Hello Everyone!
Let's tackle this question, one thing at a time, and narrow down our options quickly so we know how to answer questions like this when they pop up on the GMAT! To begin, let's take a quick look at the question and highlight any major differences between the options in
orange:
An archaeological excavation at
what might have been a workshop where statues were reproduced yielded 1,532 fragments of human figures, including 7 intact statues.
(A)
what might have been a workshop where statues
were reproduced yielded 1,532 fragments of human figures
, including(B)
what might have been a workshop where statues
were reproduced yielded 1,532 fragments of human figures
and(C)
the site of a possible workshop where statues
were reproduced yielded 1,532 fragments of human figures
and(D)
the site of a possible workshop where statues
were reproduced yielded 1,532 fragments of human figures
, including(E)
the site of a possible workshop where statues
might have been reproduced yielded 1,532 fragments of human figures
, includingAfter a quick glance over the options, there are a few key differences we can focus on:
1. what might have been a workshop / the site of a possible workshop
2. were / might have been
3. and / , includingThese are all "either/or" splits, which is great - any one of these issues will eliminate wrong options quickly.
Let's start with #1 in our list: "what might have been a workshop" versus "the site of a possible workshop." The problem here lies with "possible workshop." As it's been mentioned in the forum already, there is no such thing as a "possible workshop." It makes a lot more sense to say "what might have been a workshop" because it clearly puts the workshop in the past tense and makes logical sense to readers. Let's eliminate any options that talk about a "possible workshop."
(A)
what might have been a workshop where statues were reproduced yielded 1,532 fragments of human figures, including
(B)
what might have been a workshop where statues were reproduced yielded 1,532 fragments of human figures and
(C)
the site of a possible workshop where statues were reproduced yielded 1,532 fragments of human figures and
(D)
the site of a possible workshop where statues were reproduced yielded 1,532 fragments of human figures, including
(E)
the site of a possible workshop where statues might have been reproduced yielded 1,532 fragments of human figures, including
We can eliminate options C, D, & E because they use the nonsensical phrase "possible workshop." Now that we have it narrowed down to only 2 options, let's tackle the rest of our list. To make mistakes easier to spot, let's add back in the non-underlined parts:
(A) An archaeological excavation at
what might have been a workshop where statues were reproduced yielded 1,532 fragments of human figures, including 7 intact statues.This is
INCORRECT because the 7 intact statues are NOT fragments - they're intact. Using the word "including" makes it sound like the intact statues are part of the pile of fragments, which doesn't make sense.
(B) An archaeological excavation at
what might have been a workshop where statues were reproduced yielded 1,532 fragments of human figures and 7 intact statues.This is
CORRECT! By using "and," it's clear to readers that the archaeologists found BOTH a pile of fragments AND 7 intact statues, which makes much more sense.
There you have it - option B is our choice!
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