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Here are two examples. The first is not exactly related to "of" and "and", however we can still see how "of" can be so influential that sometimes it tends to misguide us by governing what it shouldn't govern.
The second is a quite famous one found in OG, a classical example about misplaced "A of B and C" phrase.
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19. The commission acknowledged that no amount of money or staff members can ensure the safety of people who live in the vicinity of a nuclear plant, but it approved the installation because it believed that all reasonable precautions had been taken.
(A) no amount of money or staff members
(B) neither vast amounts of money nor staff members
(C) neither vast amounts of money nor numbers of staff members
(D) neither vast amounts of money nor a large staff（D）
(E) no matter how large the staff or how vast the amount of money
In choice A, amount of … staff members is incorrect; amount properly refers to an undifferentiated mass, as in the case of money. Choice B does not make clear whether vast amounts is supposed to describe money only or money and staff members, and in choice C it is not certain whether vast modifies amounts only or amounts and numbers. Choice D is best. Choice E cannot fit grammatically into the original sentence because it supplies no noun that can function as a subject for the verb can. This question is a little more difficult than the average.
128. New hardy varieties of rice show promise of producing high yields without the costly requirements of irrigation and application of commercial fertilizer by earlier high-yielding varieties.
(A) requirements of irrigation and application of commercial fertilizer by earlier high-yielding varieties
(B) requirements by earlier high-yielding varieties of application of commercial fertilizer and irrigation
(C) requirements for application of commercial fertilizer and irrigation of earlier high-yielding varieties
(D) application of commercial fertilizer and irrigation that was required by earlier high-yielding varieties（E）
(E) irrigation and application of commercial fertilizer that were required by earlier high-yielding varieties
Choice E, the best answer, clearly and grammatically expresses the idea that two costly procedures, irrigation and the application of... fertilizer, were required by earlier high-yielding varieties of rice. In A, the placement of by earlier... varieties immediately after application of fertilizer suggests that the varieties applied the fertilizer. In B and D, the phrase application of... fertilizer and irrigation is ambiguous in meaning: it cannot be clearly determined whether applying fertilizer and irrigating are a single operation or two distinct operations. In C, only irrigation—not both irrigation and fertilization—is clearly associated with the earlier... varieties of rice.
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发表于 2004-5-27 23:35:00
发表于 2004-5-28 06:24:00
