OG13 sc 77题

translate

77. A 1972 agreement between Canada and the United Statesreduced the amount of phosphates that municipalities had been allowed to dumpinto the Great Lakes.

(A) reduced the amount of phosphates that municipalities had been allowed to dump

(B) reduced the phosphate amount that municipalities had been dumping

(C) reduces the phosphate amount municipalities have been allowed to dump

(D) reduced the amount of phosphates that municipalities are allowed to dump

(E) reduces the amount of phosphates allowed for dumping by municipalities

C为啥是正确答案。OG说关于时态的问题，没看懂。

zincgirl

谢谢谢谢！

soulwangh

soulwangh 发表于 2013-11-21 11:04
At first, I held the same thinking as follows:

Now onto actual A), it says "had been allowed" not  ...

Q:

But In A the 1972 agreement changed the stipulated amount not the action . I didnt really get this

A:
The purpose of the agreement was to reduce not the amount that HAD BEEN ALLOWED but the amount that WOULD BE allowed moving forward.
The present tense ARE implies that the agreement is STILL IN EFFECT:

A 1972 agreement....reduced the amount...that municipalities ARE allowed to dump...

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Another thread

soulwangh

fanofkaka 发表于 2013-4-23 16:56
no, you are not correct about D. you have just applied an incorrect interpretation to what Joe said. ...

At first, I held the same thinking as follows:

Now onto actual A), it says "had been allowed" not "had been dumped". If A) said that "agreement reduced the amount that had been DUMPED by municipalities" then i agree that it is wrong because amount dumped before agreement came into effect cannot be reduced. But, A) says "had been allowed" so doesn't it mean that whatever was allowed earlier changed after the agreement. E.g. before 1972, municipalities had been allowed to dump 10 tonnes per day but after 1972 municipalities were allowed to dump 8 tonnes per day.

I think this question shows the discrepecany between Chinese Thinking and American's Thinking.

In our language, "the amount that were allowed" should be reduced. After the amount is reduced, the new amount cannot be influenced by the agreement anymore.

In English, "the amount that are allowed" should be reduced. The agreement still influence the amount, because if you had not reduce the amount, the amount now allowed would not be what it is now.

Seem it is painful to change this way of thinking.

fanofkaka

no, you are not correct about D. you have just applied an incorrect interpretation to what Joe said..

as for A, in the same sense that you cannot go back in time and change how much was dumped, you cannot go back in time and change how much was allowed. you can only change how much was allowed from that point forward..

_________________
Tim Sanders
Manhattan GMAT Instructor

fanofkaka

jlucero wrote:
(D) In 2010, I decided to reduce the number of calories that I ate. (from that point forward)

i don't have problem with actual D) but i think what you wrote is not similar to actual D) because your sentence somehow implies that you stopped taking in reduced no. of calories. In fact, following sentence would be similar "In 2010, I decided to reduce the number of calories that I EAT" as it shows you still take reduced no. of calories. This is similar to "are allowed" in actual D). Do you think i am correct

Now onto actual A), it says "had been allowed" not "had been dumped". If A) said that "agreement reduced the amount that had been DUMPED by municipalities" then i agree that it is wrong because amount dumped before agreement came into effect cannot be reduced. But, A) says "had been allowed" so doesn't it mean that whatever was allowed earlier changed after the agreement. E.g. before 1972, municipalities had been allowed to dump 10 tonnes per day but after 1972 municipalities were allowed to dump 8 tonnes per day.

fanofkaka

This question has been discussed many times but, still, understanding it is pain for many students, including me. Most students choose "A" thinking that "1972 agreement reduced the amount that municipalities were allowed to dump before 1972". E.g. before 1972, municipalities were allowed to dump 10 tonnes per day but after 1972 municipalities were allowed to dump 8 tonnes per day. I think one way to understand it forever would be ask "how would one write the sentence that actually describes the meaning in BOLD and then see the difference between that sentence and correct answer.

Experts can you please help in writing the sentence that actually describes the meaning in BOLD


That's the difference between A (wrong) and D (correct), so I can't really write another sentence other than A & D. Here's a parallel example which might help to shed some light on the issue:

(A) In 2010, I decided to reduce the number of calories that I had eaten. (prior to 2010??? How can I retroactively do this?)

(D) In 2010, I decided to reduce the number of calories that I ate. (from that point forward)

_________________
Joe Lucero
Manhattan GMAT Instructor

xiaojindiao

http://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/the-number-of-people-flying-first-t5600.html

LZ挑manhattan staff的解释来看看

-- by 会员 DUKB24 (2012/9/18 8:27:57)

没找到这道题呀~

-- by 会员 花花臭臭 (2012/9/22 15:13:03)

Dukb的链接好像发错了，我重新找了个
http://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/post13476.html#p13476

木头鞋子

1，1972年的协议，是一个客观存在，不涉及到过去，更不涉时间段。因为题目不是“in 1972”，而是“a 1972 agreement” 。

2，用完成时一定要小心，尤其是过去完成时，这是个外国人都很少用到的时态。所以要养成一个好习惯，那就是看到完成时就要找时间段。

希望能够帮到你

花花臭臭

http://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/the-number-of-people-flying-first-t5600.html

LZ挑manhattan staff的解释来看看

-- by 会员 DUKB24 (2012/9/18 8:27:57)

没找到这道题呀~