We have partnered with TradePub to bring you free industry magazines and resources - no coupons or credit cards required!

Visit: englishforums.tradepub.com


1 2
Share this topic:
This question is Not Answered
Latest post Mon, Dec 1 2008 10:17 AM by Anonymous. 13 replies.
Suggest an answer | | |
Kilimanjaro  +  200876 Sat, 25 Feb 06 10:15 PM

Hi,

which one is the best choice here? I'm perplexed. Thanks for your help.

Dinosaurs may have terrorized other creatures during their time on Earth, ---------- now it has emerged that some species had a taste for the flesh of their own kind.


A) unless

B) whether
C) because
D) even if
E) so that

Joined on Sat, Dec 3 2005
İzmir
Full Member 273
yulysess, 3 yr 272 days ago
"d" even if , I thinkSmile [:)]
CalifJim  +  200879 Sat, 25 Feb 06 10:19 PM
I share your perplexity.  "but" came to mind immediately, but it's not one of the choices.  If you absolutely have to choose one, choose D (even if).  That answer is the closest to "but" that I can see among the five.

CJ

Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004
California
Veteran Member 22,421
"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche
Kilimanjaro, 3 yr 272 days ago
I would go for "C" because Devil [6]
CalifJim  +  200883 Sat, 25 Feb 06 10:24 PM
LOL.  Yes, now I can see that as another possibility! Smile [:)]
Diamondrg  +  200885 Sat, 25 Feb 06 10:26 PM

 CalifJim wrote:
I share your perplexity.  "but" came to mind immediately, but it's not one of the choices.  If you absolutely have to choose one, choose D (even if).  That answer is the closest to "but" that I can see among the five.

CJ

Could you pease tell us what the sentence would mean if we inserted "even if"? 

Joined on Fri, Dec 2 2005
Contributing Member 1,043
Kilimanjaro  +  200889 Sat, 25 Feb 06 10:36 PM

 

Dinosaurs may have terrorized other creatures during their time on Earth, because now it has emerged that some species had a taste for the flesh of their own kind.

Hi Jim,

"because" , when used as a reason clause, attributes the reason why some species had a taste for the flesf of their mind to the possibility of terror that was caused by the dinasours.

"because" here only refers to the possibility by putting forward the action of emergence. Perhaps that's far from satisfactory, but I find it logical to make a corrolation between the two phenomena

MrPedantic  +  200929 Sun, 26 Feb 06 01:32 AM

Hello Kili

1. Dinosaurs may have terrorized other creatures during their time on Earth, unless now it has emerged that some species had a taste for the flesh of their own kind.

— i.e. unless now new research has emerged to show  that they wouldn't have terrorized other creatures, because they were too busy terrorizing their own kind. Possible.

2. Dinosaurs may have terrorized other creatures during their time on Earth, whether now it has emerged that some species had a taste for the flesh of their own kind.

— only possible if you say "whether or not it has now emerged", i.e. it's of no importance whether they were also cannibals.

3. Dinosaurs may have terrorized other creatures during their time on Earth, because now it has emerged that some species had a taste for the flesh of their own kind.

— possible if the "other creatures" were also members of the cannibal species.

4. Dinosaurs may have terrorized other creatures during their time on Earth, even if now it has emerged that some species had a taste for the flesh of their own kind.

— possible, as the opposite of #3: despite the fact that some species were cannibals, they weren't exclusively cannibals; thus they terrorized other species.

5. Dinosaurs may have terrorized other creatures during their time on Earth, so that now it has emerged that some species had a taste for the flesh of their own kind.

— not possible: having a taste for the flesh of their own kind can't be a consequence of terrorizing other creatures. It should be vice versa.

But like CJ, I'd prefer "but".

MrP

Joined on Tue, Oct 12 2004
Veteran Member 12,592
...opella forensis / adducit febris...
Diamondrg  +  200933 Sun, 26 Feb 06 01:49 AM

Does that some species have the trait of eating their own kind mean that they did not eat any other creatures? Not necessearily I think. Then what do you think is the point of the attempt to relate them? Does that the dinosaurs may have terrorized other creatures have anything to do with the fact that whether some creatures had the trait of eating their own kind or not? Does the first sentence bear any logical relation to the second one? Is it a logical sentence all in all?

1 2
© MediaCet Ltd. 2009, v5.0.3615.29165. All content posted by our users is a contribution to the public domain, this does not include imported usenet posts.*
For web related enquires please contact us on webmaster@mediacet.com, status updates are available at status.mediacet.com.
*Usenet post removal: Use 'X-No-Archive'. You may not have understood that your posts would end up in the public domain. Please send proof of the poster's email, we will remove immediately.