Exam Pack 2 - Test 5 Question

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Exam Pack 2 - Test 5 Question

by noxy416 » Sat Apr 23, 2016 11:29 pm
Dear Experts -
Can somebody please help me with this SC question from the Exam Pack 2?

Technological advances may make it possible to build robots that resemble human dexterity, adaptability, and sensory capabilities.
a. that resemble human
b. that resemble human beings as far as
c. that resemble human beings in terms of
d. resembling human beings regarding their
e. resembling human
[spoiler][C][/spoiler][/spoiler]

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by abhijit_kaul » Sun Apr 24, 2016 6:06 pm
This is how I approached this problem. It is a scenario that is testing comparison and concision.

A. that resemble human - Incorrect - comparing robots with human dexterity, etc. is not right
B. that resemble human beings as far as - Incorrect - wrong idiom; Awkward sentence
C. that resemble human beings in terms of - Correct - Comparison of robots to humans in terms of dexterity, etc. seems right; the sentence is much more clear than B
D. resembling human beings regarding their - Incorrect - same problem as B
E. resembling human - Incorrect - same problem as A.




Thanks,
Abhi

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by OptimusPrep » Sun Apr 24, 2016 8:48 pm
noxy416 wrote:Dear Experts -
Can somebody please help me with this SC question from the Exam Pack 2?

Technological advances may make it possible to build robots that resemble human dexterity, adaptability, and sensory capabilities.
a. that resemble human
b. that resemble human beings as far as
c. that resemble human beings in terms of
d. resembling human beings regarding their
e. resembling human
[spoiler][C][/spoiler][/spoiler]
This question tests you on comparisons.
We need to compare robots with human beings, not with the qualities of human beings.

Options A and E make incorrect comparison.
Options B and D are just there to complete the 5 options. They are too lousy to be correct :)
Only option C makes the correct comparison and is presentable.

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by noxy416 » Mon Apr 25, 2016 9:37 am
Thanks Abhijit and Optimus

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by a_new_start » Sun Aug 28, 2016 12:04 am
I am still not clear as to why option (D) is incorrect. Please if anyone can help me here.

Thank You

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by devinjones » Thu Dec 01, 2016 7:21 am
a_new_start the reason D is out for me is "their" could refer to either humans or robots, ambiguous pronouns are a good filter in SC.

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by GMATGuruNY » Fri Dec 02, 2016 5:55 am
noxy416 wrote:Technological advances may make it possible to build robots that resemble human dexterity, adaptability, and sensory capabilities.
a. that resemble human
b. that resemble human beings as far as
c. that resemble human beings in terms of
d. resembling human beings regarding their
e. resembling human
A: robots that resemble human dexterity
E: robots resembling human dexterity
These options imply that the ROBOTS will be similar to DEXTERITY -- an illogical comparison.
Eliminate A and E.

B: robots that resemble...as far as dexterity
This meaning is nonsensical: it is not possible to resemble as far as something.
Eliminate B.

A VERBing modifier must serve to express a CONCURRENT action: an action happening AT THE SAME TIME as the main action.
D: to build robots resembling human beings
Here, the usage of resembling seems to imply that each robot will be RESEMBLING a human being at the same time as it is built.
Not so:
When the first screws are inserted, the robot will not resemble a human being.
The intention here is to express a GENERAL TRUTH about the robots.
To express a general truth, we use the SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE:
robots that RESEMBLE human beings.
Eliminate D.

The correct answer is C.

Other errors in D:

robots resembling human beings regarding their dexterity
Here, it is not crystal clear whether their serves to refer to robots or to human beings.
Since C avoids this issue and is free of errors, eliminate D.

human beings regarding their dexterity
Here, a reader might construe that human beings are regarding -- in other words, that human beings are STUDYING -- their dexterity.
Not the intended meaning.
Eliminate D.
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