求问一道prep07的语法题······

晨依Jacqueline

mark一下一会看

slr257

in 1999 should modify led to the passage ; a verb modifier that states when the passage was led

when u place in 1999 close to Act , it seems that you are using in 1999 to act as a noun modifier to modifier Act ( Act that was in 1999)


you are creating an ambiguity for placing in 1999 at the end of the sentence， which can actually have two possible items to modify（passage？ or act？）

-- by 会员 DUKB24 (2012/10/16 22:58:45)

190. (GWD-28-Q24)Until the passage of the Piracy andCounterfeiting Amendments Act in 1982, a first-time charge of copyrightinfringement was merely a misdemeanor charge, federal prosecutors beingunlikely in pursuing criminal copyright infringers, while offenders weresubject to relatively small penalties.

A.      charge,federal prosecutors being unlikely in pursuing criminal copyright infringers,while offenders were
B.      charge,with federal prosecutors who were unlikely to pursue criminal copyrightinfringers, offenders being
C.      charge,federal prosecutors unlikely to pursue criminal copyright infringers, whileoffenders were
D.       charge; therefore, federal prosecutors wereunlikely in pursuing criminal copyright infringers and offenders being   (E)
E.       charge;therefore, federal prosecutors were unlikely to pursue criminal copyrightinfringers, and offenders were
请看这道题的原句，这样用是不是也产生了歧义呢

-- by 会员 呆牛牛 (2012/10/17 18:05:58)

yes  u r right


and you also point the most annoying yet interesting point in GMAT SC


the GMAT official sometimes is inconsistent in the explanation and problems （ especially when it comes to pronoun ambiguity issue）


so ，here are the few tips：


for non-underlined portions， what you need to do is to figure out why this portion should be right .. but sometimes this part is poorly written(like the example you raise and also many examples about pronoun issues and others), you should acknowlege this error but tolerate it ... since those poorly written sentences are also accepted by the authority， you should accpeted this sorts of ambiguity as well（followed the thingking pattern of these officials ）


for underlined portion， you should look for the splits to figure out what is being tested here


like the example above，the placement of modifier is actually split， here you should think that you are probably being test a point that modifier should be placed closely to the intended noun（ otherwise，it will change/obsure/distort the meaning or even render illogical meaning）
the placement of modifier is an issue frequently being tested by the GMAT， so you should be confident when finding this split


the same also applies to pronoun ambiguity， just look for the splits to guide you


the clue for solving the problem will always be buried in the five answer choices

-- by 会员 DUKB24 (2012/10/17 20:33:28)

The point that let the split guide is really helpful. I am going to utilize it later when doing SC. Thanks a lot!

DUKB24

it seems that I ignores something really important in this question when I check out this question today again

it might be that there is really some sorts of ambiguity about the placement of in 1999 here, but the fatal issue should which modifier should be modify the noun as close as possible( in this case, Act rather than in 1999)


I will quote a thread that get you crystally clear (sorry about the previous mistake I make):


OK, but I need to say at the outset that this isn't really where the action is in B. Look to other issues before considering ambiguity, because ambiguous modifiers aren't really much of an issue on the GMAT. Sure, they can be an issue, just not much of an issue.

But there's ambiguous and then there's ambiguous.

One species of ambiguity occurs when a modifier has two acceptable clauses (or a clause and a noun) either of which it might modify, so far as grammar is concerned. If only one of the grammatically acceptable candidates really makes sense, then this species of ambiguity isn't a problem on the GMAT or elsewhere.

Another species of ambiguity occurs when a modifier has one grammatically acceptable noun or clause to modify, but it's not the one that sense tells us it should.

This example is closer to the second sort of ambiguity. Consider this part of the sentence formed by choosing B.

...led to the passage of the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act in 1999....

There seem to be three phrases/clauses any one of which in 1999 might modify:in 1999 could be an adverb phrase of time, modifying the verb led; in 1999might be a noun modifier modifying the action noun passage; in 1999 might be a noun modifier modifying the noun Act.

The first is by far the most appealing; in DATE is almost always an adverb phrase of time.

The second is flat wrong. If in 1999 is a noun modifier, it has to touch the noun it modifies (with exceptions irrelevant to this question).

The third is unlikely. Not only is in DATE is almost always an adverb, but the idiomatic expression is Act of 1999. We use of to modify acts rulings, etc. by assigning them times.

So the grammar of the sentence is pretty clear, in 1999 is an adverb modifying the verb led. But the grammar doesn't match the apparent sense of the original sentence.

I have to tell you gain, though, that the GMAT doesn't often hang a lot on such distinctions.