1000SC 515

[tiram]

515 Most energy analysts now agree that the costs of building and maintaining nuclear reactors are too high for nuclear power to likely prove cheaper than coal or oil in the long run.
(A) too high for nuclear power to likely
(B) high enough for nuclear power to be unlikely to
(C) high enough that it is unlikely nuclear power will
(D) so high that nuclear power is unlikely to
(E) so high as to be unlikely that nuclear power will

Can someone please explain why the answer is D and not E? I thought:

"So (adjective/adverb) as to Y" expression is used when characteristic X is so extreme in the particular case that Y results.
Ex 1. Bob is so tall as to reach the top shelf. I don't find any flaws in D, but what are the flaws in E?

[tarek99]

yeah, I can see why D is correct. In my opinion, option E sounds really clumsy:

(E) so high as to be unlikely that nuclear power will

not only that, option E is more wordy. If you can find an answer choice that uses less words than option E does WITHOUT changing the intended meaning, then that option would be correct. What can "be unlikely that" tell you that option D, without such phrasing, can't tell you? absolutely nothing....

also, i think a sentence would be smooth when there is a flow from a noun or noun phrase to a verb (and perhaps adverbial phrase after the verb). When we have an idiom, then either a noun, adjectives, verbs, or adverb could be used between certian idioms. Other idioms, such as the one in option E, uses the following construction:

so + (adjective) + as to + (result of the adjective)

The result of the adjective would be smooth when this sentence starts with a subject or a noun, then followed by a verb. However, the result of the adjective in option E starts with "be" then an adverb "unlikely" then a relative pronoun "that" before the sentence starts with the noun "nuclear power." We already have "as to" standing between the result of the adjective and the adjective "high," so why would you want to add even more clumsy words between the 2? that's how I would look at it. However, when you look at option D, the result of the adjective starts with a noun and then followed by the linking verb "is."

hope that helps

[RonPurewal]

it's much simpler than that, really.

if you say:
x is so y as to be z
then
y describes x, and z also describes x.

therefore, if you say 'costs are so high as to be unlikely...' then the implications are:
- costs are high (so far so good)
and
- costs are unlikely (oopsy)