1000SC - #76

by **guest** Sat Sep 22, 2007 1:30 pm

76. Although all the proceedings of the Communist party conference held in Moscow were not carried live, Soviet audiences have seen a great deal of coverage.

(A) all the proceedings of the Communist party conference held in Moscow were not carried live
(B) all the Communist party conference

by **Amar** Mon Sep 24, 2007 12:19 am

Although all the proceedings of the Communist party conference held in Moscow were not carried live, Soviet audiences have seen a great deal of coverage.

(A) all the proceedings of the Communist party conference held in Moscow were not carried live
(B) all the Communist party conference

by **RonPurewal** Tue Sep 25, 2007 6:01 am

Choice A is ambiguous: it can be taken to mean either (1) that NONE of the proceedings were carried live or (2) that NOT ALL of them were. Given the second part of the sentence (Soviet audiences saw a lot of the conference), (1) is absurd, but that doesn't stop choice A from potentially carrying both meanings. Remember that, even if 'common sense' or 'process of elimination' can get rid of ambiguity, it's still ambiguity, and it's still a problem.

Here's a simpler analogy:
'All of my friends weren't at the prom.'
could mean (1) all of my friends were absent from the prom
could mean (2) at least one of my friends stayed home
We can't tell.

Choice E resolves the ambiguity.

by **romeo** Wed Oct 03, 2007 11:47 pm

dadecountyexpress@gmail.c Wrote:Choice A is ambiguous: it can be taken to mean either (1) that NONE of the proceedings were carried live or (2) that NOT ALL of them were. Given the second part of the sentence (Soviet audiences saw a lot of the conference), (1) is absurd, but that doesn't stop choice A from potentially carrying both meanings. Remember that, even if 'common sense' or 'process of elimination' can get rid of ambiguity, it's still ambiguity, and it's still a problem.

Here's a simpler analogy:
'All of my friends weren't at the prom.'
could mean (1) all of my friends were absent from the prom
could mean (2) at least one of my friends stayed home
We can't tell.

Choice E resolves the ambiguity.

Thanks! This is very clear.