Andromeda

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bluementor: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 418; Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2008 5:29 am; Thanked: 65 times

by bluementor » Thu Aug 28, 2008 2:07 am

When the technique known as gene-splicing was invented in the early 1970's, it was feared that scientists might inadvertently create an "Andromeda strain," a microbe never before seen on Earth that
might escape from the laboratory and it would kill vast numbers of humans who would have no natural defenses against it.

A) it would kill vast numbers of humans who would have no natural defenses against it
B )it might kill vast numbers of humans with no natural defenses against it
C )kill vast numbers of humans who would have no natural defenses against it
D )kill vast numbers of humans who have no natural defenses against them
E) kill vast numbers of humans with no natural defenses against them

Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Thu Aug 28, 2008 2:07 am

aj5105: Legendary Member; Posts: 1169; Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 2:34 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 25 times

by aj5105 » Thu Aug 28, 2008 2:17 am

IMO (B)..

bluementor: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 418; Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2008 5:29 am; Thanked: 65 times

by bluementor » Thu Aug 28, 2008 2:35 am

The OA to the above is C.

I need to understand the necessity of the word 'would' in the OA. Can someone please explain this?

If one of the answer choice was the following (same as C, but without 'would'), would it be right? why?

kill vast numbers of humans who have no natural defenses against it

Thanks for your help.

BlueMentor

GmatKiss: Legendary Member; Posts: 2789; Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:19 amFollowed by: 43 members; Location: Chennai, India; Thanked: 206 times; GMAT Score:640

by GmatKiss » Fri Oct 07, 2011 10:06 am

IMO:C

aspirant2011: Legendary Member; Posts: 1574; Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:52 amFollowed by: 13 members; Thanked: 88 times

by aspirant2011 » Fri Oct 07, 2011 10:22 am

bluementor wrote:When the technique known as gene-splicing was invented in the early 1970's, it was feared that scientists might inadvertently create an "Andromeda strain," a microbe never before seen on Earth that
might escape from the laboratory and it would kill vast numbers of humans who would have no natural defenses against it.

A) it would kill vast numbers of humans who would have no natural defenses against it
B )it might kill vast numbers of humans with no natural defenses against it
C )kill vast numbers of humans who would have no natural defenses against it
D )kill vast numbers of humans who have no natural defenses against them
E) kill vast numbers of humans with no natural defenses against them

saketk: Legendary Member; Posts: 608; Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2011 11:16 amFollowed by: 8 members; Thanked: 37 times

by saketk » Mon Oct 10, 2011 11:08 am

IMO C.
option D and E are easiest to eliminate.. the microbe discussed here is Singular.. and we need it instead of them .

Option B can be eliminated because 'it' has no clear antecedent. Same applies to option A.

cbaum: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 11; Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2011 8:24 am

by cbaum » Tue Oct 11, 2011 7:36 am

I need to understand the necessity of the word 'would' in the OA. Can someone please explain this?

Without 'would', the sentence implies that the microbe would only kill humans who have no natural defense against it. We want to look for a meaning that implies that ALL humans are at risk, because no human has a natural defense against the microbe.

gmatclubmember: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 158; Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2011 10:31 amFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 29 times

by gmatclubmember » Tue Oct 11, 2011 7:57 am

'would' justifies the future tense in past.

a lil' Thank note goes a long way

Neo Anderson: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 92; Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2011 8:06 am; Thanked: 18 times

by Neo Anderson » Tue Oct 11, 2011 8:51 am

this is the case of hypothetical subjunctive! any unlikely event is expressed in this form and 'would' forms the integral part.
answer is indeed c!

ollapodrida: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 37; Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2011 2:49 pm; Thanked: 4 times

by ollapodrida » Tue Oct 11, 2011 8:51 am

would have no defense... suggests that the microbes kill only those who would have no defense after the microbes escape. Without "would", it would be unclear if the microbes kill everyone, including people who had no defense before the microbes came out.

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