Sentence Correction

95.Although some officials noted that using machines for farming in China costs more than traditional hand cultivation, the mechanization of farming in the village of Long Bow doubled the corn yield while the previous year’s costs were cut in half.
(A) mechanization of farming in the village of Long Bow doubled the corn yield while the previous year’s costs were cut in half
(B) mechanization of farming in the village of Long Bow doubled the corn yield while cutting costs to half those of the previous year
(C) mechanization of farming in the village of Long Bow doubled the corn yield as cost were cut to half of the previous year’s
(D) farming mechanization in the village of Long Bow doubled the corn yield as it cut in half the previous year’s costs
(E) farming mechanization in the village of Long Bow doubled the corn yield while costs were cut to half that of the previous year
Answer : B [/spoiler]

not sure why it's B. hm .. i thought E makes the sentence clear. i take B out of my consideration coz "cutting costs" doesnt seem to be right.

Please help.

Hi ,

Well I guess the first thing to decide is whether the phrase should be 'farming mechanization' or 'mechanization of farming'. The first one does not make sense so that eliminates D & E , we are left with A,B & C.

Now C can be eliminates because the comparison is being done between this years cost and previous year's , but the option incorrectly compares this years 'cost' to 'previous year' itself. Now between A & B , I would pick B as it correctly compares this yr's costs with those of previous yr's. Also the fact that the sentence structure of the while clause is awkward....in option A.


Hope this makes some sense !!

can someone please tell me whats wrong with C

sogmat wrote:can someone please tell me whats wrong with C

Hi,
(C) conveys a different meaning: By using "as" instead of "while", we understand that the doubling of the corn yield results from the halving of the costs, which is not the case.
Another thing in (C): you don't need "half of", "half" is enough.

I don't see how A is less of a correct choice than B. Can someone please explain this?

axat wrote:I don't see how A is less of a correct choice than B. Can someone please explain this?

In (A), "while the previous year’s costs were cut in half " does not tell us that the cost reduction is related to the mechanization of farming whereas in (B), "while cutting costs to half those of the previous year" infers that the cost reduction stems from the mechanisation of farming; the latter is indeed the intended meaning because of the contrast introduced by "Although".
However, (A) is grammatically correct.