Parallelism - Participles

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Parallelism - Participles

by abcgmat » Tue Oct 11, 2011 4:48 am
1. In the search for alien life, astronomers have recently begun studying a promising region, a solar system that is populated by a number of potentially life-friendly planets formed by fragments of an exploding star some 7 million years ago and features many of the geological and climatic prerequisites for the evolution of life.
A - features
B - featured
C - had featured
D - featuring
E - feature

Does featuring refer to solar system or planets
Its clear its not astronomers have been studying.....featuring.... becuase then the modifier
'solar system...' must have had a comma before 'and featuring..' and also it doesnt make sense
Does featuring refer to 'solar system that is populated and that is featuring'
or 'planets formed by....and featuring...'
Featuring can refer to solar system or planets.
How do we make out which one it refers to
Can someone help

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by thestartupguy » Tue Oct 11, 2011 6:09 am
IMO E

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by theforrestgump » Tue Oct 11, 2011 6:18 am
featuring is describing " life-friendly planets"

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by BellTheGMAT » Tue Oct 11, 2011 6:56 am
IMO D
Wats the OA?

I found a similar ques....

Scientists have recently discovered what could be the largest and oldest living organism on Earth, a giant fungus that is an interwoven filigree of mushrooms and rootlike tentacles spawned by a single fertilized spore some 10,000 years ago and extending for more than 30 acres in the soil of a Michigan forest.
(A) extending
(B) extends
(C) extended
(D) it extended
(E) is extending

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by boltu_gmat » Tue Oct 11, 2011 7:45 am
IMO A

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by gmatclubmember » Tue Oct 11, 2011 7:55 am
In the search for alien life, astronomers have recently begun studying a promising region, a solar system that is [populated by a number of potentially life-friendly planets formed by fragments of an exploding star some 7 million years ago] and features many of the geological and climatic prerequisites for the evolution of life.

Features is referring to Solar system so the correct answer should be Features that is A.
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by mehrasa » Wed Oct 12, 2011 12:52 am
my pick is A
there is a parallelism structure in the sentence "...that is populated by a number of potentially life-friendly planets formed by fragments of an exploding star some 7 million years ago and features many of..." both are simple present, one (is populated) in passive voice and the other is in active voice (features)

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by mehrasa » Wed Oct 12, 2011 5:10 am
@edirik
But I think the antecedent of 'feature' is solar system not planets

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by mehrasa » Wed Oct 12, 2011 5:50 am
seems u r right.. the subject for 'feature' is planets... then choice E is correct