating difficulties for the other


(B) both sides are intent on creating difficulties for each other

(C) each side is intent on creating difficulties for the other

(D) each side is intent on creating difficulties for one another


(E) the sides are both intent on creating difficulties for each other


Answers:

717). OA - D

A, B, C - incorrect - incorrectly says that
the money obtained is from credit card subsidiary instead of saying that the money obtained is from the sale of credit card subsidiary

E - incorrect - wordy and awkward


718). OA - C

A, B, E - incorrect -
the difference between each/the other and both/each other - use each when the parties are more separate, and use both when the parties are collaborating.(courtesy Erin)

D - incorrect -
Use one another for reference to more than two (http://www.bartelby.com/68/1/2101.html)

Monday, April 28, 2008

SC's Question number - 719 , 720

719). The computer software being designed for a project studying Native American access to higher education will not only meet the needs of that study, but also has the versatility and power of facilitating similar research endeavors.

(A) but also has the versatility and power of facilitating

(B) but also have the versatility and power to facilitate

(C) but it also has the versatility and power to facilitate

(D) and also have the versatility and power of facilitating

(E) and it also has such versatility and power that it can facilitate


720). The concept of the grand jury dates from the twelfth century, when Henry II of England ordered panels of common citizens should prepare lists of who were their communities’ suspected criminals.

(A) should prepare lists of who were their communities’ suspected criminals

(B) would do the preparation of lists of their communities’ suspected criminals

(C) preparing lists of suspected criminals in their communities

(D) the preparing of a list of suspected criminals in their communities

(E) to prepare lists of suspected criminals in their communities


Answers:

719). OA - B -....
will not only meet the needs of that study, but also have the versatility and power to facilitate...

A - incorrect - unidiomatic power of . Further singular verb has is wrong. (Rule:
should/would/could/should/will/can/may/might/ought never take singular verbs)


C, D, E - incorrect - violating parallelism - right form ...not only X but also Y....

720). OA - E - Explanation on link below
Question no 39

SC's Question number - 721 , 722

721). The current administration, being worried over some foreign trade barriers being removed and our exports failing to increase as a result of deep cuts in the value of the dollar, has formed a group to study ways to sharpen our competitiveness.

(A) being worried over some foreign trade barriers being removed and our exports failing

(B) worrying over some foreign trade barriers being removed, also over the failure of our exports

(C) worried about the removal of some foreign trade barriers and the failure of our exports

(D) in that they were worried about the removal of some foreign trade barriers and also about the failure of our exports

(E) because of its worry concerning the removal of some foreign trade barriers, also concerning the failure of our exports

722). The data collected by weather airplanes that fly into the heart of a hurricane are useful mainly for gauging the storm’s structure and strength, not for the speed and the path of their movement.

(A) not for the speed and the path of their movement

(B) not for the speed and path of its movement

(C) not the speed and path of its movement

(D) and not the speed and path of their movements

(E) and not for the speed and the path of its movements


Answers:

721). OA - C - idiomatic and parallel - worried about X and Y

A - incorrect - passive and unidiomatic

B - incorrect - unidiomatic

D - incorrect - pronoun error - The current administration(singular).....in that they(plural)

E - incorrect - wordy

722). OA - C - parallel and idiomatic - gauging the (X and Y) not the (P and Q)

A, D - incorrect - pronoun error - ...storm's structure(singular)....their(plural)...

B - incorrect - unidiomatic - right idiom is for X, not Y

E - incorrect -
use of and

SC's Question number - 723 , 724

723). The debate over bilingual education centers on the issue of whether the United States should foster the idea of single common language, an idea, some believe, that has in the past been crucial in binding diverse constituencies together.

(A) been crucial in binding diverse constituencies together

(B) been crucial as a binding together of diverse constituencies

(C) been crucial to bind together constituencies that are diverse

(D) become crucial in binding together diverse constituencies

(E) become crucial to bind together constituencies that are diverse


724). The decision by one of the nation’s largest banks to admit to $3 billion in potential losses on foreign loans could mean less lending by commercial banks to developing countries and increasing the pressure on multi government lenders to supply the funds.

(A) increasing the pressure

(B) the increasing pressure

(C) increased pressure

(D) the pressure increased

(E) the pressure increasing


Answers:

723). OA - A - right idiom crucial in

B, C, E - incorrect - unidiomatic

D - incorrect - has been is better than has become - wrongly suggests that it still becoming crucial today


724). OA - C - parallelism - ...
less lending(noun) by commercial banks to developing countries increased pressure(noun)...

