[問題]OG176

[enim]

176. As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many scientists now believe that all of the information encoded
in 50.000 to 100.000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely three percent of the cell's DNA.

(A) 50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely
(B) 50,000 to 100,000 of the human cell's different genes are contained in a mere
(C) the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in human cells are contained in merely
(D) 50,000 to 100,000 of human cells' different genes is contained in merely
(E) the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in a human cell is contained in a mere

This question poses two problems: subject-verb agreement and accuracy of expression. Choice E, the best answer, states the matter clearly and grammatically. The subject, all of the information, must be taken as singular because the mass noun information is singular. Choices A, B, and C all mistake the number of the subject and incorrectly use the plural verb are contained. A, B, and D do not make it clear whether 50,000 to 100,000 represents all or a fraction of the genes in a cell. C and D, by referring to cells in the plural, do not make it clear whether the number mentioned is to be found in each individual cell or in a collection of cells.


這題我有幾個不懂的地方
去找了CD，順便把他貼上來，讓大家看看

A,B, and D前面都沒有the，所以不知道這5-10萬個dd是不是特指cell中的全部or只是其中的一部分。換句話說，加了the，就說明這5-10萬個genes是一個cell的全部genes了。

from longman
a mere
[adverb] use this to talk about something that is only a small amount or figure, or is lower than you would expect
a mere £50/three days/16% etc
You can now buy computers from a mere £300.
The crossword took him a mere six and a half minutes.
Merely
1 used to emphasize how small or unimportant something or someone is
synonym only
He's merely a boy - you can't expect him to understand.
2 used to emphasize that nothing more than what you say is involved
synonym just
We're merely good friends.He merely shrugged and walked away.
3 not merely/rather than merely
used before the less important of two ideas in a sentence to emphasize the more important idea
It's not merely a matter of cost, but whether she's old enough to go on holiday alone.
It's important to write these goals down, rather than merely think about them.
從字典的解釋可以看出，merely 和a mere 都是副詞，因此不能從詞性上排除。但在形容 amount or figure 時，英文習慣用 a mere.

這道題的考點OG解釋的很清楚: 副詞修飾形容詞, 形容詞修飾名詞.
後面3 percent是一個名詞, 所以不能用merely副詞修飾.

[little8]

176. As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many scientists now believe that all of the information encoded
in 50.000 to 100.000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely three percent of the cell's DNA.

(A) 50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely
(B) 50,000 to 100,000 of the human cell's different genes are contained in a mere
(C) the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in human cells are contained in merely
(D) 50,000 to 100,000 of human cells' different genes is contained in merely
(E) the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in a human cell is contained in a mere

This question poses two problems: subject-verb agreement and accuracy of expression. Choice E, the best answer, states the matter clearly and grammatically. The subject, all of the information, must be taken as singular because the mass noun information is singular. Choices A, B, and C all mistake the number of the subject and incorrectly use the plural verb are contained. A, B, and D do not make it clear whether 50,000 to 100,000 represents all or a fraction of the genes in a cell. C and D, by referring to cells in the plural, do not make it clear whether the number mentioned is to be found in each individual cell or in a collection of cells.

OG上的解釋,我個人劃粗體的部分解釋看不懂,哪位大大好心解釋一下?

[crazykai]

176. As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many scientists now believe that all of the information encoded
in 50.000 to 100.000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely three percent of the cell's DNA.

(A) 50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely
(B) 50,000 to 100,000 of the human cell's different genes are contained in a mere
(C) the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in human cells are contained in merely
(D) 50,000 to 100,000 of human cells' different genes is contained in merely
(E) the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in a human cell is contained in a mere

This question poses two problems: subject-verb agreement and accuracy of expression. Choice E, the best answer, states the matter clearly and grammatically. The subject, all of the information, must be taken as singular because the mass noun information is singular. Choices A, B, and C all mistake the number of the subject and incorrectly use the plural verb are contained. A, B, and D do not make it clear whether 50,000 to 100,000 represents all or a fraction of the genes in a cell. C and D, by referring to cells in the plural, do not make it clear whether the number mentioned is to be found in each individual cell or in a collection of cells.

OG上的解釋,我個人劃粗體的部分解釋看不懂,哪位大大好心解釋一下?

OG的意思是C和D選項會讓人誤會成有很多個cell

但原句意是說一個cell中有50,000 to 100,000 個不同的基因

C和D會變成所有的cell中有50,000 to 100,000 個不同的基因