The 151 member governments

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The 151 member governments

by anksm22 » Sun Sep 06, 2015 9:38 am
The 151 member governments of the World Bank are expected to increase the bank's funding by $75 billion, though some United States legislators cite an obstacle to congressional passage being the concern that the bank's loans will help foreign producers compete with American businesses.

(A) an obstacle to congressional passage being the concern
(B) a concern as an obstacle to congressional passage
(C) as an obstacle to congressional passage the concern
(D) the concern, an obstacle to congressional passage,
(E) as an obstacle for Congress to pass it the concern

Please explain this. I am confused how to approach this question?

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by GMATGuruNY » Mon Sep 07, 2015 5:16 am
anksm22 wrote:The 151 member governments of the World Bank are expected to increase the bank's funding by $75 billion, though some United States legislators cite an obstacle to congressional passage being the concern that the bank's loans will help foreign producers compete with American businesses.

(A) an obstacle to congressional passage being the concern
(B) a concern as an obstacle to congressional passage
(C) as an obstacle to congressional passage the concern
(D) the concern, an obstacle to congressional passage,
(E) as an obstacle for Congress to pass it the concern
A: congressional passage being the concern
Here, being the concern seems to modify passage, implying that PASSAGE is BEING THE CONCERN.
Not the intended meaning.

A modifier should be AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE to its intended referent.
Here, that the bank's loans will help foreign producers is intended to serve as an adjective modifying concern.
What KIND of concern?
the concern that the bank's loans will help foreign producers.
Eliminate B and D, which unnecessarily position that the bank's loans will help foreign producers far from its intended referent (concern).

In E, it lacks a clear referent.
Eliminate E.

The correct answer is C.
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by sagarock » Sun Dec 10, 2017 12:18 pm
Gmatguruny ,I have seen various instances in which that has been used after a prepositional modifier,then why it is wrong here? kindly explain b and d.

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by GMATGuruNY » Wed Dec 13, 2017 4:29 am
sagarock wrote:Gmatguruny ,I have seen various instances in which that has been used after a prepositional modifier,then why it is wrong here? kindly explain b and d.
As noted in my post above, a modifier should be AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE to what it serves to modify.
B: Some United States legislators cite a concern as an obstacle to congressional passage that the bank's loans will help foreign producers.
C: Some United States legislators cite as an obstacle to congressional passage the concern that the bank's loans will help foreign producers.
In the options above, the blue portion is an ADVERB serving to modify cite, while the red portion is an ADJECTIVE serving to modify concern.
Whereas C positions the two colored modifiers as close as possible to what they modify, B does not.
Eliminate B.

D: The 151 member governments of the World Bank are expected to increase the bank's funding by $75 billion, though some United States legislators cite the concern, an obstacle to congressional passage, that the bank's loans will help foreign producers compete with American businesses.
Here, the portion in red is a nonessential modifier.
When a nonessential modifier is removed, the remaining portions should convey the complete meaning of the original sentence.
If we remove the nonessential modifier in D, we get:
The 151 member governments of the World Bank are expected to increase the bank's funding by $75 billion, though some United States legislators cite the concern that the bank's loans will help foreign producers compete with American businesses.
Here, the intended meaning of the original sentence -- that congressional PASSAGE might prove difficult -- is not conveyed.
Eliminate D.
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