A, B, D, E - incorrect - violating parallelism

Saturday, April 26, 2008

SC's Question number - 725 , 726

725). The decisions of John Marshall, the fourth chief justice, have had a greater influence than any chief justice in history.

(A) than any chief justice in history

(B) historically than any other chief justice

(C) than have those of any chief justice in history

(D) in history as any other chief justice has had

(E) than those of any other chief justice in history

726).The delinquency rates on mortgages for office buildings, hotels, shopping malls, and other commercial properties held by the nation’s insurance companies
in recent months have increased sharply, leading to predictions that foreclosures on these types of loan could double over the next three years.

(A) in recent months have increased sharply, leading to predictions that foreclosures on these types of loan could double over the next three years

(B) have increased sharply in recent months, leading to predictions that foreclosures on these types of loans could double over the next three years

(C) have increased sharply in recent months, leading to predictions that doubling of foreclosures on these types of loans could occur over the next three years

(D) has increased sharply in recent months, and lead to predictions that over the next three years doubling of foreclosures on this type of loan could occur

(E) in recent months has increased sharply, and this leads to predictions that foreclosures on that type of loan in the next three years could double


Answers:

725). OA - E - The decisions of....than those of...

A, B, C, D - incorrect - wrong comparison


726). OA - B

A - incorrect - modifier error

C - incorrect - wordy

D, E - incorrect - subject verb agreement - .....rates(plural).....has(singular)....

SC's Question number - 727 , 728

727). The demand for airplane mechanics is expected to grow about ten percent a year in the next decade, largely because new federal rules calling for major modifications to older planes and because the airlines are adding hundreds of new jets.

(A) new federal rules calling for major modifications to older planes

(B) new federal rules, which call for major modifications to older planes

(C) new federal rules call for major modifications to older planes

(D) major modifications to older planes called for by new federal rules

(E) major modifications to older planes are called for according to new federal rules


728). The department defines a private passenger vehicle as one registered to an individual with a gross weight of less than 8,000 pounds.

(A) as one registered to an individual with a gross weight of less than 8,000 pounds

(B) to be one that is registered to an individual with a gross weight of less than 8,000 pounds

(C) as one that is registered to an individual and that has a gross weight of less than 8,000 pounds

(D) to have a gross weight less than 8,000 pounds and being registered to an individual

(E) as having a gross weight of less than 8,000 pounds and registered to an individual


Answers:

727). OA - C - correct - The demand for airplane mechanics is expected to grow about ten percent a year in the next decade, largely because new federal rules call(verb) for major modifications to older planes(clause) and because the airlines are adding(verb) hundreds of new jets(clause)

A - incorrect - violating parallelism -
The demand for airplane mechanics is expected to grow about ten percent a year in the next decade, largely because new federal rules calling for major modifications to older planes(noun phrase) and because the airlines are adding hundreds of new jets(clause)

B - incorrect - violating parallelism - The demand for airplane mechanics is expected to grow about ten percent a year in the next decade, largely because new federal rules(noun), which call for major modifications to older planes(non-restrictive clause) and because the airlines are adding hundreds of new jets(clause)

D, E - incorrect - passive

728). OA - C - idiomatic - define X as Y

A, B - incorrect - illogically says
individual weights 8000 pounds or less

D - incorrect - unidiomatic

E - incorrect - violating parallelism

SC's Question number - 729 , 730

729). The development of a new jumbo rocket that is expected to carry the United States into its next phase of space exploration will be able to deliver a heavier load of instruments into orbit than the space shuttle and at a lower cost.

(A) The development of a new jumbo rocket that is expected to carry the United States into its next phase of space exploration will be able to deliver a heavier load of instruments into orbit than the space shuttle and at a lower cost.

(B) The development of a new jumbo rocket is expected to carry the United States into its next phase of space exploration and be able to deliver a heavier load of instruments into orbit at a lower cost than the space shuttle.

(C) The new development of a jumbo rocket, which is expected to carry the United States into its next phase of space exploration, will be able to deliver a heavier load of instruments into orbit at a lower cost than the space shuttle.

(D) A newly developed jumbo rocket, which is expected to carry the United States into its next phase of space exploration, will be able to deliver a heavier load of instruments into orbit than the space shuttle can, and at a lower cost.

(E) A newly developed jumbo rocket, which is expected to carry the United States into its next phase of space exploration, will be able to deliver a heavier load of instruments into orbit than the space shuttle and to cost less.


730). The diet of the ordinary Greek in classical times was largely vegetarian—vegetables, fresh cheese, oatmeal, and meal cakes, and meat rarely.

