Elephant

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Elephant

by Ashujain » Mon Jun 04, 2012 5:33 am
The British sociologist and activist Barbara Wootton once noted as a humorous example of income
maldistribution that the elephant that gave rides to children at the Whipsnade Zoo was earning annually exactly what she then earned as director of adult education for London.

(A) that the elephant that gave rides to children at the Whipsnade Zoo was earning
(B) that the elephant, giving rides to children at the Whipsnade Zoo, had been earning
(C) that there was an elephant giving rides to children at the Whipsnade Zoo, and it earned
(D) the elephant that gave rides to children at the Whipsnade Zoo and was earning
(E) the elephant giving rides to children at the Whipsnade Zoo and that it earned
Source: — Sentence Correction |

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by Birottam Dutta » Mon Jun 04, 2012 6:49 am
This is a good question and let me explain the answer:

Firstly, "The British sociologist and activist Barbara Wootton once noted..." When you start the sentence saying person X noted, then the underlined portion has to start with "that", because "that" correctly addresses what the person noted.

On the basis of that, D and E get eliminated.

C has "and it earned" but the "and" is incorrect because it separates the clauses giving rides to children from "earning annually..." but what we want is a connection, not a separation. So, the and it earned part is not correct.

B uses had been earning but the sentence works well using a simple past tense just like the other parts of the sentence. Also, the comma separating the "giving rides to the children" tends to imply, that the elephant while giving rides, is also doing something else to earn the money which is logically incorrect.

So, A is the correct sentence and this is absolutely fine.

Correct Answer A!

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