[email protected] wrote:Honestly I cannot believe that this question took a lot of posts. I cannot see a reason why the answer chosen is E. I strongly feel that Knewton experts are right and the answer to the question should be B. E does not use the right modifier.
B. Regarded by opponents as ineffective and meddlesome and by supporters as a conserver of life and energy, the speed limit continues to be fought over in our legislatures and on our freeways.
E. The fight over the speed limit, a measure regarded by opponents as ineffective and meddlesome and by supporters as a conserver of life and energy, continues in our legislatures and on our freeways.
See the option E carefully. 'The fight over the speed limit' and then a , when you associate a comma the modifier modifies the whole thing i.e 'The fight over the speed limt'. How can the fight over the speed limit be the measure of something. The modifier should only modify speed limit. Even 'fight over speed limit' cannot be the subject to which any modifier should be associated.
So how can the answer be E.
The presumption is that an APPOSITIVE (such as
a measure in E) refers to the IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING NOUN:
The new film by Steven Spielberg, a director known for producing epic movies, topped the box office last week.
In the sentence above, a DIRECTOR is in apposition to STEVEN SPIELBERG. Two nouns are in apposition when they appear SIDE-BY-SIDE, with the second serving to explain or define the first. Would any reader think that
a director refers to
the new film?
Answer choice E follows this same structure:
The fight over the speed limit, a measure regarded by opponents as ineffective and meddlesome and by supporters as a conserver of life and energy, continues...
In E, a MEASURE is in apposition to the SPEED LIMIT -- the IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING NOUN. Would any reader really think that
a measure refers to
the fight? Such an interpretation makes no sense.
There is good reason, however, to eliminate B: in
the speed limit continues to be fought OVER IN our legislators, the preposition OVER is not followed by its object, and the juxtaposition of the two prepositions (OVER IN) is needlessly awkward.
All this being said, any SC that inspires this much controversy is best ignored.
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