(A) and meat rarely

(B) and meat was rare

(C) with meat as rare

(D) meat a rarity

(E) with meat as a rarity


Answers:

729). (OG 11th Ques no - 103) - OA - D

A- incorrect - the subject should be the rocket, not its development; verb can is needed after space shuttle to create a correct comparison; that should be replaced by which and the clause should be set off with comma


B, C - incorrect - the subject should be the rocket, not its development; verb can is needed after space shuttle to create a correct comparison

E - incorrect - verb can is needed after space shuttle to create a correct comparison; to cost less is confusing because it seems parallel to deliver


730). (OG 10th Ques no - 104) - OA - E

OE: The best answer here must qualify the statement made in the main clause. The diet... was largely vegetarian: it cannot be treated as part of the list of vegetarian foods. In other words, the best answer must logically and
grammatically attach to the main clause when the list is omitted.
Clearly phrased, grammatically linked, and idiomatically sound, choice E is best.

A - incorrect - fails this test: The diet. . . was largely vegetarian, and meat rarely

B - incorrect - the wording is imprecise and ambiguous--for example, it could mean that meat was scarce, or that it was not well done or medium

C - incorrect - is unidiomatic

D - incorrect - fails also, because it lacks a function word such as with to link it to the main clause


Thursday, April 24, 2008

SC's Question number - 731 , 732

731). The direction in which the Earth and the other solid planets—Mercury, Venus, and Mars—spins were determined from collisions with giant celestial bodies in the early history of the Solar System.

(A) spins were determined from

(B) spins were determined because of

(C) spins was determined through

(D) spin was determined by

(E) spin was determined as a result of

732). The distinctive hereditary tartans
that are alleged to be worn since antiquity by members of the Highland clans were in fact designed by Scottish woolen manufacturers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

(A) that are alleged to be worn

(B) alleged to have been worn

(C) that are worn, it was alleged

(D) alleged as having been worn

(E) that are worn, allegedly


Answers:

731). OA - D

A, B, C - incorrect - subject verb agreement - ...
Earth and the other solid planets—Mercury, Venus, and Mars(plural).....spins(singular)

E - incorrect - wordy and unidiomatic. Right idiom is determined by

732). OA - B

A - incorrect - wrong tense

C, D, E - incorrect - unidiomatic - right idiom is alleged to

SC's Question number - 733 , 734

733). The distribution of mass within the core of the Earth, like the mantle that surrounds the core, has been deduced from the orbital behavior of the Earth and the motions of satellites controlled by the gravity of the Earth.

(A) the mantle that surrounds the core


(B) that within the mantle surrounding the core


(C) that of the mantle surrounding the core


(D) the mantle the core surrounds

(E) the distribution of mass within the mantle that surrounds the core

734).
The domesticated camel, which some scholars date around the twelfth century B.C., was the key to the development of the spice trade in the ancient world.

(A) The domesticated camel, which some scholars date


(B) The domesticated camel, which some scholars having thought to occur

(C) Domesticating the camel, dated by some scholars at


(D) The domestication of the camel, thought by some scholars to have occurred

(E) The camel’s domestication, dated by some scholars to have been

Answers:

733). OA - B - right comparison - comparing
the distribution of mass within the core and that within the mantle surrounding the core

A - incorrect - wrongly compares
the distribution of mass within the core of the earth to the mantle

C - incorrect - wrongly compares distribution of mass within the core of the Earth to the distribution of the mantle

D - incorrect - wrongly compares distribution of mass to the mantle

E - incorrect - wordy

734). OA - D

A, B - incorrect - illogically suggest that camel instead of process of domesticating the camel was the key


C - incorrect - modifier error

E - incorrect - wrong structure. Correct structure: noun+be verb+noun/adjective
Beautiful explanation by Erin here

Monday, April 21, 2008

SC's Question number - 735 , 736

735). The earnings of women are well below that of men in spite of educational differences that are diminishing between the sexes.

(A) well below that of men in spite of educational differences that are diminishing

(B) much below that of men’s despite educational differences diminishing


(C) much below men in spite of diminishing educational difference


(D) well below those of men in spite of diminishing educational differences


(E) below men’s despite their educational differences that are diminishing


736). The economic forces which may affect the new public offering of stock include sudden downturns in the market, hedging and other investor strategies for preventing losses,
loosening the interest rates in Washington, and fearing that the company may still be undercapitalized.

