Sentence Correction

(1) Known today by a name they would not have recognized-Anasazi, Navajo for "ancient enemies"-the (( ancestors of the modern Zuni and Hopi built and then, for reasons still mysterious, abandoned the complex roads and structures of the domain they ruled a millennium ago in the American southwest.))

A. ancestors of the modern Zuni and Hopi built and then, for reasons still mysterious, abandoned the complex roads and structures of the domain they ruled a millennium ago in the American southwest
B. reasons are still mysterious why the ancestors of the modern Zuni and Hopi built and then abandoned the complex roads and structures of the domain they ruled in the American southwest a millennium ago
C. modern Zuni and Hopi had ancestors who, a millennium ago, ruled a domain in the American southwest where they built and then abandoned complex roads and structures for still mysterious reasons
D. domain of the American southwest was ruled a millennium ago by the ancestors of the modern Zuni and Hopi, who built and then, for reasons still mysterious, abandoned complex roads and structures
E. complex roads and structures of the domain that the ancestors of the modern Zuni and Hopi ruled a millennium ago in the American southwest were built and then, for reasons still mysterious, abandoned


I chose B, but OA is A, why the hell is that ?? Pls explain each choice.. The change sentence is in (( ))


(2) Drawing on her roots in a society that has a strong tradition of story-telling and oral renditions of the past, Indian writer Suniti Namjoshi incorporates many types of literature into her (( writing: including historical texts, legends, and even nursery rhymes from both Indian as well as)) European sources.

A.writing: including historical texts, legends, and even nursery rhymes from both Indian as well as
B.writing: historical texts, legends, and even nursery rhymes from both Indian and
C.writing: these include historical texts, legends, and even nursery rhymes from both Indian and
D.writing, which includes historical texts, legends, and even nursery rhymes both from Indian as well as
E.writing that includes historical texts, legends, and even nursery rhymes both from Indian and

I choce E over B, because I think ":" never sppears in GMAT and I think it's wrong. By the way, "that includes modifies " writting".

Am I missing something here?? OA is E. the changing statement is in (( )) pls explain each choice why they are wrong and right, thank you so much in advance...

Known today by a name they would not have recognized-Anasazi, Navajo for "ancient enemies"-the ancestors of the modern Zuni and Hopi built and then, for reasons still mysterious, abandoned the complex roads and structures of the domain they ruled a millennium ago in the American southwest.

A. ancestors of the modern Zuni and Hopi built and then, for reasons still mysterious, abandoned the complex roads and structures of the domain they ruled a millennium ago in the American southwest
B. reasons are still mysterious why the ancestors of the modern Zuni and Hopi built and then abandoned the complex roads and structures of the domain they ruled in the American southwest a millennium ago
C. modern Zuni and Hopi had ancestors who, a millennium ago, ruled a domain in the American southwest where they built and then abandoned complex roads and structures for still mysterious reasons
D. domain of the American southwest was ruled a millennium ago by the ancestors of the modern Zuni and Hopi, who built and then, for reasons still mysterious, abandoned complex roads and structures
E. complex roads and structures of the domain that the ancestors of the modern Zuni and Hopi ruled a millennium ago in the American southwest were built and then, for reasons still mysterious, abandoned

One @ a time.

Get to know what's the meaning of sentence!
Who is known today by a name Anasazi , who ruled and then abandoned a domain? (definitely human being Isn't it)
ancestors? (could be)
Reasons ? (nonsensical)
modern Zuni and Hopi? (could be)
domain of the American southwest? (nonsensical)
complex roads and structures ? (nonsensical)

A and C

C) modern Zuni and Hopi had ancestors who, a millennium ago, ruled a domain in the American southwest where they built and then abandoned complex roads and structures for still mysterious reason

they does not have a clear referent because two plural nouns precede "they" - "modern Zuni and Hopi" and "ancestors"

Pick A

2) IMO B

both X (Indian) and Y (European) is parallel.

smackmartine wrote: C) modern Zuni and Hopi had ancestors who, a millennium ago, ruled a domain in the American southwest where they built and then abandoned complex roads and structures for still mysterious reason

they does not have a clear referent because two plural nouns precede "they" - "modern Zuni and Hopi" and "ancestors"

Pick A

Thanks Smack

C is also wrong as it distorts the sentence's meaning : modern Zuni and Hopi had ancestors who...==> it appears as if modern Zuni and Hopi do not ancestors any more (nonsensical)

patanjali.purpose wrote: C is also wrong as it distorts the sentence's meaning : modern Zuni and Hopi had ancestors who...==> it appears as if modern Zuni and Hopi do not ancestors any more (nonsensical)

Good catch!!! Patanjali.

A. ancestors of the modern Zuni and Hopi built and then, for reasons still mysterious, abandoned the complex roads and structures of the domain they ruled a millennium ago in the American southwest: perfect
B. reasons are still mysterious why the ancestors of the modern Zuni and Hopi built and then abandoned the complex roads and structures of the domain they ruled in the American southwest a millennium ago: Meaning distorted because non-essential clause is replace. This means that even reason for building was not known.
C. modern Zuni and Hopi had ancestors who, a millennium ago, ruled a domain in the American southwest where they built and then abandoned complex roads and structures for still mysterious reasons: Rejection reason same as B

For Question 2

A is wrong because the colon after writing is wrong, it should be a comma. Moreover, the correct idiom is both x and y
B, initially, I was skeptical about this choice, but when you look at the other choices, this is the only one that looks good. The idiom is used correctly here
C, pronoun these is plural, whereas writing is singular. Also, the use of colon is misplaced
D, Wrong usage of idiom
E, it should be both from X and from Y. The second from is missing

A and B are the correct answers and in the future, please feature the underlined portioned(Bold would help too) and omit the parentheses as they are confusing