Among the important themes that characterize Chinese history are the patterns of dynastic rise and fall, intermittent aggression from northern aliens, and varying degrees of openness to outside cultural influences and the dynamics of stability and social harmony
A. Among the important themes that characterize Chinese history are the patterns of dynastic rise and fall, intermittent aggression from northern aliens, and varying degrees of openness to outside cultural influences and the dynamics of stability and social harmony
B. Among the important themes that characterize Chinese history are the patterns of dynastic rise and fall, and intermittent aggression from northern aliens, together with varying degrees of openness to outside cultural influences and the dynamics of stability and social harmony
C. The important themes that characterize Chinese history are the patterns of dynastic rise and fall, intermittent aggression from northern aliens, along with varying degrees of openness to outside cultural influences and the dynamics of stability and social harmony
D. Among the important themes of Chinese history are the patterns of dynastic rise and fall, intermittent aggression from northern aliens, varying degrees of openness to outside cultural influences and the dynamics of stability and social harmony that characterize its history
E. The important theme that characterizes Chinese history is the pattern of dynastic rise and fall, intermittent aggression from northern aliens, along with varying degrees of openness to outside cultural influences and the dynamics of stability and social harmony
Tough nut !
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This sentence is rather convoluted, isn't it?
In A), the two "and"s close to the end muddle things up.
In B), it makes no sense to put a comma followed by "and" after "fall."
C) changes the meaning a bit by leaving out "among," and also lacks a connective "and."
E) has all the problems of C), including one more: strangely changing "themes" to be singular.
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D) has nothing obviously wrong with it, and also avoids the awkward "along with" and "together with" from some of the other choices.
Next time, you might want to try a nut with a softer shell, such as a peanut.
In A), the two "and"s close to the end muddle things up.
In B), it makes no sense to put a comma followed by "and" after "fall."
C) changes the meaning a bit by leaving out "among," and also lacks a connective "and."
E) has all the problems of C), including one more: strangely changing "themes" to be singular.
-----------------------------
D) has nothing obviously wrong with it, and also avoids the awkward "along with" and "together with" from some of the other choices.
Next time, you might want to try a nut with a softer shell, such as a peanut.
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Hi himu,
You're likely to see an SC on Test Day that is completely underlined - these types of prompts are usually based on Modification or Parallelism rules.
You should notice a "list" of ideas presented in the original prompt; we'll need to use Parallelism rules to make sure that all of the ideas are presented in the same way.
Each of the 4 wrong answers includes something that's NOT parallel with the other ideas:
Answer A: the extra "and" (in the phrase "and varying degrees of openness...")
Answer B: the extra "and" (in the phrase "and intermittent aggression..."
Answer C: the phrase "along with"
Answer E: the phrase "along with"
While there are other aspects that some of the wrong answers incorrect, this one rule allows us to eliminate ALL of the wrong answers.
Final Answer: D
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
You're likely to see an SC on Test Day that is completely underlined - these types of prompts are usually based on Modification or Parallelism rules.
You should notice a "list" of ideas presented in the original prompt; we'll need to use Parallelism rules to make sure that all of the ideas are presented in the same way.
Each of the 4 wrong answers includes something that's NOT parallel with the other ideas:
Answer A: the extra "and" (in the phrase "and varying degrees of openness...")
Answer B: the extra "and" (in the phrase "and intermittent aggression..."
Answer C: the phrase "along with"
Answer E: the phrase "along with"
While there are other aspects that some of the wrong answers incorrect, this one rule allows us to eliminate ALL of the wrong answers.
Final Answer: D
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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it cannot be D because according to D it is the dynamics of stability and social harmony that characterize its history .this is not the intended meaning !
the intended meaning is about the themes that characterize Chinese history
i feel that B should be the answer
the core of B is as follow : Among the important themes that characterize Chinese history are the patterns of dynastic rise and fall, and intermittent aggression from northern aliens, together with varying degrees of openness to outside cultural influences and the dynamics of stability and social harmony
the intended meaning is about the themes that characterize Chinese history
i feel that B should be the answer
the core of B is as follow : Among the important themes that characterize Chinese history are the patterns of dynastic rise and fall, and intermittent aggression from northern aliens, together with varying degrees of openness to outside cultural influences and the dynamics of stability and social harmony
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All around a bad sentence, but I don't think D is the best option. The phrase "that characterize its history " at its end is redundant because we're discussing "important themes that characterize its history".
