Sentence Correction for CAT 2008

[Varun Khullar]

Originally Posted by piscean84

puys,

Piscean84-sc1-4/8/08-pg100

201.b
202.d
203.a
204.e
205.c

[tyro.novice]

201. B
202. D
203. D
204. B
205. C

[miles]

piscean84-SC1-4/8/08-pg100



201c 202e 203a 204d 205c

[raghav507]

Re: piscean84-SC1-4/8/08-pg100

hi puys,
My take :-

201. C
202. D
203. A
204. B
205. E

[piscean84]

puys,

Answers to the post piscean84-SC1-4/8/08-pg100

201. One view of the economy contends that a large drop in oil prices should eventually lead to lowering interest rates, as well as lowering fears about inflation, a rally in stocks and bonds, and a weakening of the dollar.
(A) lowering interest rates, as well as lowering fears about inflation,
(B) a lowering of interest rates and of fears about inflation,
(C) a lowering of interest rates, along with fears about inflation,
(D) interest rates being lowered, along with fears about inflation,
(E) interest rates and fears about inflation being lowered, with
Answer to Question 201
At issue is the need for logical and formal parallelism in a coordinate series. B, the best choice, clearly and correctly uses parallel noun phrases to list three effects of a drop in oil prices: a lowering of..., a rally in ..., and a weakening of.... In place of the correct lower before/ears, choice A uses an incorrect participial adjective, lowering, that could cause confusion by seeming at first to function as a verb. A also violates parallelism. In C and D, the use of along with confuses meaning by making fears about inflation an independent effect, not an object of lowering. D and E violate parallelism by substituting an awkward gerund clause for the first noun
phrase.

202. After the Civil War, contemporaries of Harriet Tubman's maintained that she has all of the qualities of a great leader: coolness in the face of danger, an excellent sense of strategy, and an ability to plan in minute detail.
(A) Tubman's maintained that she has
(B) Tubman's maintain that she had
(C) Tubman's have maintained that she had
(D) Tubman maintained that she had
(E) Tubman had maintained that she has

Answer to Question 202
In choice D, the best answer, the phrase contemporaries of Harriet Tubman presents a complete possessive without adding an apostrophe (e.g., Tubman's). Choices A, B, and C use a redundant possessive: contemporaries of Harriet Tubman's. All choices other than D have errors in verb tense. Because the
sentence describes essentially simultaneous actions completed in the past, the simple past tense forms maintained and had are required. Thus, the present tense forms has and maintain are incorrect in A, B, and E, as are . the present perfect have maintained in C and the past perfect had maintained in E.


203. From 1982 to 1987 sales of new small boats increased between five and ten percent annually.
(A) From 1982 to 1987 sales of new small boats increased between five and ten percent annually.
(B) Five to ten percent is the annual increase in sales of new small boats in the years 1982 to 1987.
(C) Sales of new small boats have increased annually five and ten percent in the years 1982 to 1987.
(D) Annually an increase of five to ten percent has occurred between 1982 and 1987 in the sales of new small boats.
(E) Occurring from 1982 to 1987 was an annual increase of five and ten percent in the sales of new small boats.

Answer to Question 203
A, the best choice, conveys the relevant information clearly and directly. Because the focus of interest is the sales of new small boats, that should be the subject of the sentence. Since the period of time covered began and ended in the past, the verb should be in the simple past tense (increased). The adverb annually fits most logically after the amount of the increases. B, C, D, and E all distort the focus and disrupt the sensible order of ideas. In addition, B, C, and D use incorrect verb tenses to refer to the simple past (is, have increased, and has occurred). In C, the expression five and ten percent makes no sense without the word between. Finally, E is especially clumsy and confused.

