old question pls, help.

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old question pls, help.

by tanviet » Fri May 04, 2012 1:54 am
this question is dicussed a lot. but I want to reopen it.

Ron said that abstract noun can modify the preceding clause. for example,
I help other persons, a good thing everybody know.

if we think like that A is not incorrect. Pls, help. explain. oa is C.

For members of the seventeenth-century Ashanti
nation in Africa, animal-hide shields with wooden
frames were essential items of military equipment,
//a method to protect// warriors against enemy arrows
and spears.
(A) a method to protect
(B) as a method protecting
(C) protecting
(D) as a protection of
(E) to protect
Source: — Sentence Correction |

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by mathbyvemuri » Fri May 04, 2012 5:31 am
Concentrate on the following part:
"animal-hide shields with wooden
frames were essential items of military equipment,
//a method to protect// warriors against enemy arrows
and spears"

Narrow down it further:
"animal-hide shields (with wooden frames) were essential items (of military equipment),
//a method to protect// warriors against enemy arrows
and spears"

Removing the bracketed parts:
"animal-hide shields were essential items,
//a method to protect// warriors against enemy arrows
and spears"

Explanation:
"animal-hide shields were essential items" gives us some information about the animal-hide shields and not hinting us a method. Had it been "using animal-hide shields ...", it would have hinted a method. so "a method to protect" is not correct.
option(B)- "as a method" is also wrong for the reasons mentioned for option (A)
option(D)- "as a protection of " is wrong as it won't suite for a continuation after a "comma" (after "military equipment")
option(E)- "to protect" is also wrong for the reasons mentioned for option (D)

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