TEst problem

Question

Smallpox was vanquished, tuberculosis nearly so, and, as sanitation, the spread of vaccinations, antibiotics and other innovations swept the developing world, every trend pointed towards _(1) on almost every front. Health officials confidently talked about an edpidemiological transition as improving health shifted concerns_(2) chronic diseases, such as cancer.

1)

a) progression

b) progressing

c) progressively

d) progress

I don't know how to answer this question since a and d share the same meaning http://www.thefreedictionary.com/progression

2)

a) away from

b) towards

c) about

d) for

Same problem here. I think concern here is a noun, therefore c and d can go with it.

Please help me

Avangi · Accepted Answer

toward progress

toward chronic diseases - What you're looking for here is a preposition. The subject and verb in the second clause are: health shifted. Concerns is object of the verb. The question is, "Where were the concerns shifted to??"

This is a dog of a sentence. You almost have to understand all these technical terms to decide whether they would shift toward chronic diseases or away from them. What we have here is "chronic" diseases vs "infectious" diseases. Epidemiology deals with diseases that spread from one person to another as in "epidemic." By cleaning things up they cut down on the epidemics, so they were able to worry about things like heart attacks, which you can't catch.

Belly · Answer

I can understand why we chose towards here

But are progress and progression the same? So why we choose progress but not progression?

Hoa Thai · Answer

BellyI can understand why we chose towards here

But are progress and progression the same? So why we choose progress but not progression?

Hi Belly,

The two words do not share the same meaning. The word progression means ‘change from one stage to the next’, while progress means ‘change in the process for a better result’. In other words, the former is time-associated, while the latter is quality-related. For example:

It is OK to say, “The progression [not progress]of the war causes more pain and suffering to our people.”

We could also say, “The progression of the war shows the clear progress [not progression]of our army in pushing the enemy to the brink of defeat.”

Belly · Answer

Hi Hoa Thai,

I appreciate for your wonderful answer. But could you advise me whether that dictionary link above is good or not? (Please be frank)

Hoa Thai · Answer

BellyHi Hoa Thai,

I appreciate for your wonderful answer. But could you advise me whether that dictionary link above is good or not? (Please be frank)

Hi Belly,

I must say that I disagree with the first definition given in the dictionary. I could be wrong - but to be on the safe side, I would stick with the distinction that I was taught years ago.

Avangi · Answer

Hi guys,

I just looked at the link. Note that there are a number of meanings listed. #2 is Hoa Thai's, where "sequence" might be a synonym; #1 is Belly's, where "progress" is a synonym.

I think it's safe to say, "We watched the progress / progression of the disease," where "progression" could mean "in stages" or "in a sequence," but it could just as well refer to a gradual deterioration - "quality" in a negative sense.

Edit. My American Heritage also gives the #1 definition as "progress." Ironically, MW Unabridged gives "progression" 2c: the process of advancing especially to a better or higher condition: gradual development

Belly, I didn't elaborate on the first example because I couldn't get a handle on it, although I was sure that "progress" was the correct choice. Having now read Hoa Thai's offerings and looked at some references and re-read the test example, I believe Hoa Thai's analysis applies perfectly to this situation. "Every trend pointed toward" is already pregnant with "progression" in the time sense. What it pointed toward was an improved level of quality.

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