guerrero wrote:Shilapentokh's study indicated that, in the Soviet Union, women's absenteeism from their jobs, despite their home duties and their child-care responsibilities, were only a fifth of men .
a)were only a fifth of men
b)were only a fifth of men's
c)was only a fifth of men's
d)was only a fifth of men
e)was a fifth of only of that of men
In A and B,
women's ABSENTEEISM (singular) does not agree with
WERE (plural).
Eliminate A and B.
D illogically compares
women's ABSENTEEISM to
a fifth of MEN.
Apples must be compared to apples; an abstract concept such as
absenteeism cannot be compared to people.
Eliminate D.
In E,
that seems to refer to
absenteeism, implying the following nonsensical meaning:
a fifth of only of the absenteeism.
Eliminate E.
The correct answer is
C.
The OA employs ELLIPSIS: the omission of word(s) whose presence is understood.
Here is the implied meaning:
Women's absenteeism was only a fifth of men's [absenteeism].
The word is brackets is omitted, but its presence is understood.
Last edited by
GMATGuruNY on Sun Sep 29, 2013 6:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
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