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OG-12.61. Rivaling pyramids

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OG-12.61. Rivaling pyramids

by rishijhawar » Mon Jun 27, 2011 4:46 am
Rivaling the pyramids of Egypt or even the ancient cities of the Maya as an achievement, the army of terra-cotta warriors created to protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife is more than 2,000 years old and took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete.

A.the army of terra-cotta warriors created to protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife is more than 2,000 years old and took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete
B.Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, was protected in his afterlife by an army of terra-cotta warriors that was created more than 2,000 years ago by 700,000 artisans who took more than 36 years to complete it
C.it took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to create an army of terra-cotta warriors more than 2,000 years ago that would protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife
D.more than 2,000 years ago, 700,000 artisans worked more than 36 years to create an army of terra-cotta warriors to protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife
E.more than 36 years were needed to complete the army of terra-cotta warriors that 700,000 artisans created 2,000 years ago to protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife

OA A. Whats wrong with B. Though it is an old post, I am little confused with various reasonings.
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by Geva@EconomistGMAT » Mon Jun 27, 2011 6:58 am
rishijhawar wrote:Rivaling the pyramids of Egypt or even the ancient cities of the Maya as an achievement, the army of terra-cotta warriors created to protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife is more than 2,000 years old and took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete.

A.the army of terra-cotta warriors created to protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife is more than 2,000 years old and took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete
B.Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, was protected in his afterlife by an army of terra-cotta warriors that was created more than 2,000 years ago by 700,000 artisans who took more than 36 years to complete it
C.it took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to create an army of terra-cotta warriors more than 2,000 years ago that would protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife
D.more than 2,000 years ago, 700,000 artisans worked more than 36 years to create an army of terra-cotta warriors to protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife
E.more than 36 years were needed to complete the army of terra-cotta warriors that 700,000 artisans created 2,000 years ago to protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife

OA A. Whats wrong with B. Though it is an old post, I am little confused with various reasonings.
B has a modifier problem. The part before the comma "rivaling the pyramids..." is called a modifier - it is not a standalone, independent clause, but rather a modifying clause which needs to describe something. A modifier needs to be as close as possible to the thing it is modifying. Specifically, when a sentence begins with a modifying clause separated by a comma, the noun following the comma must be one that can logically be described by the modifying clause.

Therefore, A is ok because the modifier correctly describes "the army of terr-cotta warriors...".

B is eliminated because Qin Shi Huang does not, by himself, rival the pyramids of Egypt. The same reason is used to eliminate C, D and E - in all of them, the noun following the comma is not a noun that can logically be modified by the modifier in the beginning of the sentence.
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by rishijhawar » Mon Jun 27, 2011 7:28 am
Geva, thanks. I agree with your explanation of modifiers. But using the same explanation, why can't we say Qin Shi Huang, by himself, rivaled the pyramids of Egypt. As modifiers explain/talk about someone/something, I think the modifier here talks about Q.S.Haung.
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by Geva@EconomistGMAT » Mon Jun 27, 2011 7:41 am
rishijhawar wrote:Geva, thanks. I agree with your explanation of modifiers. But using the same explanation, why can't we say Qin Shi Huang, by himself, rivaled the pyramids of Egypt. As modifiers explain/talk about someone/something, I think the modifier here talks about Q.S.Haung.
It would be illogical to say that a person rivals an inanimate object such as the pyramids. Also, note the end of the clause: rival...as an achievement. The comparison, or rivalry, is in terms of "who/what is the greater achievement". A chinese General, no matter how great, is not himself an achievement.
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