that have a higher baseline

[diamondcutter]

Each disease can only officially be classified as an epidemic once a certain number of deaths have occurred from the disease. The number of deaths is different for every disease. So a very rare disease will have a low baseline and just a few cases of it in one place will be classified as an epidemic, as opposed to more common diseases, such as the flu, that have a higher baseline. The common cold is a widespread virus that affects millions of people. But it is not seen as being a serious enough condition. to deserve the classification of epidemic.

Source: A textbook for senior high school students in China, Pearson Education and Beijing Normal University Press

I think the clause “that have a higher baseline” is a non-defining relative clause. What do you say?

 

[dunchee]

Look at it this way:
"..., as opposed to more common diseases (such as the flu) that have a higher baseline."

 

[emsr2d2]

Source: A textbook for senior high school students in China,

I'm pretty certain that's not the title of the book. Please provide the title.

 

[jutfrank]

I think the clause “that have a higher baseline” is a non-defining relative clause. What do you say?

Right.

 

[diamondcutter]

This is the cover of the book.

The first line of Chinese on the cover means "A textbook for senior high school students in China".

Its title is just “英语”, which means “English”.

The small Chinese characters beside the title means "compulsory" and "Book 3".

 

[diamondcutter]

I have two more questions about the passage in the OP.

1. I wonder if the use of the semicolon before "as opposed to" is incorrect because "as opposed to more common diseases, such as the flu, that have a higher baseline" is a phrase, not a sentence.

2. The common cold is a widespread virus that affects millions of people.
For this sentence, I’d like to know if it’s more appropriate to say “The common cold is caused by a widespread virus...”

 

[Barque]

I wonder if the use of the semicolon before "as opposed to" is incorrect

There's no semicolon there. Are you asking if the use of a semicolon would be incorrect? Yes, it would.

For this sentence, I’d like to know if it’s more appropriate to say “The common cold is caused by a widespread virus...”

Technically, yes. But it's implied, and the sentence works. There's a technical term for that sort of thing--synecdoche maybe?

 

[diamondcutter]

Sorry, Barque. In my quotation in the OP, I changed the semicolon to a comma unconsciously. But in the original passage, there is. Here’s the page from the book.

 

[Barque]

Yes, it's incorrect.

 

[diamondcutter]

My question in #6:

The common cold is a widespread virus that affects millions of people.
For this sentence, I’d like to know if it’s more appropriate to say “The common cold is caused by a widespread virus...”

Barque’s reply in #7:

Technically, yes. But it's implied, and the sentence works. There's a technical term for that sort of thing--synecdoche maybe?

Could you give some new examples about synecdoche?