Buddha’s Birth

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That Buddha was born earlier than previously had been thought is not exactly proved by the recent discovery of a Buddhist shrine, but in ascribing design elements of the shrine to a factor other than an earlier existence of Buddha, the man's influence will have to be reconsidered.

Review: Buddha's Birth


Explanation

Creating a filter: the grammar of the original sentence conveys something contrary to its intended meaning. As written, the sentence says nonsensically that the man's influence was the thing ascribing design elements. The defect is due to the fact that the phrase "in ascribing..." modifies "influence."

Applying the filter: answer choices (C) and (E) have the same defect as (A), so they also are eliminated. Choice (B) fixes the error by removing the modifying phrase (and replacing it with a complete clause). We have passive voice, but there's a reason in this case: the ascribing is happening in general and/or by unidentified parties. Answer choice (D) uses the verb "ascribed" incorrectly; the proper usage is "ascribed to," which is similar to "attributed to." The correct answer is (B).


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