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Because of a similarity to dance, synchronized swimming

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Because of a similarity to dance, synchronized swimming

by aspirant2011 » Wed Jun 22, 2011 4:34 am
Because of a similarity to dance, synchronized swimming-exhibition swimming in which the movements of one or more swimmers synchronize to a musical accompaniment-is sometimes called water ballet, especially in theatrical situations.

A. of one or more swimmers synchronize to
B. of one swimmer or more is synchronized with
C. of one or more swimmers are synchronized with
D. by one swimmer or more is synchronized to
E. by one or more swimmers synchronize to

[spoiler]OA: A vs C. Which one is better and why??Please justify your choice.[/spoiler]
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by ov25 » Wed Jun 22, 2011 4:42 am
C is correct.
A has a verb missing issue, illogically associates synchronizing with swimmers as opposed to their movements.
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by Frankenstein » Wed Jun 22, 2011 5:35 am
aspirant2011 wrote:Because of a similarity to dance, synchronized swimming-exhibition swimming in which the movements of one or more swimmers synchronize to a musical accompaniment-is sometimes called water ballet, especially in theatrical situations.

A. of one or more swimmers synchronize to
B. of one swimmer or more is synchronized with
C. of one or more swimmers are synchronized with
D. by one swimmer or more is synchronized to
E. by one or more swimmers synchronize to

[spoiler]OA: A vs C. Which one is better and why??Please justify your choice.[/spoiler]
Hi,
I think idiomatically 'synchronize with' is correct when we compare two things. We also say 'synchronize+object'. I don't think 'synchronize to' is idiomatic.
Hence, C
A has a verb missing issue, illogically associates synchronizing with swimmers as opposed to their movements.
No. I don't think that is the reason for eliminating A. There is no verb missing and the comparison is apt as well.
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by gsinghal » Wed Jun 22, 2011 6:32 am
IMO C...

I also think that A has missing verb issue.

Can someone please help.

@Frankenstein : if I write C as one or more swimmers synchronized with without the verb are, would that work fine?

Thanks
Gautam
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by Frankenstein » Wed Jun 22, 2011 6:48 am
gsinghal wrote:IMO C...

I also think that A has missing verb issue.

Can someone please help.

@Frankenstein : if I write C as one or more swimmers synchronized with without the verb are, would that work fine?

Thanks
Gautam
Hi,
There is no need to use past tense. I think we can write it in simple present as:
movements of one or more swimmers synchronize with...
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by sameerballani » Wed Jun 22, 2011 7:16 am
aspirant2011 wrote:Because of a similarity to dance, synchronized swimming-exhibition swimming in which the movements of one or more swimmers synchronize to a musical accompaniment-is sometimes called water ballet, especially in theatrical situations.

A. of one or more swimmers synchronize to
B. of one swimmer or more is synchronized with
C. of one or more swimmers are synchronized with
D. by one swimmer or more is synchronized to
E. by one or more swimmers synchronize to

[spoiler]OA: A vs C. Which one is better and why??Please justify your choice.[/spoiler]
I feel "sync with" is correct usage
so we are left with Option B and Option C
option B: "one swimmer or more" not parallel
option C: "one or more swimmers" parallel.
Last edited by sameerballani on Wed Jun 22, 2011 7:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by ov25 » Wed Jun 22, 2011 7:17 am
Hi,
There is no need to use past tense. I think we can write it in simple present as:
movements of one or more swimmers synchronize with...
So lets see
Because of a similarity to dance, synchronized swimming-exhibition swimming in which the movements of one or more swimmers synchronize with musical accompaniment-is sometimes called water ballet, especially in theatrical situations.

I am somehow not comfortable with this--- this construction makes 'movements' the agent of the action 'synchronize' illogically....

I'd rather prefer
Because of a similarity to dance, synchronized swimming-exhibition swimming in which the movements of one or more swimmers are synchronized with musical accompaniment-is sometimes called water ballet, especially in theatrical situations.

OR even better

Because of a similarity to dance, synchronized swimming-exhibition swimming in which one of more swimmers synchronize their movements to a musical accompaniment-is sometimes called water ballet, especially in theatrical situations.
Last edited by ov25 on Wed Jun 22, 2011 7:24 am, edited 2 times in total.
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by sameerballani » Wed Jun 22, 2011 7:23 am
Initially i also felt that we need ARE, but having read again, i feel the use of ARE is not mandatory as the content within dash is a GENERAL statement explaining what synch swimming is.
ov25 wrote:Lets see
Hi,
There is no need to use past tense. I think we can write it in simple present as:
movements of one or more swimmers synchronize with...
So lets see
Because of a similarity to dance, synchronized swimming-exhibition swimming in which the movements of one or more swimmers synchronize with musical accompaniment-is sometimes called water ballet, especially in theatrical situations.

