Factories in southern states

Factories in southern states like Georgia and Mississippi employed more than 300,000 workers in the late nineteenth century, but they were driven out of business by increasing federal taxes as well as a labor supply that migrated north in the hope of finding better wages.

a) Factories in southern states like Georgia and Mississippi employed more than 300,000 workers in the late nineteenth century, but they
b) More than 300,000 worker had been employed by factories in southern states such as Georgia and Missisipi in the late ninetheen century, but they
c)In the late ninetheen century, more than 300,000 workers were employed by factories in southern states such as Georgia and Missisipi, but they
d) More than 300,000 workers had been employed by factories in southern states like Georgia and Missisipi in the late ninetheen century, but these factories
e) Factories in southern states such as Georgia and Missisipi employed more than 300,000 workers in the late century, but these factories

Unlike other arachnids

Unlike other arachnids, which have their nerve cells evenly distributed along their bodies, the scorpion nerve cells are clustered in its head, like a mammal's.
(A) bodies, the scorpion nerve cells are clustered in its head, like a mammal's
(B) bodies, the scorpion's head had a cluster of nerve cells, as a mammal does
(C) body, the scorpion has a cluster of nerve cells in its head, as a mammal does
(D) body, nerve cells are clustered in the scorpion's head, like a mammal's
(E) body, a cluster of nerve cells is in the scorpion's head, like a mammal's

Many investors base their

Many investors base their choice between bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields to the dividends available on common stocks.

A between bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields to
B among bonds and stocks on comparisons of bond yields to
C between bonds and stocks on comparisons of bond yields with
D among bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields and
E between bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields with

Many of them chiseled

Many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago, the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of monasteries.

A Many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago, the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of monasteries.

B Chiseled from solid rock centuries ago, the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with many hundreds of monasteries.

C Hundreds of monasteries, many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago, are dotting the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia.

D The mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of monasteries, many of which are chiseled from solid rock centuries ago.

E The mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of monasteries, many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago.

Written in ink or engraved by stylus

Written in ink or engraved by stylus, more than 2,000 letters and documents on wooden tablets excavated at the site of the old roman fort at vindolanda in northern England are yielding a historical account of the military garrison in the first and second centuries that are so vivid in their details about personal life as they are from Pompeii

A. are so vivid in their details about personal life as they ate
B. are as vivid in their details of personal life as those gathered
C. is as vivid in their detail about personal life as that gathered
D. is as vivid in its details of personal life as that gathered
E. is so vivid in its details of personal life as is that

Widespread belief

There is a widespread belief in the United States and Western Europe that young people have a smaller commitment to work and a career than their parents and grandparents and that the source of the change lies in the collapse of the "work ethic."

(A) a smaller commitment to work and a career than their parents and grandparents
(B) less of a commitment to work and a career than their parents and grandparents
(C) a smaller commitment to work and a career than that of their parents and grandparents
(D) less of a commitment to work and a career than their parents and grandparents had
(E) a lessening of the commitment to work and a career that their parents and grandparents had

The Bridge of Trinquetaille

In June of 1987, The Bridge of Trinquetaille, Vincent Van Gogh's view of an iron bridge over the Rhone sold for $20.2 million and it was the second highest price ever paid for a painting at auction.

A) Rhone sold for $20.2 million and it was
B) Rhone, which sold for $20.2 million, was
C) Rhone, was sold for $20.2 million,
D) Rhone was sold for $20.2 million, being
E) Rhone, sold for $20.2, and was

Tax dispute

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

Minority graduates

According to a survey of graduating medical students conducted by the association of american medical colleges, minority graduates are nearly 4 times more likely than are other graduates in planning to practice in socieconomically deprived areas

a. minority graduates are nearly 4 times more likely than are other graduates in planning to practice
b. minority graduates are nearly 4 times moe likley than other grads who plan on practicing
c. minority graduates are nearly four times as likely as other graduates to plan on practicing
d. it is nearly four times more likely that minority graduates rather than other graduates will plan to practice
e. it is nearly four times as likely for minority graduates than other graduates to plan to practice

Descended from a single female ancestor

According to scientists at the University of California, the pattern of changes that have occurred in human DNA over the millennia indicate the possibility that everyone alive today might be descended from a single female ancestor who lived in Africa sometime between 140,000 and 280,000 years ago.

(A) indicate the possibility that everyone alive today might be descended from a single female ancestor who
(B) indicate that everyone alive today might possibly be a descendant of a single female ancestor who had
(C) may indicate that everyone alive today has descended from a single female ancestor who had
(D) indicates that everyone alive today may be a descendant of a single female ancestor who
(E) indicates that everyone alive today might be a descendant from a single female ancestor who

the Philological Society launched

In 1860, the Philological Society launched its effort to create a dictionary more comprehensive than the world had ever seen; although the project would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary had been born.