If forced, I'd choose B. In the first part:
patterns of
1. dynastic rise and fall
and
2. intermittent aggression from northern aliens.
I don't think the comma before the second "and" is strictly necessary, but it's not incorrect. It serves to make the distinction between the two parts more obvious.
The second part:
together with
1. varying degrees of openness
and
2. the dynamics of stability
Not bad.
I think it makes sense to split the sentence like this because you have two distinct themes. First, the historical: rise and fall of dynasties, intermittent aggression. Second, the cultural: degrees of openness, dynamics of stability. [/b]
If forced, I'd choose B. In the first part:
patterns of
1. dynastic rise and fall
and
2. intermittent aggression from northern aliens.
I don't think the comma before the second "and" is strictly necessary, but it's not incorrect. It serves to make the distinction between the two parts more obvious.
The second part:
together with
1. varying degrees of openness
and
2. the dynamics of stability
Not bad.
I think it makes sense to split the sentence like this because you have two distinct themes. First, the historical: rise and fall of dynasties, intermittent aggression. Second, the cultural: degrees of openness, dynamics of stability. [/b]
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I'm unaware of this historical and cultural themes.Bill@VeritasPrep wrote:All around a bad sentence, but I don't think D is the best option. The phrase "that characterize its history " at its end is redundant because we're discussing "important themes that characterize its history".
If forced, I'd choose B. In the first part:
patterns of
1. dynastic rise and fall
and
2. intermittent aggression from northern aliens.
I don't think the comma before the second "and" is strictly necessary, but it's not incorrect. It serves to make the distinction between the two parts more obvious.
The second part:
together with
1. varying degrees of openness
and
2. the dynamics of stability
Not bad.
I think it makes sense to split the sentence like this because you have two distinct themes. First, the historical: rise and fall of dynasties, intermittent aggression. Second, the cultural: degrees of openness, dynamics of stability. [/b]
Is it necessary to have the knowledge regarding them to solve this SC question.
can someone explain why D is wrong and B is correct.
Last edited by conquistador on Wed Sep 23, 2015 9:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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A: Among the important themes are the patterns...intermittent aggression...and varying degrees...and the dynamics.himu wrote:Among the important themes that characterize Chinese history are the patterns of dynastic rise and fall, intermittent aggression from northern aliens, and varying degrees of openness to outside cultural influences and the dynamics of stability and social harmony
A. Among the important themes that characterize Chinese history are the patterns of dynastic rise and fall, intermittent aggression from northern aliens, and varying degrees of openness to outside cultural influences and the dynamics of stability and social harmony
B. Among the important themes that characterize Chinese history are the patterns of dynastic rise and fall, and intermittent aggression from northern aliens, together with varying degrees of openness to outside cultural influences and the dynamics of stability and social harmony
C. The important themes that characterize Chinese history are the patterns of dynastic rise and fall, intermittent aggression from northern aliens, along with varying degrees of openness to outside cultural influences and the dynamics of stability and social harmony
D. Among the important themes of Chinese history are the patterns of dynastic rise and fall, intermittent aggression from northern aliens, varying degrees of openness to outside cultural influences and the dynamics of stability and social harmony that characterize its history
E. The important theme that characterizes Chinese history is the pattern of dynastic rise and fall, intermittent aggression from northern aliens, along with varying degrees of openness to outside cultural influences and the dynamics of stability and social harmony
Here, the and in red is unnecessary.
Eliminate A.
B: aggression...together with...stability.
Here, aggression and stability occur TOGETHER.
This meaning is contradictory.
Eliminate B.
C: the patterns of dynastic rise and fall, intermittent aggression from northern aliens
E: the pattern of dynastic rise and fall, intermittent aggression from northern aliens
In these options, the two noun phrases must be connected by a conjunction such as and.
Eliminate C and E.
D: its history
Here, its is intended to refer to China -- as in CHINA'S history -- but the noun China does not appear earlier in the sentence.
As a result, its lacks an antecedent.
Eliminate D.
There is no correct answer here.
Ignore this SC.
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Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.
As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.
For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
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