Affording strategic proximity to the Strait of Gibraltar

simplyjat

Affording strategic proximity to the Strait of Gibraltar, Morocco was also of interest to the French throughout the first half of the twentieth century because they assumed that if they did not hold it, their grip on Algeria was always insecure.

(A) if they did not hold it, their grip on Algeria was always insecure
(B) without it their grip on Algeria would never be secure
(C) their grip on Algeria was not ever secure if they did not hold it
(D) without that, they could never be secure about their grip on Algeria
(E) never would their grip on Algeria be secure if they did not hold it

OA B

VP_Jim · Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 7:03 pm Post subject:

Hi simplyjat,

This question focuses on idioms and the clarity and conciseness of the sentence. Answer A can be eliminated because the phrase, "if they did not hold it," is awkward and wordy. Answer C uses the phrase, "was not ever secure," which is not idiomatically correct, and can be eliminated. Answer D is unclear in its meaning; what does "without that" refer to (Morocco or their hold on Morocco)? Similarly, the pronoun "it" in answer E is also ambiguous. The correct choice, answer B, is clear, concise, and idiomatically correct.