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Ellipsis Question

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by Sprite_TM » Mon Feb 23, 2009 2:40 pm
Why isn't this an ellipsis, "would (be)* or could be" for question
*omitted from sentence



13. A majority of the international journalists surveyed view nuclear power stations as unsafe at present but that they will, or could, be made sufficiently safe in the future.
(A) that they will, or could,
(B) that they would, or could,
(C) they will be or could
(D) think that they will be or could
(E) think the power stations would or could
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Re: Ellipsis Question

by Vemuri » Tue Feb 24, 2009 2:40 am
Sprite_TM wrote:Why isn't this an ellipsis, "would (be)* or could be" for question
*omitted from sentence



13. A majority of the international journalists surveyed view nuclear power stations as unsafe at present but that they will, or could, be made sufficiently safe in the future.
(A) that they will, or could,
(B) that they would, or could,
(C) they will be or could
(D) think that they will be or could
(E) think the power stations would or could
My answer choice is E. The "they" in other options wrongly indicate the journalists.
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by shilpi84 » Tue Feb 24, 2009 2:46 am
E.
Think should be there for parallelism with view
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by Sprite_TM » Tue Feb 24, 2009 7:51 am
the answer is d actually because "think that". but i dont understand why "would (be) or could be" can't be an ellipsis
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Re: Ellipsis Question

by iamcste » Tue Feb 24, 2009 8:05 am
Sprite_TM wrote:Why isn't this an ellipsis, "would (be)* or could be" for question
*omitted from sentence


13. A majority of the international journalists surveyed view nuclear power stations as unsafe at present but that they will, or could, be made sufficiently safe in the future.
(A) that they will, or could,
(B) that they would, or could,
(C) they will be or could
(D) think that they will be or could
(E) think the power stations would or could


Could I know source. will or could express different things. A correct answer which uses both challenges the authenticity of the source. In the event that it is from authentic source, I would be glad for my investment of 1 min on this question :lol:
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by naaga » Tue Feb 24, 2009 9:51 am
folks please post the OA s simultaneously in the spoiler mode, thank you. It would be helpful to avoid waiting for the answer.
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Re: Ellipsis Question

by awesomeusername » Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:03 am
iamcste wrote:
Sprite_TM wrote:Why isn't this an ellipsis, "would (be)* or could be" for question
*omitted from sentence


13. A majority of the international journalists surveyed view nuclear power stations as unsafe at present but that they will, or could, be made sufficiently safe in the future.
(A) that they will, or could,
(B) that they would, or could,
(C) they will be or could
(D) think that they will be or could
(E) think the power stations would or could


Could I know source. will or could express different things. A correct answer which uses both challenges the authenticity of the source. In the event that it is from authentic source, I would be glad for my investment of 1 min on this question :lol:
Yes, I am in the same boat. This passage is in SC1000. I'm not sure who the original source is.
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by bmlaud » Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:10 am
If OA is D then its wrong. What is they referring to in the sentence- Power stations or journalists.

Have a look at these 2 sentences

A majority of the international journalists surveyed view nuclear power stations as unsafe at present but think that they will be or could be made sufficiently safe in the future.
A majority of the international journalists surveyed view nuclear power stations as unsafe at present but think that they may be wrong in their assessment.
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by senthil » Tue Feb 24, 2009 10:22 pm
I am confused why should they refer to journalists because as per SV agreement . 'A majority of journalists ' will always take singular noun therfore the 'they' will refer to power station only .

So I go with D . But at first instance I chose C . If someone cud explain btw C and D wud be grt
Thanks
Senthil

It seems impossible until its done.
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by piyush_nitt » Tue May 05, 2009 10:17 pm
senthil wrote:I am confused why should they refer to journalists because as per SV agreement . 'A majority of journalists ' will always take singular noun therfore the 'they' will refer to power station only .

So I go with D . But at first instance I chose C . If someone cud explain btw C and D wud be grt
guys

any take on this SC? Is "they" really ambiguous in this sentence?

Cheers
Piyush
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by ajaypatil_am » Tue May 05, 2009 10:38 pm
Will go with E ..Post OE if you have.
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by mharv » Wed May 06, 2009 1:48 am
13. A majority of the international journalists surveyed view nuclear power stations as unsafe at present but that they will, or could, be made sufficiently safe in the future.

(A) that they will, or could,
(B) that they would, or could,
(C) they will be or could
(D) think that they will be or could
(E) think the power stations would or could

they does not have a single reference - journalists and stations two nouns. so the only answer IMO is E.
Regards,
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by rajforgmat » Wed May 06, 2009 8:41 am
My two cents: I would go with E. Majority though Singular in some cases, in this case it is used as Plural (clue: Verb "view"). Also "will be and can be" sounds correct and not "will be and could be".

To answer senthil - In additon to Could vs can, the verb think is needed to balance view for the conjunction "but". for eg. Many View X but think Y

Sprite- D could also be written ellitptically as "think that they will or could ". It would not alter the structure (ofcourse with its inherent can vs could problem).

Please correct me if I am wrong.
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by kanha81 » Fri May 08, 2009 8:57 pm
Sprite_TM wrote:the answer is d actually because "think that". but i dont understand why "would (be) or could be" can't be an ellipsis
This is quite an INTERESTING POST! 2 reasons:
1) introduces something new to bring sanctity to the sentence
2) makes the sentence clearer

I had 2 contenders- [spoiler][C][/spoiler] and [spoiler][D][/spoiler]. I had no doubt that "they" in [spoiler][C][/spoiler] referred to power stations, but [spoiler][D][/spoiler] changed the equation:

journalists... view X as Y but think that they ... Here certainly the ambiguity is cleared as journalists are the thinking entity and "they" is referring to power stations. A good one!
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