What does “at least as close as we have got to one so far” mean in this context?
In the short
form they say it says “All of these data paint a picture of a Utopian society in the future”.
What does the whole sentence mean?
The writer then continues :
“..have got to one so far. Why is this remote, thinly populated region, with its freezing winters and expanses of wilderness, so successful? ”
First is this sentence correct!? When
you talk of “has” in general, why doesn’t it go to “what”? What is society?
The phrase “outers of wilderness”.. I don’t understand it!
What is true for all people, but what is needed to be appreciated?
The rest of that first sentence is basically a hedge, where the writer is admitting that his first statement may not be completely true, but is “close enough to true” that he felt justified in making it.
In the first part of the statement the doctor basically said “According to the data, this is a Utopian society”, which is to say, a perfect place where everything is good and everyone is happy. And as for humanity, such a place has never existed, and probably cannot exist anymore. In the second part, therefore, the writer tacitly admits this; it basically says “(okay, it’s not really a utopia, but) at least it’s as close as we have gotten to so far.” “For
the second section yes, the sentence is correct.
If you strip away all the fluff, the core of the sentence is:
Why has this region been successful?
The subject is region. Since we are only asking about one region, “has” is the appropriate verb to use.
What is the relative clause that adds information about the region: specifically, it is a region “with freezing winters and expanses of wilderness”. We need to mention here what region the relative clause belongs to. Since we already know the region, we set of the relative clause with commas.
What is wilderness? (An expanse of wilderness is simply a large area with no human-made modifications; it is “as nature left it”, presumably full of wild animals, dangerous geographical features and poisonous bushes, and other hazards that mankind would normally wipe out in the course of rendering the area ‘fit for humans habitation’). (the writer is contrasting the harsh, unwelcoming nature of the region with the presence of this utopian society and wondering how such a perfect society came to exist in such an unlikely-seeming location.)
