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Experts, please help!

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by gmat_perfect » Mon Aug 16, 2010 12:04 pm
Developed by Pennsylvania's Palatine Germans about 1750, they made Conestoga wagons with high wheels capable of crossing rutted roads, muddy flats, and the nonroads of the prairie and they had a floor curved upward on either end so as to prevent cargo from shifting on steep grades.

(A) they made Conestoga wagons with high wheels capable of crossing rutted roads, muddy flats, and the nonroads of the prairie and they had a floor curved upward on either end so as to prevent

(B) they made Conestoga wagons, which had high wheels capable of crossing rutted roads, muddy flats, and the nonroads of the prairie, and floors curved upward on their ends so that they prevented

(C) Conestoga wagons, with high wheels capable of crossing rutted roads, muddy flats, and the nonroads of the prairie, and had a floor that was curved upward at both ends to prevent

(D) Conestoga wagons had high wheels capable of crossing rutted roads, muddy flats, and the nonroads of the prairie, and a floor that was curved upward at both ends to prevent

(E) Conestoga wagons had high wheels capable of crossing rutted roads, muddy flats, and the nonroads of the prairie and floors curving upward at their ends so that it prevented

[spoiler]Answer is D, but why is " a floor" since " Wagons" is plural ? [/spoiler]
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by madhukumar_v » Mon Aug 16, 2010 12:21 pm
Good q, The author is talking about the features of Conestoga wagon and not specifically about all conestoga wagons. If you see the sentence formation

> Conestoga wagons had high wheels ...muddy flats...and [has] high floor..

Floor is a part of wagon, like wheels.
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by Anurag@Gurome » Mon Aug 16, 2010 1:50 pm
This is a modifier + parallel construction question:

"Developed by Pennsylvania's Palatine Germans about 1750" is a modifier to what follows immediately. The question you must ask yourself is: what was developed by Palatine Germans? It was the Conestoga wagons. Therefore the correct choice must start with "Conestoga wagons". That eliminates Choice A and B.

The author then goes on say that these wagons had high wheels and a curved floor. As Madukumar_v indicated, both of these were feature of the Conestoga wagons (that achieved some objectives). The sentence must follow a parallel construction listing both of the features.

Choice C: "with high wheels..., and had a floor..." is not a parallel construction. Moreover, the sentence is fragmented: "Conestoga wagons,..., and had a floor...to prevent cargo from shifting...". This choice is therefore incorrect.

Choice D: "Conestoga wagons had high wheels..., and a floor ... to prevent cargo from shifting..." is no only parallel but also a complete sentence. It's a good Choice.

Choice E: " Conestoga wagons had high wheels...and floors curving upward..." is parallel, but awkward. The phrase "so that it prevented" makes it less desirable stylistically. Between Choice D and E, D is better.

When dealing with long sentences, it is better to simplify the sentence to understand the structure first. That helps you identify potential errors. In this sentence, simplification would allow us to see that there must be a parallel construction between phrases describing "high wheels" and " a floor that was curved". The modifier error should be obvious at the very outset.

Hope that helps.
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by dinesh19aug » Mon Aug 16, 2010 8:59 pm
gmat_perfect wrote:Developed by Pennsylvania's Palatine Germans about 1750, they made Conestoga wagons with high wheels capable of crossing rutted roads, muddy flats, and the nonroads of the prairie and they had a floor curved upward on either end so as to prevent cargo from shifting on steep grades.

(A) they made Conestoga wagons with high wheels capable of crossing rutted roads, muddy flats, and the nonroads of the prairie and they had a floor curved upward on either end so as to prevent

(B) they made Conestoga wagons, which had high wheels capable of crossing rutted roads, muddy flats, and the nonroads of the prairie, and floors curved upward on their ends so that they prevented

(C) Conestoga wagons, with high wheels capable of crossing rutted roads, muddy flats, and the nonroads of the prairie, and had a floor that was curved upward at both ends to prevent

(D) Conestoga wagons had high wheels capable of crossing rutted roads, muddy flats, and the nonroads of the prairie, and a floor that was curved upward at both ends to prevent

(E) Conestoga wagons had high wheels capable of crossing rutted roads, muddy flats, and the nonroads of the prairie and floors curving upward at their ends so that it prevented

[spoiler]Answer is D, but why is " a floor" since " Wagons" is plural ? [/spoiler]
I am sure you must have figured out why A , B and C are out (Developed by should modify the wagons).
Now coming to your question. Think about it this way - What are the properties for Contestoga wagons:

a) Can cross X,Y and type of roads
b) A high floor .... not high floors ... there is only floor in each wagons. If wagons have windows, then the sentence would say high windows

I hope you get the point now ....
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by gmat_perfect » Tue Aug 17, 2010 10:52 am
Thanks.
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