198. Canadian scientists have calculated that one human being should be struck every nine years by a meteorite, while each year sixteen buildings can be expected to sustain damage from such objects.
(A) one human being should be struck every nine years by a meteorite
(B) a human being should be struck by a meteorite once in every nine years
(C) a meteorite will strike one human being once in every nine years
(D) every nine years a human being will be struck by a meteorite
(E) every nine years a human being should be struck by a meteorite
Solution:
Parallelism**
Its a classic question of logical parallelism.
The structure in the second, non-underlined part, is time span + noun + some destruction.
To easily solve this question, flip the sentence
Each year sixteen buildings can be expected to sustain damage would be parallel with something like every nine years a human can be expected to be struck
A, B, and C do not conserve the inherent structure explained above and should be eliminated.
should be is more comparable with should be than will be.
Hence, E is a better choice than D.
OG Solution:
Choices A, B, and E can be faulted for using should in place of will to indicate future occurrences: should carries the suggestion, especially unwarranted in this context, that the Canadian scientists are describing what ought to happen. The phrase once in every nine years is needlessly wordy in B and C. Also, the language of C implies more than can reasonably be maintained: i.e., that a meteorite will strike one person, and no one else, exactly once during every nine-year period. Choice D is best: the phrasing is concise and free of unintended suggestions, and the use of the indefinite article in a human being is appropriate for describing what is expected to be true only on the average.
Sentence Correction - 1000 Questions with Solution:
(A) one human being should be struck every nine years by a meteorite
(B) a human being should be struck by a meteorite once in every nine years
(C) a meteorite will strike one human being once in every nine years
(D) every nine years a human being will be struck by a meteorite
(E) every nine years a human being should be struck by a meteorite
Solution:
Parallelism**
Its a classic question of logical parallelism.
The structure in the second, non-underlined part, is time span + noun + some destruction.
To easily solve this question, flip the sentence
Each year sixteen buildings can be expected to sustain damage would be parallel with something like every nine years a human can be expected to be struck
A, B, and C do not conserve the inherent structure explained above and should be eliminated.
should be is more comparable with should be than will be.
Hence, E is a better choice than D.
OG Solution:
Choices A, B, and E can be faulted for using should in place of will to indicate future occurrences: should carries the suggestion, especially unwarranted in this context, that the Canadian scientists are describing what ought to happen. The phrase once in every nine years is needlessly wordy in B and C. Also, the language of C implies more than can reasonably be maintained: i.e., that a meteorite will strike one person, and no one else, exactly once during every nine-year period. Choice D is best: the phrasing is concise and free of unintended suggestions, and the use of the indefinite article in a human being is appropriate for describing what is expected to be true only on the average.
Sentence Correction - 1000 Questions with Solution: