1980s interest rates

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LulaBrazilia: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 116; Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2009 10:50 amFollowed by: 1 member

by LulaBrazilia » Mon Jan 27, 2014 8:34 am

Even though interest rates rose last year, they were not nearly as high as the early 1980s, when the economy tumbled into a recession and markets were depressed.

(A) they were not nearly as high as the early 1980s, when

(B) they were not nearly as high as interest rates in the early 1980s, when

(C) they were not nearly at the levels they were in the early 1980s, at the time when

(D) they had not approached the high levels of the early 1980s, during the time in which

(E) the high levels of the early 1980s were not being approached, when

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Mon Jan 27, 2014 8:34 am

Patrick_GMATFix: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1052; Joined: Fri May 21, 2010 1:30 amFollowed by: 98 members; Thanked: 335 times

by Patrick_GMATFix » Mon Jan 27, 2014 8:46 am

In a comparison, parallel structure is needed. The right sentence must correctly compare last year's interest rates to 1980s interest rates (not to the 1980s themeselves). Note also that the underlined portion ends with a modifier that refers to the 1980s (when the economy tumbled). This means that the right sentence should have 1980s placed just before that modifier to avoid a modifier error.

The full solution below is taken from the GMATFix App.

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by [email protected] » Mon Jan 27, 2014 2:23 pm

Hi LulaBrazilia,

This SC involves a comparison; in these types of prompts, you must compare LIKE things AND follow parallel format.

The first part of the sentence states "Even though interest rates rose last year...."; the phrase "even though" implies a comparison. The second part of the sentence tells us that they were not as high as those in the early 1980s, so we need to specifically compare INTEREST RATES to other INTEREST RATES in the 1980s. In addition, parallel format requires the information to be in this order: interest rate, then time frame.

The only answer that does this is answer B. The other answer incorrectly compare interest rates to other things.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

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