(A) loosening the interest rates in Washington, and fearing that the company may still be undercapitalized


(B) loosening the interest rates in Washington, and a fear of the company still being undercapitalized

(C) a loosening of the interest rates in Washington, and fearing that the company may still be undercapitalized

(D) a loosening of the interest rates in Washington, and a fear of the still undercapitalized company


(E) a loosening of the interest rates in Washington, and a fear that the company may still be undercapitalized


Answers: 735). OA - D

A, B - incorrect - use of that is wrong

C - incorrect - wrongly comparing earnings of women with men

E - incorrect - awkward


736). OA - E - parallelism - ...a loosening of interest rates......a fear...

A, B - incorrect - loosening acting as a verb instead of a noun

C - incorrect - violating parallelism - ....a loosening...fearing that...

D - incorrect - wrongly suggests
that undercapitalized is an established fact

SC's Question number - 737 , 738

737). The efforts of the bipartisan committee were marked as much by frustration as it was by success.

(A) as it was by

(B) and also by

(C) as by

(D) and equally by

(E) as there was

738). The Emperor Augustus, it appears, commissioned an idealized sculptured portrait, the features of which are so unrealistic as to constitute what one scholar calls an “artificial face.”

(A) so unrealistic as to constitute

(B) so unrealistic they constituted

(C) so unrealistic that they have constituted

(D) unrealistic enough so that they constitute

(E) unrealistic enough so as to constitute



Answers:

737). OA - C - idiomatic - as much by X as by Y

A - incorrect - it incorrectly refers to efforts

B, D - incorrect - unidiomatic

E - incorrect - wordy - there was

738). OA - A - idiomatic - so X as to Y

B, C, D, E - incorrect - unidiomatic

SC's Question number - 739 , 740

739). The end of the eighteenth century saw the emergence of prize-stock breeding, with individual bulls and cows receiving awards, fetching unprecedented prices, and excited enormous interest whenever they were put on show.

(A) excited

(B) it excited

(C) exciting

(D) would excite

(E) it had excited


740). The endurance and consistency of baseball star Lou Gehrig, known as “The Iron Horse,” are legendary.

(A) The endurance and consistency of baseball star Lou Gehrig, known as “The Iron Horse,” are legendary.

(B) The endurance and consistency of Lou Gehrig, a baseball star known as “The Iron Horse,” is legendary.

(C) Known as “The Iron Horse,” the endurance and consistency of Lou Gehrig, the baseball star, is legendary.

(D) The reason baseball star Lou Gehrig is known as “The Iron Horse” is because of his legendary endurance and consistency.

(E) Known as “The Iron Horse,” baseball star Lou Gehrig’s endurance and consistency are legendary.

Answers:

739). (OG 10th Ques no - 25) - OA - C

OE: Choice C is best. The third verb phrase in the series describing bulls and cows should have the same grammatical form as the first two. Only choice C has a present participle (or "-ing" form) that is parallel with the two preceding verbs, receiving and fetching.

A, B - incorrect - instead of the present participle, choices A and B use the past
tense (excited)

D - incorrect - uses an auxiliary verb (would excite)

E - incorrect - uses the past perfect tense (had excited).

B, E - incorrect - the incorrect verb tenses in B and E are introduced by a pronoun, it, that lacks a logical noun referent

740). OA - A

B, C - incorrect - .....
endurance and consistency(plural).....is(singular)...

D - incorrect - redundancy error - reason...because...

E - incorrect - modifier error

SC's Question number - 741 , 742

741). The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atoms are actively broken apart; rather a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power.

(A) apart; rather

(B) apart, but rather

(C) apart, but rather that of

(D) apart, but that of

(E) apart; it is that of


742). The evolution of the technology of microelectronics over the past decade has been so rapid that it is sometimes called a revolution.

(A) has been so rapid that it is sometimes

(B) has been rapid enough sometimes to be

(C) has been rapid enough it is sometimes

(D) is so rapid it has sometimes been

(E) is so rapid that it is sometimes

Answers:

741). (OG 10th Ques no - 172) - OA - B

OE: Choice B, the best answer, follows an idiomatic form of expression for paired coordinates--not X, but rather Y; here rather is optional but preferable because it helps establish a contrast between the two types of energy source.

A - incorrect - incorrectly uses a semicolon rather than a coordinating conjunction (but) to connect the coordinate parts; a semicolon should be used to join independent clauses (http://gmat-grammar.blogspot.com/search/label/Semicolon)

C, D, E - incorrect - that of has no grammatical referent and thus produces illogical and incorrect sentences

742). OA - A - idiomatic - ..so X that Y..

B, C - incorrect - awkward - ....rapid enough ...sometimes..to be

D, E - incorrect - wrong tense