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GMAT Prep Question

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by leo » Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:19 am
Over five thousand years ago, archaeologists have discovered that Mesopotamian cooks were preparing chicken with coriander and tamarind, just as Egyptian cooks are still doing today.
(A) Over five thousand years ago, archaeologists have discovered that
(B) Over five thousand years ago, archaeologists had discovered that
(C) Archaeologists have discovered that, over five thousand years ago,
(D) Over five thousand years ago, as archaeologists have discovered it,
(E) Archaeologists have discovered, over five thousand years ago, that

Is answer A,B or C? Please explain.
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Re: GMAT Prep Question

by jayhawk2001 » Thu Apr 12, 2007 9:59 pm
leo wrote:Over five thousand years ago, archaeologists have discovered that Mesopotamian cooks were preparing chicken with coriander and tamarind, just as Egyptian cooks are still doing today.
(A) Over five thousand years ago, archaeologists have discovered that
(B) Over five thousand years ago, archaeologists had discovered that
(C) Archaeologists have discovered that, over five thousand years ago,
(D) Over five thousand years ago, as archaeologists have discovered it,
(E) Archaeologists have discovered, over five thousand years ago, that

Is answer A,B or C? Please explain.
The archaelogists (of today) have discovered something that
the Mesopotamian cooks did 5000 years ago. This needs to be
clearly expressed in the sentence.

A, B and D distort the meaning indicating that archaeologists of 5000
years ago discovered something, which is incorrect.

E distorts the meaning by indicating that arch discovered something
5000 years ago.

Also, the sentence should use the present perfect tense since it is
something that has happened before "now"

I'd choose C
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by isisalaska » Fri Apr 13, 2007 6:09 am
The OA is C

The sentence should start with the subject, that in this case is “archaeologist”, over five thousand years ago it is an “ellipsis” so it could be omitted and the sentence would not change in meaning.
Isis Alaska
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by jaspetrovic » Fri Apr 13, 2007 8:56 am
I think C too.
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by alugoya » Fri Apr 13, 2007 1:10 pm
the correct choice is D...
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by barron » Wed May 21, 2008 1:21 am
I choose D,

it doesn't mean archa... over 5000 yrs above,

can someone explain why d is wrong?
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by senthil » Wed May 21, 2008 5:51 am
in choice D the prnoun 'it' refers to ? .. Thats was why I dropped D and found C to be a better one . But whats the correct answer . If the answer is D then please explain

Thanks\
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by anju » Fri May 23, 2008 1:42 pm
I will go with C

A, B & E : means that archealogists have discovered ... over five thousand years ago --- this changes the meaning.

D: Imporper use of as and it

C: is clear and concise stating Archealogist have discovered that....
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by ektamatta » Fri May 23, 2008 5:11 pm
Over five thousand years ago, archaeologists have discovered that Mesopotamian cooks were preparing chicken with coriander and tamarind, just as Egyptian cooks are still doing today.
(A) Over five thousand years ago, archaeologists have discovered that
(B) Over five thousand years ago, archaeologists had discovered that
(C) Archaeologists have discovered that, over five thousand years ago,
(D) Over five thousand years ago, as archaeologists have discovered it,
(E) Archaeologists have discovered, over five thousand years ago, that


According to me choice c, d and E is wrong
in choice C there is comma after that which makes answer out of scope according to GMAT rule and same prob with choice e comma before that

Choice D because it uses as archaeologists i m confused between A &B choice. Can anyone explain
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by ksh » Sat May 24, 2008 2:25 am
IMO C
A) Over five thousand years ago, archaeologists have discovered that - it gives a meaning that archeologist discovered over five thousand years ago. while this is not true.
(B) Over five thousand years ago, archaeologists had discovered that - it has incorrect verb.
(C) Archaeologists have discovered that, over five thousand years ago,-- correctly used verbs.
(D) Over five thousand years ago, as archaeologists have discovered it,-- as to be used at the starting of a clause and prounoun it has been used- incorrect
(E) Archaeologists have discovered, over five thousand years ago, that -- misplaced modifier- incorrect
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by netigen » Sat May 24, 2008 3:09 am
C seems to be the best choice but rules say that the commas are not required in C
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Re: GMAT Prep Question

by Stuart@KaplanGMAT » Sat May 24, 2008 10:14 am
leo wrote:Over five thousand years ago, archaeologists have discovered that Mesopotamian cooks were preparing chicken with coriander and tamarind, just as Egyptian cooks are still doing today.
(A) Over five thousand years ago, archaeologists have discovered that
(B) Over five thousand years ago, archaeologists had discovered that
(C) Archaeologists have discovered that, over five thousand years ago,
(D) Over five thousand years ago, as archaeologists have discovered it,
(E) Archaeologists have discovered, over five thousand years ago, that

Is answer A,B or C? Please explain.
It's definitely (C).

If we use the "ignore what's inside the commas" rule, we get:
Archaeologists have discovered that Mesopotamian cooks were preparing chicken with coriander and tamarind, just as Egyptian cooks are still doing today.
which is a perfectly acceptable sentence. The parenthetical comment between the commas is just bonus information that's not required for the sentence to make sense. It's also a parenthetical comment in the original sentence (introductory descriptive phrase), so putting it between commas in the middle of the sentence doesn't change the meaning.

"as archaelogists have discovered it" is a horrible phrase and enough on its own to warrant eliminating (d). The pronoun "it" has no good antecedent.
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