SC#7

ItalyPirlo

507.    Modern critics are amused by early scholars’ categorizing Tacitus’s Germania as an ethnographic treatise.
(A) scholars’ categorizing Tacitus’s Germania as
(B) scholars’ categorizing Tacitus’s Germania as if
(C) scholars, categorizing of Tacitus’s Germania as
(D) scholars who categorize Tacitus’s Germania as
(E) scholars who categorize Tacitus’s Germania if答案选A，我错选了D。解释是，是categorizing而不是scholar去amuse。为什么scholars不可以amuse呢？我记得曼哈顿上明确说过，by用在被动语态里面，就只是表示动作的执行者。一个动作去执行另外一个动作，读上去不是很舒服啊。曼哈顿里说，这种情况最好用through以避免awkward。有其他解释为啥D不对，反而A对吗？

mslancaster

meaning is tested here

the critics are amused by scholars‘ work

not by the scholars

similar case can be found in OG example
The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global warming, aphenomenon that most scientists agree is caused by human beings' burning offossil fules, will create havoc among migratory birds by altering theenvironment in ways harmful to their habitats.

ItalyPirlo

是啊，句意是王道啊。。。