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To distinguish quickly

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To distinguish quickly

by paes » Mon Sep 13, 2010 5:59 pm
To distinguish quickly between king and coral snakes slithering out from under a rock, hikers should look at the bands of color on their bodies: red and yellow bands touch on the venomous coral snake, but they are always separated by black bands on the harmless king snake.

(A) between king and coral snakes slithering
(B) between kings and coral snakes that slither
(C) among kings and coral snakes that are slithering
(D) among king and coral snakes as they slither
(E) kings from coral snakes slithering

[spoiler]I have 2 questions here
1. From B : can we use 'that' for a snake.
2. From A : 'slithering' is modifying to 'coral snakes' OR to 'king and coral snakes'

Source : Princeton
OA Later[/spoiler]
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by pradeepkaushal9518 » Mon Sep 13, 2010 8:34 pm
imo A

for 2 things between is required and for more than 2 among.
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by The Jock » Mon Sep 13, 2010 8:59 pm
I believe that answer could be E. E uses the idiom "To distinguish X from Y".
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by thevoid » Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:13 pm
paes wrote:To distinguish quickly between king and coral snakes slithering out from under a rock, hikers should look at the bands of color on their bodies: red and yellow bands touch on the venomous coral snake, but they are always separated by black bands on the harmless king snake.

(A) between king and coral snakes slithering
(B) between kings and coral snakes that slither
(C) among kings and coral snakes that are slithering
(D) among king and coral snakes as they slither
(E) kings from coral snakes slithering

[spoiler]I have 2 questions here
1. From B : can we use 'that' for a snake.
2. From A : 'slithering' is modifying to 'coral snakes' OR to 'king and coral snakes'

Source : Princeton
OA Later[/spoiler]

IMO - B IS RIGHT
1. "that slither " in B that refers to plural combo of "kings & coral snakes"
2. slithering looks to modify both of them, but B "that slither" luks better
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by paes » Mon Sep 13, 2010 10:41 pm
OA is A.

Nobody has given some convincing answer of my queries.
Others please help.
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by pradeepkaushal9518 » Mon Sep 13, 2010 11:49 pm
1.that is not clear her used for king or snakes

2.imo slithering modifies both kind and coral snakes

any expert can put more light on it
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by paes » Tue Sep 14, 2010 1:46 am
Some interesting thoughts regarding usage of who/which for animals :

https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/the ... t8899.html
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by Maciek » Tue Sep 14, 2010 1:51 am
Hi all!

Proper name is "king snakes". There is 3/2 split.
Therefore, we should eliminate answer choices B, C and E.

"as + clause" means "in the way that + clause"

expression "between X and Y" is correct
expression "among X and Y" is incorrect

Answer D is incorrect. It shows wrong usage of 'among' and changes the meaning of original sentence.

Answer A is clear.

Read "Top 10 Tips for the Sentence Correction Section" by Chris Black
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/09/ ... on-section

Hope it helps!
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by paes » Tue Sep 14, 2010 1:56 am
Maciek wrote:Hi all!

Proper name is "king snakes". There is 3/2 split.
Therefore, we should eliminate answer choices B, C and E.

"as + clause" means "in the way that + clause"

expression "between X and Y" is correct
expression "among X and Y" is incorrect

Answer D is incorrect. It shows wrong usage of 'among' and changes the meaning of original sentence.

Answer A is clear.

Read "Top 10 Tips for the Sentence Correction Section" by Chris Black
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/09/ ... on-section

Hope it helps!
Best,
Maciek
The red lined part is not clear.
How are you eliminating B ?
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by karanrulz4ever » Tue Sep 14, 2010 1:58 am
In B "between kings and coral snakes that slither " the word "that" indicates that only the coral snakes slither and the kings dont. The purpose of the sentence is differentiating slithering of king from coral snakes. So B is out.
C and D are out as among is used.
E conveys an awkward meaning. It distinguishes kings from coral snakes. But that is not the intention of the sentence.

Hence A
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by paes » Tue Sep 14, 2010 2:11 am
karanrulz4ever wrote:In B "between kings and coral snakes that slither " the word "that" indicates that only the coral snakes slither and the kings dont. The purpose of the sentence is differentiating slithering of king from coral snakes. So B is out.
C and D are out as among is used.
E conveys an awkward meaning. It distinguishes kings from coral snakes. But that is not the intention of the sentence.

Hence A
Wrong :

When you write :
"between kings and coral snakes that slither"

that is modifying to both : 'king and coral snakes' : see the verb slither
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by Maciek » Tue Sep 14, 2010 2:58 am
Hi!

Look at these sentences:

They could easily distinguish between kings and queens.

They could easily distinguish between king and coral snakes.

Proper name is "king snakes". Thus, we should eliminate answer choices B, C and E.

Hope it helps!
Best,
Maciek
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by paes » Tue Sep 14, 2010 3:20 am
Maciek wrote:Hi!

Look at these sentences:

They could easily distinguish between kings and queens.

They could easily distinguish between king and coral snakes.

Proper name is "king snakes". Thus, we should eliminate answer choices B, C and E.

Hope it helps!
Best,
Maciek
oh, the key point is king vs kings.
I didn't notice it.

thanks
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by niksworth » Wed Sep 15, 2010 6:56 am
paes wrote: I have 2 questions here
1. From B : can we use 'that' for a snake.
2. From A : 'slithering' is modifying to 'coral snakes' OR to 'king and coral snakes'
1. Yes, we can. However, there is a subtle difference in meaning in the two forms - that slither and slithering

2. slithering is modifying king and coral snakes (a compound noun). This can be taken as a general rule for compound nouns.
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by paddle_sweep » Wed Sep 15, 2010 8:21 pm
Maciek wrote:Hi!

Look at these sentences:

They could easily distinguish between kings and queens.

They could easily distinguish between king and coral snakes.

Proper name is "king snakes". Thus, we should eliminate answer choices B, C and E.

Hope it helps!
Best,
Maciek
Excellent. Thanks.
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