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Modern Technology

by Soumita Ghosh » Mon Feb 11, 2013 10:57 am
Modern Technology allows manufacturers to make computers faster now than at any other time human's have known.


A)computers faster now than at any other time
B)computers that are faster than they were at any other time
C)computers that are faster than those at any other time
D)faster computers than those at any other time
E)faster computers now than at any other time

OA C

But I chose B

As per my understanding speed of computer presently is compared with speed of computer at any other time. Am I wrong in understanding?
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by GMATGuruNY » Mon Feb 11, 2013 12:49 pm
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by Bill@VeritasPrep » Mon Feb 11, 2013 2:50 pm
Soumita Ghosh wrote:Modern Technology allows manufacturers to make computers faster now than at any other time human's have known.


A)computers faster now than at any other time
B)computers that are faster than they were at any other time
C)computers that are faster than those at any other time
D)faster computers than those at any other time
E)faster computers now than at any other time

OA C

But I chose B

As per my understanding speed of computer presently is compared with speed of computer at any other time. Am I wrong in understanding?
We need to make it clear that we're comparing computers built today to computers built at any other time. The word "those" accomplishes this well.

B could be interpreted as meaning that manufacturers have upgraded computers built at any other time to be faster today. This is illogical.
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by sana.noor » Tue Feb 12, 2013 4:57 am
Ok here comes my explanation.
making thing too concise or short is also wrong...a wall of stone is better than a stone wall. So "faster computers" is awkward and thus D and E are out.
Now we are left with A, B and C. we are comparing computers that are built today with computers at any other time. A says: computers faster now than at any other time. computers arnt compared with time. infact we are comparing two different computers thus, A isnt giving a clear meaning. Cross A B is using "They" which is wrong. C is the only right option. Computers are compared with those computers which were built at any other time.
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by tanviet » Tue Feb 12, 2013 10:51 pm
why d is wrong in the original sentence?
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by sana.noor » Tue Feb 12, 2013 11:14 pm
Faster computer is awkward...it should be computers that are faster
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by aditya8062 » Tue Feb 19, 2013 4:23 am
my comprehension of A is little different : to me A seem to suggest that modern technology allows us to make computers at a fast pace than it was possible earlier .i guess meaning wise even this wud go oki .so how do i decide what is the intent of the sentence in such situation ?
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by lunarpower » Tue Feb 19, 2013 5:54 am
aditya8062 wrote:my comprehension of A is little different : to me A seem to suggest that modern technology allows us to make computers at a fast pace than it was possible earlier .
... and that would also be a valid interpretation. there's no reason to choose one over the other; it's just a badly written question.

the worst part here is that this question is essentially an exact copy of the following one, from GMAT PREP (which isn't ambiguous):
https://www.beatthegmat.com/small-car-fu ... 48083.html

(it is somewhat amusing to see a problem that's almost an exact copy of an official problem -- and yet still has fatal issues)

i guess meaning wise even this wud go oki
sorry, i don't know what this is supposed to say. perhaps something was typed incorrectly?

.so how do i decide what is the intent of the sentence in such situation ?
you don't. it's a bad question.
ignore it, and be extremely suspicious of any problems from the same source.

stick to the official problems! that way, you won't face situations like this one.
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by Tommy Wallach » Tue Feb 19, 2013 12:59 pm
Hey Guys,

Ron is absolutely right here. There are errors in the correct answer here:

Modern tech allows manufacturers to make computers that are faster than those at any other time.

"at any other time" is a prepositional phrase, and it should be modifying a verb:

I ran faster today than I have (run) at any other time. (modifies "have run")
At any other time, I'd be happy to see you. (modifies "would be")

In this sentence, they want it to be modifying "those":

...faster than computers at any other time...

How can a computer be at any other time. What does that even mean? You could say "faster than they've ever been before" or "faster than every other computer on the market," but you can't say "faster than computers at any other time". It simply doesn't mean anything!

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by lunarpower » Tue Feb 19, 2013 3:56 pm
Tommy Wallach wrote:...faster than computers at any other time...

How can a computer be at any other time. What does that even mean? You could say "faster than they've ever been before" or "faster than every other computer on the market," but you can't say "faster than computers at any other time". It simply doesn't mean anything!
this isn't accurate. (in the GMAT PREP problem that i linked, the correct sentence is "Today's technology allows manufacturers to make small cars that are more fuel-efficient than those at any other time in production history"; if the above principle were a thing, then that, too, would be incorrect.

things can certainly belong to timeframes:
French aristocratic men's clothing in the 17th century often incorporated high-heeled shoes
--> nothing wrong with this sentence. (well, not grammatically, at least. sartorially, that's a whole new can of worms.)

as an editor, sure, i can think of better ways to write that particular thought -- but, remember, "fixing the sentences" on the gmat is not a good habit to get into.
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by Tommy Wallach » Tue Feb 19, 2013 4:19 pm
Hey Ron,

I find this interesting. For me, the problem is the preposition "at," so the second example you give wouldn't be a problem. I recognize that official question, but I think the addition of "in production history" makes all the difference. "Humans have known" doesn't make any sense. That's not an idiomatic expression. In the official sentence, we have manufacturers matching up to production history. I think that, with the same ending, the official sentence would be wrong, too:

"Today's technology allows manufacturers to make small cars that are more fuel-efficient than those at any other time humans have known."

What? I stand behind my contention that that sentence is wrong. : )

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