Beat The GMAT

sunnyjohn · Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:56 pm

Paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould has argued that many biological traits are not the products of natural selection, favored due to their enhancement of reproduction or survival, but that they are simply random by-products of other evolutionary developments.

(A) due to their enhancement of reproduction or survival, but that they are

(B) due to the reproduction or survival they enhance, but they are

(C) because they enhance reproduction or survival, but

(D) because they enhance reproduction or survival, but are

(E) because of enhancing reproduction or survival, but are

OA:
this problem is from GMAT prep, Please see the image and find the OA as well.

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capnx · Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:15 pm

basic structure: Gould has argued that traits are not X but are Y

so you need the second "are"

"because" is preferred over "due", so C D E are left
E is out: "enhancing reproduction" is not right

between C and D, only D repeats the needed "are" in the parallel structure

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sunnyjohn · Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:30 pm

I don't agree with you..
the correct structure should be:

are not X, But Y

NOT X, BUT Y is the correct idiom as GMAT asks a lot of question based on this.