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Extraordinary diary

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Extraordinary diary

by sam2304 » Sat Dec 24, 2011 10:08 am
The extraordinary diary of William Lyon Mackenzie King, prime minister of Canada for over twenty years, revealed that this most bland and circumspect of men was a mystic guided in both public and private life by omens, messages received at séances, and signs from heaven.

(A) that this most bland and circumspect of men was a mystic guided in both public and
(B) that this most bland and circumspect of men was a mystic and also guided both in public as well as
(C) this most bland and circumspect of men was a mystic and that he was guided in both public and
(D) this most bland and circumspect of men was a mystic and that he was guided in both public as well as
(E) this most bland and circumspect of men to have been a mystic and that he guided himself in both public as well as

OA after discussions.
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by patanjali.purpose » Sat Dec 24, 2011 10:39 am
The extraordinary diary of William Lyon Mackenzie King, prime minister of Canada for over twenty years, revealed that this most bland and circumspect of men was a mystic guided in both public and private life by omens, messages received at séances, and signs from heaven.

(A) that this most bland and circumspect of men was a mystic guided in both public and
Phrase "GUIDED..HEAVEN" modifies MYSTIC; usage of THAT..WAS correct - NO ISSUES
(B) that this most bland and circumspect of men was a mystic and also guided both in public as well as
Fragment - GUIDED does not have a verbal
(C) this most bland and circumspect of men was a mystic and that he was guided in both public and
(D) this most bland and circumspect of men was a mystic and that he was guided in both public as well as
THIS MOST...AND THAT...not parallel
(E) this most bland and circumspect of men to have been a mystic and that he guided himself in both public as well as
THIS MOST...AND THAT...not parallel; usage of HAVE BEEN - incorrect, we need past tense.

IMO A
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by sam2304 » Sat Dec 24, 2011 9:40 pm
OA : A
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by GMATGuruNY » Mon Dec 26, 2011 5:48 am
sam2304 wrote:The extraordinary diary of William Lyon Mackenzie King, prime minister of Canada for over twenty years, revealed that this most bland and circumspect of men was a mystic guided in both public and private life by omens, messages received at séances, and signs from heaven.

(A) that this most bland and circumspect of men was a mystic guided in both public and
(B) that this most bland and circumspect of men was a mystic and also guided both in public as well as
(C) this most bland and circumspect of men was a mystic and that he was guided in both public and
(D) this most bland and circumspect of men was a mystic and that he was guided in both public as well as
(E) this most bland and circumspect of men to have been a mystic and that he guided himself in both public as well as

OA after discussions.
I received a PM asking me to comment.

In C, D and E, revealed this most bland and circumspect of men implies that the diary revealed the man himself. The intended meaning of the sentence is that the diary revealed THAT this this most bland and circumspect of men WAS A MYSTIC. Eliminate C, D and E.

In B, the extraordinary diary revealed...and also guided implies that the DIARY guided. The intended meaning of the sentence is that the prime minister was a MYSTIC [who was] guided. Eliminate B.

The correct answer is A.
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by GmatKiss » Tue Dec 27, 2011 10:34 am
IMO: A
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by nicktim » Wed Jun 12, 2013 3:15 pm
Hi everyone,

This might sound like a really dumb question, but I simply just don't understand the meaning of the original sentence.

Can anyone please explain what this sentence means in a language that is more understandable?

"This most bland and circumspect of men was a mystic guided in both public and private life"

Bland means "boring" and circumspect means "cautious", but how are these two adjectives describing a "mystic"?

Thanks for your help.
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by faraz_jeddah » Thu Jun 13, 2013 2:34 am
nicktim wrote:Hi everyone,

This might sound like a really dumb question, but I simply just don't understand the meaning of the original sentence.

Can anyone please explain what this sentence means in a language that is more understandable?

"This most bland and circumspect of men was a mystic guided in both public and private life"

Bland means "boring" and circumspect means "cautious", but how are these two adjectives describing a "mystic"?

Thanks for your help.
Same here. This is an awkward sentence.
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by GMATGuruNY » Thu Jun 13, 2013 5:16 pm
nicktim wrote:Hi everyone,

This might sound like a really dumb question, but I simply just don't understand the meaning of the original sentence.

Can anyone please explain what this sentence means in a language that is more understandable?

"This most bland and circumspect of men was a mystic guided in both public and private life"

Bland means "boring" and circumspect means "cautious", but how are these two adjectives describing a "mystic"?

Thanks for your help.
To the world, William Lyon Mackenzie King was bland and circumspect: boring and cautious.
But in truth he was a mystic: a man who believed in mystical things.
When he had to make a decision, he'd wait for an omen to tell him what to do; he'd attend a seance and ask the spirit world for guidance; he'd look to the sky for a sign from heaven.
This is the meaning conveyed by the SC above.
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by nicktim » Fri Jun 14, 2013 1:16 am
GMATGuruNY wrote: To the world, William Lyon Mackenzie King was bland and circumspect: boring and cautious.

But in truth he was a mystic: a man who believed in mystical things.

When he had to make a decision, he'd wait for an omen to tell him what to do; he'd attend a seance and ask the spirit world for guidance; he'd look to the sky for a sign from heaven.

This is the meaning conveyed by the SC above.
Thank you very much for the translation, Mitch. I wish the original sentence was as clear as yours :roll:
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by rohit56 » Mon Dec 17, 2018 10:24 pm
Choice A is best. All of the other choices present errors in coordination or parallelism and also confusingly suggest that King's being a mystic and being guided... by omens... were separate matters. In addition, these choices contain errors in grammar and idiom. Choice B ungrammatically uses and also to link the noun mystic and the past participle guided. In choices C and D, that is required to introduce the clause x was a mystic if that introduces the second clause, he was guided.... In choice E, to have been a mystic and that he guided...are not parallel. Finally, B, D, and E use the unidiomatic both x as well as y instead of both x and y. Hence, A is the answer.
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