A) would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary had been
B) took more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was
C) would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was being
D) would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was
E) took more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was about to be

The exhibition of art from Nubians

The exhibition of art from Nubians, the site of a Black civilization that goes back to the fourth millennium B.C., makes clear the Nubians combined artistic elements from Egypt to that of sub-Saharan Africa.

(A) the Nubians combined artistic elements from Egypt to that
(B) that the Nubians combined artistic elements from Egypt to that
(C) the Nubians combined artistic elements from Egypt with that
(D) that the Nubians combined artistic elements from Egypt with those
(E) that Nubians combined artistic elements from Egypt and those

Cell Phone cause brain tumors

The relationship between cell phone use and the incidence of brain tumors is still unclear, this is because some studies show a causal relationship while others do not.

a) is still unclear, this is because some studies show
b) is still unclear; some studies show
c) are still unclear because some studies show
d) is still unclear because: some studies show
E) is still unclear; the reason is that some studies show

Unearthed in China

Unearthed in China , fossils of feathered dinosaurs offer the most dramatic evidence yet discovered of the close evolutionary relationship between dinosaurs and birds.

A. offer the most dramatic evidence yet discovered of the close evolutionary relationship between dinosaurs and birds

B. offer evidence more dramatic than what has yet been discovered of the close evolutionary relationship between dinosaurs and birds

C. offer more dramatic evidence of the close evolutionary relationship than any yet discovered between dinosaurs and birds

D. have offered the most dramatic evidence of the close evolutionary relationship between dinosaurs and birds that have yet been discovered

E. have offered more dramatic evidence than any that has yet been discovered of the close evolutionary relationship between dinosaurs and birds

Low Shrubs

Covered with low shrubs, the quality of the land along the seashore is sandy and unsuitable for agricultural use.

• a) Covered with low shrubs, the quality of the land along the seashore is sandy and unsuitable for agricultural use.
• b) Coverd with low shrubs, the land along the seashore is sandy and unsuitable for agriculture
• c) The land along the seashore, covered with low shrubs, is sandy and has a quality unsuitable for agricultural use
• d) the land along the seashore is covered with low shrubs, sandy and is unsuitable for agriculture
• e) The quality of the land along the seashore, covered with low shrubs, is sandy and unsuitable for agricultural use.

the problems faced by rural migrant workers

In assessing the problems faced by rural migrant workers, the question of whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant.

A In assessing the problems faced by rural migrant workers, the question of whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant.
B The question of whether the rural migrant worker is better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant in assessing the problems that they face.
C A question that is irrelevant in assessing the problems that rural migrant workers face is whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor.
D In an assessment of the problems faced by rural migrant workers, the question of whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant.
E The question of whether the rural migrant worker is better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant in an assessment of the problems that they face.

Red Shift

In astronomy the term “red shift” denotes the extent to which light from a distant galaxy has been shifted toward the red, or long-wave, end of the light spectrum by the rapid motion of the galaxy away from the Earth.

1. to which light from a distant galaxy has been shifted
2. to which light from a distant galaxy has shifted
3. that light from a distant galaxy has been shifted
4. of light from a distant galaxy shifting
5. of the shift of light from a distant galaxy

Moving pearls

Moving pearls

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More than thirty years ago Dr. Barbara McClintock, the Nobel Prize winner, reported that genes can "jump," as pearls moving mysteriously from one necklace to another.

(A) as pearls moving mysteriously from one necklace to another
(B) like pearls moving mysteriously from one necklace to another
(C) as pearls do that move mysteriously from one necklace to others
(D) like pearls do that move mysteriously from one necklace to others
(E) as do pearls that move mysteriously from one necklace to some other one

Sales

Sales

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As the housing affordability gap widens, middle-income families are especially hard-hit, and these families can no longer qualify to buy homes, and rising rental rates force them to use far more than the standard 25 percent of their incomes for housing, leaving them with no equity or tax write-offs to offset the expenditures.

(A) and these families can no longer qualify to buy homes, and
(B) since these families can no longer afford to buy homes, furthermore
(C) for these families can no longer afford to buy homes, yet
(D) and these families can no longer afford to buy homes; however,
(E) and these families can no longer afford to buy homes, for

Heart

A peculiar feature of the embryonic mammalian circulatory system is that in the area of the heart the cells adhere to one another, beating in unison and adopting specialized orientations exclusive of one another.

(A) beating in unison and adopting
(B) they beat in unison while adopting
(C) beat in unison, and adopt
(D) beating in unison yet adopting
(E) even though they beat in unison and adopt

Coyotes

Question 4: Coyotes

Although films about the American West depict coyotes as solitary animals howling mournfully on the tops of distant hills, in reality these gregarious creatures live in stable groups that occupy the same territory for long periods.

