* According to a new report by the surgeon general

[subhajeetcool]

According to a new report by the surgeon general, women with less than a high school education had three times the likelihood that they would begin smoking as women who went to college

(a)had three times the likelihood that they would begin smoking
(b)had three times the likelihood of beginning smoking
(c)were three times more likely to begin to smoke
(d)were three times more likely that they would begin to smoke
(e)were three times as likely to begin to smoking

Source GMAT Prep
why is C wrong.

[nileshdalvimumbai]

more likely...as is wrong comparison.
more likely should be followed by than.
as likely...as is the proper comparison.

[jnelson0612]

more likely...as is wrong comparison.
more likely should be followed by than.
as likely...as is the proper comparison.

Correct, thank you!

[krishnan.anju1987]

Hi,

e seems to be the lesser evil of these options as idiomatic usage is as much as but the usage of as much as to begin to smoking seems wrong. Is the OA e? This mistake makes me seriously doubt the answer.

[RonPurewal]

yes, krishnan has a point.
either (a) this isn't a gmat prep problem, or (b) it has been SERIOUSLY mistranscribed.

so -- the usual ...
please post a screenshot of the problem from the official gmat prep software.
if such a screenshot is not posted within the next 1-1.5 weeks, we'll delete the thread. thanks.

[supratim7]

Here goes the correct transcription

According to a new report by the surgeon general, women with less than a high school education had three times the likelihood that they would begin smoking as women
who went to college.
(A) had three times the likelihood that they would begin smoking
(B) had three times the likelihood of beginning smoking
(C) were three times more likely to begin to smoke
(D) were three times more likely that they would begin to smoke
(E) were three times as likely to begin smoking

[jlucero]

Per the new rules of this forum, we can't use a transcription, we actually need a screenshot of the question to be able to discuss. Otherwise we are potentially violating copyright laws for paid resources.

[fionaw752]

Hi Dear instructors,
Since this question is from the PREP. is it available to discuss now?
I am not questioning the official correct answer, but I thought the D choice is ill comarision between " likely to begin smoking" and "women who went to college", what I have learned in Manhattan Prep SC book is the items comapred must be parallel. So why is this choice correct?
Thank you very much for your kindly help.

[RonPurewal]

we are still waiting for proof that the question is from the FREE gmat prep software. please provide a screenshot, thanks.

i have fairly extensive archives of problems from the free software, and i don't see this problem anywhere in my archives -- so, frankly, i doubt that it's from there. if anything, it's probably from the paid "packs". (if the problem is from the paid software, we can't use it.)
nevertheless, we'll keep the thread open, just in case anyone can provide proof otherwise.

[SAHARSHB917]

This is indeed a GMAT Prep problem. The problem is the part of the folder for all GMAT prep problem from test 1 and 2.
http://gmatclub.com/forum/all-gmatprep- ... 87679.html
It has disclaimer

DISCLAIMER: this is a collection that contains ONLY and SOLELY material gathered on the internet. Moreover, the questions come from the free GMATPrep software, in its different versions overtime. The collection does not contain any question from Question Pack 1 or Exam Pack 1. They can be purchased on the MBA store. All this in regards of copyrighted material owned by GMAC.



Anyway, If you are convinced that the question is from free collection, can you tell why 'were' is used for women. Should not we use 'was'. (the question is not from underlined part)

[RonPurewal]

hm?
woman (singular)
women (plural)

i think i must be misunderstanding your question—the fact that "woman" is singular and "women" is plural, like "man" and "men", is so basic that i can't imagine it's the issue here.)

in any case, we still need a screen shot; that's still not the primary source (so there's nothing to guarantee that some paid questions haven't been snuck into that collection).