204. In recent years cattle breeders have increasingly used crossbreeding, in part that their steers should acquire certain characteristics and partly because crossbreeding is said to provide hybrid vigor.
(A) in part that their steers should acquire certain characteristics
(B) in part for the acquisition of certain characteristics in their steers
(C) partly because of their steers acquiring certain characteristics
(D) partly because certain characteristics should be acquired by their steers
(E) partly to acquire certain characteristics in their steers

Answer to Question 204
Choice E is best; it best indicates purpose for crossbreeding-- partly to acquire. In A, in part that does not grammatically connect the underlined portion to the first part of the sentence (the independent clause). In both A and B, in part is not parallel with and partly in the nonunderlined portion. Choice C causes a misreading, suggesting that the steers' acquisition has caused the crossbreeding. D awkwardly and illogically shifts to the passive voice: certain characteristics should be acquired by their steers; the steers, however, are not agents in the acquisition.

205. The peaks of a mountain range, acting like rocks in a streambed, produce ripples in the air flowing over them; the resulting flow pattern, with crests and troughs that remain stationary although the air that forms them is moving rapidly, are known as "standing waves."
(A) crests and troughs that remain stationary although the air that forms them is moving rapidly, are
(B) crests and troughs that remain stationary although they are formed by rapidly moving air, are
(C) crests and troughs that remain stationary although the air that forms them is moving rapidly, is
(D) stationary crests and troughs although the air that forms them is moving rapidly, are
(E) stationary crests and troughs although they are formed by rapidly moving air, is

Answer to Question 205
The main challenge in this sentence is to observe the agreement of subject and verb (the resulting flow pattern... is known...) despite the distraction of a complex intervening structure containing several plural elements (with crests and troughs...). Choices A, B, and D can, therefore, be eliminated because they use an incorrect plural verb form, are. Choice E uses the correct verb form, is, but it incorrectly introduces a dependent adverbial although clause into a prepositional phrase (with crests ...). Choice D also makes this error. Such dependent clauses can only occur in the predicates of full clauses. C, the best choice, uses the correct verb form, is, and correctly puts the although clause inside the predicate of the relative clause (that... rapidly).

[piscean84]

puys,

piscean84-SC1-5/8/08-pg101

206. Like Auden. the language of James Merrill is chatty, arch, and conversational--given to complex syntactic flights as well as to prosaic free-verse strolls.
(A) Like Auden, the language of James Merrill
(B) Like Auden, James Merrill's language
(C) Like Auden's, James Merrill's language
(D) As with Auden, James Merrill's language
(E) As is Auden's the language of James Merrill

207. In the textbook publishing business, the second quarter is historically weak, because revenues are low and marketing expenses are high as companies prepare for the coming school year.
(A) low and marketing expenses are high as companies prepare
(B) low and their marketing expenses are high as they prepare
(C) low with higher marketing expenses in preparation
(D) low, while marketing expenses are higher to prepare
(E) low, while their marketing expenses are higher in preparation

208. Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears.
(A) because they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone
(B) because they are composed of tissues like tooth and bone that are
(C) because they are composed of tissues, like tooth and bone, tissues
(D) in that their composition, tissues such as tooth and bone, is
(E) in that they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone, tissues

209. The Senate approved immigration legislation that would grant permanent residency to millions of aliens currently residing here and if employers hired illegal aliens they would be penalized.
(A) if employers hired illegal aliens they would be penalized
(B) hiring illegal aliens would be a penalty for employers
(C) penalize employers who hire illegal aliens
(D) penalizing employers hiring illegal aliens

(E) employers to be penalized for hiring illegal aliens

210. Scientists have recently discovered what could be the largest and oldest living organism on Earth, a giant fungus that is an interwoven filigree of mushrooms and rootlike tentacles spawned by a single fertilized spore some 10,000 years ago and extending for more than 30 acres in the soil of a Michigan forest.
(A) extending
(B) extends
(C) extended
(D) it extended
(E) is extending

[shivam_01]

piscean84-SC1-5/8/08-pg101

My take :::

206 option c
207 option d
208 option b
209 option d
210 option b

[dhanu_25]

piscean84-SC1-5/8/08-pg101

1.C
2.A
3.B
4.C
5.E

[raghav507]

piscean84-SC1-5/8/08-pg101

hi puys,
My take :-

206. C
207. A
208. B
209. D
210. B

[tyro.novice]

206. C
207 A
208 B
209 C
210 B