"basing a" is not parallel with "high cost" and "pressure of" --> choices A,B and C are eliminated

that leaves us with D and E

D looks ok. E is just plain wrong. --> D

IMO D because it's a marketing system that was the reason.. not the basing

and yes E is just a hot mess hahah

Clearly (D)...the pressure of housing and commercial development and .....a marketing and distribution system...

In choice (E) as its base is wrong here.

sanjayism wrote:107. Among the reasons for the decline of New England agriculture in the last three decades were the high cost of land, the pressure of housing and commercial development, and basing a marketing and distribution system on importing produce from Florida and California.
(A) basing a marketing and distribution system on importing produce from Florida and California
(B) basing a marketing and distribution system on the imported produce of Florida and California
(C) basing a system of marketing and distribution on the import of produce from Florida and California
(D) a marketing and distribution system based on importing produce from Florida and California
(E) a marketing and distribution system importing produce from Florida and California as its base
D

(A) (B) & (C) are out because 'the high cost', 'the pressure' should be followed by 'a base'.

(E) seems incomplete and it sounds like the system itself can import.

(D) is correct

sanjayism wrote:107. Among the reasons for the decline of New England agriculture in the last three decades were the high cost of land, the pressure of housing and commercial development, and basing a marketing and distribution system on importing produce from Florida and California.
(A) basing a marketing and distribution system on importing produce from Florida and California
(B) basing a marketing and distribution system on the imported produce of Florida and California
(C) basing a system of marketing and distribution on the import of produce from Florida and California
(D) a marketing and distribution system based on importing produce from Florida and California
(E) a marketing and distribution system importing produce from Florida and California as its base


D

Guys I have a doubt here!

Parallel elements here," the high cost of land, the pressure of housing and commercial development, and...."

First & second element starts with "the". SO shouldn't be the third element also start with " the"??

Moreover in D, shouldn't is be "imported" rather than importing??

I completely against this 1000 series...but this one is nothing new...same old story of logical fallacies..

gmatmachoman wrote: Guys I have a doubt here!

Parallel elements here," the high cost of land, the pressure of housing and commercial development, and...."

First & second element starts with "the". SO shouldn't be the third element also start with " the"??

IMHO, I do not think it is needed, first two instances talk about specific scenario and the third talks about a general scenario.

gmatmachoman wrote: Guys I have a doubt here!

Moreover in D, shouldn't is be "imported" rather than importing??

Imported will change the meaning of the sentence.

"System based on importing produce" and "System based on imported produce" mean different things. Since original sentence had System based on importing produce, I think the author intended that meaning.

While searching for the solution( after having discussions with Ajith & komal),
I got this one : Q169 OG 10 SC


169. Seismologists studying the earthquake that struck northern California in October 1989 are still investigating
some of its mysteries: the unexpected power of the seismic waves, the upward thrust that threw one man
straight into the air. and the strange electromagnetic signals detected hours before the temblor.


(A) the upward thrust that threw one man straight into the air, and the strange electromagnetic signals
detected hours before the temblor
(B) the upward thrust that threw one man straight into the air, and strange electromagnetic signals were
detected hours before the temblor
(C) the upward thrust threw one man straight into the air, and hours before the temblor strange
electromagnetic signals were detected
(D) one man was thrown straight into the air by the upward thrust, and hours before the temblor strange
electromagnetic signals were detected
(E) one man who was thrown straight into the air by the upward thrust, and strange electromagnetic
signals that were detected hours before the temblor



Answer to Question 169
The correct answer will maintain parallelism in a coordinate series. Three mysteries are mentioned, and the first
establishes the form required for the other two members of the series, a noun phrase introduced by the (the
unexpected power ...). A, the best choice, correctly uses noun phrases introduced by the for the second and
third members of the series (the upward thrust... and the strange electromagnetic signals ...). Choice B
substitutes a clause (strange electromagnetic signals were detected...) for the third noun phrase, and C and
D use clauses instead of noun phrases for both additional members of the series. E uses two noun phrases, but
they are not introduced by the. Furthermore, the phrase one man who ... does not logically identify one of the
mysteries.

Going back to the Original question, should that option D begin with "the" to maintain parallelism???

can any one help me in this regard???

Hey gmatmachoman, 'the' is not used as a determiner here. when we say, compare parallel elemnts you need to see what part of sppech is compared. The high rise of' is a noun, 'The pressure of' is again a noun. So you need a noun to keep the elements in parallel.
'basing' is a participle. Thus A, B, C are directly eliminated.
Only D and E have parallel elements. 'a marketing and distribution system' is a noun and so correctly keeps the elements in parallel.

(E) a marketing and distribution system importing produce from Florida and California as its base [ the marketing system is based on something. California is not taken as the base of operation. Aslo it makes the sentence seem as if the marketing system is importing produce. which is wrong. Hence Eliminated!]

Thus D is the most concise and correctly implied sentence.
Hope this helps!

gmatmachoman:

Isn't the usage of "a" is making it parallel?