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The usage of "by"

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by yvonne0923 » Thu May 19, 2011 5:20 pm
51. Whereas a ramjet generaly cannot achieve high speeds without the initial assistance of a rocket, high speeds can be attained by scramjets, or supersonic combustion ramjets, in that they reduce airflow compression at the entrance of the engine and letting air pass through at supersonic speeds.

A. high speeds can be attained by scramjets, or supersonic combustion ramjets, in that they reduce
B. that high speeds can be attained by scramjets, or supersonic combustion ramjets, is a ressult of their reducing
C. the ability of scramjets, or supersonic combustion ramjets, to achieve high speed is because they reduce
D. scramjets, or supersonic combustion ramjeets, have the ability of attaining high speeds when reducing
E. scramjets, or supersonic combustion ramjets, can attain high speeds by reducing


































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My answer is D, and O.A is E. The reason I chose D is because that I have concern about the usage of passive voice whenever the word "by" appears in the sentence. In this case,"high speeds can be attained by..." rather than "high speeds by reducing". Why we don't emphasize the form "be+past tense of verb+by" here?

Thanks.
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Source: — Sentence Correction |

by HSPA » Thu May 19, 2011 7:31 pm
IMO E,

D has a semicolon and after that there is no subject.
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HSPA.
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by yvonne0923 » Thu May 19, 2011 9:24 pm
HSPA wrote:IMO E,

D has a semicolon and after that there is no subject.
Thanks. but what about the usage of "by" here? Should we pay attention to the form of passive voice "can be attained by..."?
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by Frankenstein » Fri May 20, 2011 6:00 am
Hi,
He is just comparing what Ramjet cannot and what scramjets can, so it is more of parallel construction. The usage of 'by' is to emphasize how the desired result is achieved. There is nothing passive in the sentence.

Cheers!
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by niksworth » Fri May 20, 2011 6:52 am
yvonne0923 wrote: My answer is D, and O.A is E. The reason I chose D is because that I have concern about the usage of passive voice whenever the word "by" appears in the sentence. In this case,"high speeds can be attained by..." rather than "high speeds by reducing". Why we don't emphasize the form "be+past tense of verb+by" here?

Thanks.
There is nothing passive about the sentence. by reducing.... is just a prepositional phrase!

E.g. He will overcome anxiety by meditating every day. - The part in italics is a prepositional phrase. The sentence is active.
scio me nihil scire
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by niksworth » Fri May 20, 2011 6:53 am
HSPA wrote:IMO E,

D has a semicolon and after that there is no subject.
Where did you find a semicolon in D? I can't find one.
scio me nihil scire
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by aspirant2011 » Fri May 20, 2011 7:46 am
Whereas a ramjet generaly cannot achieve high speeds without the initial assistance of a rocket high speeds can be attained by scramjets, or supersonic combustion ramjets, in that they reduce airflow compression at the entrance of the engine and letting air pass through at supersonic speeds.

A. high speeds can be attained by scramjets, or supersonic combustion ramjets, in that they reduce -------> usage of "in that" is wrong in GMAT
B. that high speeds can be attained by scramjets, or supersonic combustion ramjets, is a ressult of their reducing -------> "comma + that" wrong usage
C. the ability of scramjets, or supersonic combustion ramjets, to achieve high speed is because they reduce ------> "ability to" is the correct idiom
D. scramjets, or supersonic combustion ramjeets, have the ability of attaining high speeds when reducing -------> wrong idiom
E. scramjets, or supersonic combustion ramjets, can attain high speeds by reducing --------> parallelism
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by atulmangal » Fri May 20, 2011 10:33 am
"CAN" is always preferred over "having an ability"

+1 for E
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by yvonne0923 » Fri May 20, 2011 10:38 am
niksworth wrote:
yvonne0923 wrote: My answer is D, and O.A is E. The reason I chose D is because that I have concern about the usage of passive voice whenever the word "by" appears in the sentence. In this case,"high speeds can be attained by..." rather than "high speeds by reducing". Why we don't emphasize the form "be+past tense of verb+by" here?

Thanks.
There is nothing passive about the sentence. by reducing.... is just a prepositional phrase!

E.g. He will overcome anxiety by meditating every day. - The part in italics is a prepositional phrase. The sentence is active.
Thanks for the post!
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