I am somehow not comfortable with this--- this construction makes 'movements' the agent of the action 'synchronize' illogically....
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by Frankenstein » Wed Jun 22, 2011 7:28 am
ov25 wrote:
Because of a similarity to dance, synchronized swimming-exhibition swimming in which the movements of one or more swimmers synchronize with musical accompaniment-is sometimes called water ballet, especially in theatrical situations.

I am somehow not comfortable with this--- this construction makes 'movements' the agent of the action 'synchronize' illogically....
Hi,
How is 'movements' the agent? I believe swimmer is the agent and movement is the action. So, the actions are synchronized with music by someone/something as actions do not (by themselves) synchronize with music.
Definitely C sounds better than the movements of one or more swimmers synchronize with although I am not sure whether the second version is incorrect.
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by ov25 » Wed Jun 22, 2011 7:38 am
I may be over-thinking....

but on a slightly different topic along the lines of 'synchronize with' vs 'synchronize to',

I have a feeling that it is a matter of passive vs active. Please weigh in on this..also I like the experts to do the same.
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by Calvin123 » Wed Jun 22, 2011 7:38 am
aspirant2011 wrote:Because of a similarity to dance, synchronized swimming-exhibition swimming in which the movements of one or more swimmers synchronize to a musical accompaniment-is sometimes called water ballet, especially in theatrical situations.

A. of one or more swimmers synchronize to
B. of one swimmer or more is synchronized with
C. of one or more swimmers are synchronized with
D. by one swimmer or more is synchronized to
E. by one or more swimmers synchronize to

[spoiler]OA: A vs C. Which one is better and why??Please justify your choice.[/spoiler]
+1 for C
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by sanabk » Wed Jun 22, 2011 12:51 pm
Please find Stacey's great exemplified explanation here:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/to-or-with-t19905.html

Best!!!
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by Geva@EconomistGMAT » Wed Jun 22, 2011 9:57 pm
ov25 wrote:I may be over-thinking....

but on a slightly different topic along the lines of 'synchronize with' vs 'synchronize to',

I have a feeling that it is a matter of passive vs active. Please weigh in on this..also I like the experts to do the same.
Haven't read all the posts above, but that is the difference between "movements of dancers synchronize" (actively) and "movements of dancers ARE synchronized" (passive). Generally speaking, active is better than passive in the GMAT, but the problem is that movements cannot actively synchronize - the dancers can synchronize their movements, but the movements are synchronized.

Another minor issue that rubbed me wrong with A: ...synchronize to a musical accompaniment.

It's a long shot - even if we technically possible to use the preposition "to" in such a case it still means that we're using "synchronize to the music" in the same way as "the people dance to the sound of music". The downside is that we lose the meaning of "a swimmer(s) synchronizes his movements WITH the music" (apparent in C). In A, we have no indication that the dancer synchronizes his movement with the music.
So, if the dancer does not synchronize WITH the music, what else does he have to synchronize with? Only another dancer. But then, how does the sentence allow the possibility of "one dancer"? Therefore, If we use A, the single dancer has nothing to synchronize with (neither the music nor another dancer), leading to an illogical sentence.
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by aspirant2011 » Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:02 am
Geva@MasterGMAT wrote:
ov25 wrote:I may be over-thinking....

but on a slightly different topic along the lines of 'synchronize with' vs 'synchronize to',

I have a feeling that it is a matter of passive vs active. Please weigh in on this..also I like the experts to do the same.
Haven't read all the posts above, but that is the difference between "movements of dancers synchronize" (actively) and "movements of dancers ARE synchronized" (passive). Generally speaking, active is better than passive in the GMAT, but the problem is that movements cannot actively synchronize - the dancers can synchronize their movements, but the movements are synchronized.

Another minor issue that rubbed me wrong with A: ...synchronize to a musical accompaniment.

It's a long shot - even if we technically possible to use the preposition "to" in such a case it still means that we're using "synchronize to the music" in the same way as "the people dance to the sound of music". The downside is that we lose the meaning of "a swimmer(s) synchronizes his movements WITH the music" (apparent in C). In A, we have no indication that the dancer synchronizes his movement with the music.
So, if the dancer does not synchronize WITH the music, what else does he have to synchronize with? Only another dancer. But then, how does the sentence allow the possibility of "one dancer"? Therefore, If we use A, the single dancer has nothing to synchronize with (neither the music nor another dancer), leading to an illogical sentence.
thanks Geva for your explanation :-)
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