(A) films about the American West depict coyotes as solitary animals howling mournfully on the tops of distant hills
(B) in films about the American West coyotes are depicted to be solitary animals that howl mournfully on the tops of distant hills
(C) coyotes are depicted as solitary animals howling mournfully on the tops of distant hills in films about the American West
(D) films about the American West depict coyotes as if they were solitary, mournfully howling animals on the tops of distant hills
(E) films about the American West depict coyotes to be solitary and mournfully howling animals on the tops of distant hills

Manchu Power

Question 3: Manchu Power

At the height of Manchu power, the situation was not unlike that which can exist between a superpower and a satellite or protectorate, and therefore one which, though politically significant, does not extinguish the independent existence of the weaker state.

A. the situation was not unlike that which can exist between a superpower and a satellite or protectorate
B. the situation was not unlike between a superpower to a satellite or protectorate
C. the situation was like between a superpower to a satellite or protectorate
D. there was a situation which was like that which can exist between a superpower and a satellite or protectorate
E. the situation was as that which can exist between a superpower to a satellite or protectorate

Answers

Answer 1: (C)

Reason to drop (A) is that it seems that clouds (because clouds is the subject in first phrase) will be condense into tiny droplets whereas in reality evaporated water should condensed. This ambiguity is removed in option (C).

Therefore choose (C).

Answer 2: (E)

Option (A) is wrong because of incorrect formation. The correct IDIOM is from X to Y, where both X and Y should belong to same category of parts of speech.

So in current scenario,

X = the same task
Y = establishing hierarchy OR the establishment of hierarchy

Now here X is NOUN, so Y should also be NOUN, therefore choose "the establishment of hierarchy", which NOUN, whereas "establishing hierarchy" is gerund.

Therefore, choose (E).

Answer 3: (A)

A. Correct comparison between two nouns (i.e. one situation with another) and correct usage of Idiom UNLIKE X Y where X = that and Y = which.
B. Wrong usage of Idiom UNLIKE X Y. Also comparing wrong things. Wrong usage of Idiom BETWEEN X and Y.
C. Same as (B).
D. Wordy.
E. AS is used instead of LIKE. AS should be used to compare verbs instead of nouns.

Answer 4 and so on are posted as comment with in the question's post.

According to anthropologists

Question 2:
According to anthropologists, the use of human language covers a wide spectrum from practical communication between people engaged in the same task to establishing hierarchy within a social group.

a)practical communication between people engaged in the same task to establishing hierarchy

b)communicating practically between people engaging in the same task to the establishment of hierarchy

c)practical communication between people engaged in the same task to the establishing of hierarchy

d)communicating practically between people engaging in the same task to hierarchy established

e)practical communication between people engaged in the same task to the establishment of hierarchy

Clouds

Question:

Clouds are formed from the evaporation of the oceans’ water that is warmed by the Sun and rises high into the atmosphere, condensing in tiny droplets on minute particles of dust.

A. Clouds are formed from the evaporation of the oceans’ water that is warmed by the Sun and rises high into the atmosphere, condensing in tiny droplets on minute particles of dust.

B. Clouds form by the Sun’s warmth evaporating the water in the oceans, which rises high into the atmosphere, condensing in tiny droplets on minute particles of dust.

C. Warmed by the Sun, ocean water evaporates, rises high into the atmosphere, and condenses in tiny droplets on minute particles of dust to form clouds.

D. The water in the oceans evaporates, warmed by the Sun, rises high into the atmosphere, and condenses in tiny droplets on minute particles of dust, which forms clouds.

E. Ocean water, warmed by the Sun, evaporates and rises high into the atmosphere, which then condenses in tiny droplets on minute particles of dust to form as clouds.

A good note on parallelism

Note on parallelism

IDIOMS with Example

This post contains the list of IDIOM with specific example links. New IDIOM will be added with learning.

DT: 2nd Oct 2008

1. Difficulties doing something. (difficulties in doing something: wrong)

DT: 17th Oct 2008

1. AID IN (doing something) or followed by verb.
   
2. AID TO (Someone) or followed by noun.
   

Rule for using HAS HAD/HAD HAD

Source: Princeton GMAT Online test

Question 1:
Announcing that it had had difficulties reaching a decision because of a lack of data, the panel of scientists said it would not meet again until next year.

A) it had had difficulties reaching
B) it has had difficulties in reaching
C) it had been finding it difficult in reaching
D) they had difficulties reaching
E) they had been finding it difficult to reach

What is the rule when one want to make a distinction on whether to use has had or had had ?

Answer:

• has had is present perfect, and is thus, fundamentally, a present-tense construction
• had had is past perfect, and is thus, fundamentally, a past-tense construction.

In this type of question, to select between has/had had, we have to see the later part of the sentence. In current situation, panel's statements are in past tense (...it would meet again). Hence choose past perfect, i.e. had had construction.

RULE:

1. Subject + has had + Present tense construction
2. Subject + had had + Past tense construction


Question 2: Which of the following construction is correct?

1. difficulties in doing something
2. difficulties doing something

Answer:

1. INCORRECT
2. CORRECT