Use of present and past

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sanjib: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 109; Joined: Sun May 10, 2009 7:53 am

by sanjib » Sat May 30, 2009 9:58 am

Geologists believe that the Bering land bridge, over which human beings are thought to have first entered the Americans, disappeared about 14,000 years ago when massive glaciers melted and caused the sea level to rise several hundred feet worldwide.
(A) are thought to have first entered
(B) were thought first to enter
(C) were thought at first to enter
(D) are thought of as first entering
(E) were thought to first enter

oa is A
why is not E

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sat May 30, 2009 9:58 am

mbadrew: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 198; Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2008 10:16 am; Location: San Francisco; Thanked: 14 times

by mbadrew » Sat May 30, 2009 10:47 am

Ok, first think, have we changed our belief of how first Americans entered the U.S continent. If we have then we can say were. However, if we still hold the same belief, that they entered via the bering straight, then we have to use "are" the present tense, and not "were", which is in the past tense. In other words we continue to believe the historical fact that took place millions of years ago.

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sanjib: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 109; Joined: Sun May 10, 2009 7:53 am

by sanjib » Sat May 30, 2009 10:56 am

Thanks for the explanation. Its helpful
However I think the GMAC should avoid this type of question because there is a very little chance for any international student to know what the the historical belief of any American event. Suppose if I ask about the concept of bridge Ram setu which connects India with Gulf area in history that would be very hard for any international student to know whetther Indians still believe it or not.

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sanjib: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 109; Joined: Sun May 10, 2009 7:53 am

by sanjib » Thu Jun 04, 2009 8:48 am

It is possible that Native Americans originally have migrated to the Western Hemisphere over a bridge of land that once existed between Siberia and Alaska.
(A) have migrated to the Western Hemisphere over a bridge of land that once existed
(B) were migrating to the Western Hemisphere over a bridge of land that existed once
(C) migrated over a bridge of land to the Western Hemisphere that once existed
(D) migrated to the Western Hemisphere over a bridge of land that once existed
(E) were migrating to the Western Hemisphere over a bridge of land existing once

Please help me to know what we should use now in comparison to last sentence

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