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GPREP SC- 35

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by abhasjha » Mon Aug 25, 2014 7:12 am
In the 1980's the rate of increase of the minority population of the United States was nearly twice as fast as the 1970's.

(A) twice as fast as

(B) twice as fast as it was in

(C) twice what it was in

(D) two times faster than that of

(E) two times greater than
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Source: — Sentence Correction |

by [email protected] » Mon Aug 25, 2014 2:51 pm
HI abhasjha,

This SC is based on Comparison rules (and by extension, Parallelism rules) and a minor usage/style rule. The tough part will be in avoiding the answers that "sound like how people talk."

1) Comparison: The first part of the sentence offers the first part of the comparison - "the rate of increase (in the 1980s)....was...", so the second part of the comparison must also offer "a rate of increase" or equivalent. Here, the pronoun "it" is enough. Eliminate A, D and E.

2) Usage/Style: In the context of this sentence, a rate can't be described as "fast" when compared to another rate. It CAN be described as a higher or lower rate. Here, the rate in the 80s is essentially higher than the rate in the 70s, so we need to communicate that idea correctly. Eliminate B.

Final Answer: C

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Contact Rich at [email protected]
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by info2 » Thu Jul 14, 2016 1:15 am
Hi Rich

Can you please explain point no 2. why a rate cannot be fast? is there a general guideline as to this type of usage? i am unable to understand it. Thanks
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