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Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
solidcolor wrote:
Rivaling the pyramids of Egypt or even the ancient cities of the Maya as an achievement, the army of terra-cotta warriors created to protect Qin Shi Huang, China’s first emperor, in his afterlife is more than 2,000 years old and took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete them.
A. took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete them
B. took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete it
C. took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete
D. 700,000 artisans took more than 36 years to complete
E. to complete them took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that the army of terra-cotta warriors created to protect Qin Shi Huang in his afterlife is more than 2,000 years old and took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Pronouns + Parallelism• Collective nouns (such as “army” in this sentence) are always singular.
• Any elements linked by a conjunction ("and" in this sentence) must be parallel.
A: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "army" with the plural pronoun "they"; please remember, collective nouns (such as “army” in this sentence) are always singular. Further, Option A alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "to complete them"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that the army of terra-cotta warriors created to protect Qin Shi Huang in his afterlife is more than 2,000 years old and took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete.
B: Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "to complete it"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that the army of terra-cotta warriors created to protect Qin Shi Huang in his afterlife is more than 2,000 years old and took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete.
C: Correct. This answer choice avoids the pronoun error seen in Options B and E, as it uses no pronouns. Further, Option C uses the phrase "took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete", conveying the intended meaning - that the army of terra-cotta warriors created to protect Qin Shi Huang in his afterlife is more than 2,000 years old and took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete. Additionally, Option C maintains parallelism between the phrases "is more than 2,000 years old" and "took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete".
D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the clause "700,000 artisans took more than 36 years to complete"; the construction of this clause leads to an incoherent meaning, as it lacks an object; the intended meaning is that the army of terra-cotta warriors created to protect Qin Shi Huang in his afterlife is more than 2,000 years old and took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete.
E: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "army" with the plural pronoun "they"; please remember, collective nouns (such as “army” in this sentence) are always singular. Further, Option E fails to maintain parallelism between the phrase "is more than 2,000 years old" and the clause "to complete them took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years"; please remember, any elements linked by a conjunction ("and" in this sentence) must be parallel.
Hence, C is the best answer choice.All the best!
Experts' Global Team