NO LESS AN X THAN Y

Yes, there is an idiom in English- no less an x than y.

For e.g. no less a superstar than Rajni Kant.

Q. No less an expert than John H. McWhorter has claimed that African-American children do poorly in schools because of implicit social pressure to fail academically.

A. Same.
B. Not less an expert
C. Not less an expert
D. Not less an expert than
E. An expert not less than

Correct choice is A as per the idiom.

Like vs. As

Like is used to compare nouns.

As is used to compare actions.

In Turkey, coffee is traditionally drunk very strong, much as the french do.
A) much as the French do
B) much like the French do
C) much as it is by the French
D) much as it is in France
E) much like it is in France

OA is D

The comparison is between two countries Turkey and France, so the choice is now D or E.
The focus of the sentence is on the action (of drinking), so it should be "as" and not "like".

Another exampleà
Try this instead: Susan, like her mother, is a good singer.

Or:
Joe, like Mary, has a cat.
Joe has a cat, as does Mary.

Both of the above are correct - I just have to write the sentence differently.
I can't say: Joe has a cat, like Mary. I have to put Mary over near Joe if I want to use "like."

Compare with vs. Compare to

Rule 1: Compare to compares unlike things, whereas compare with compares like things.

Rule 2: Compare to is used to stress the resemblance. Compare with can be used to show either similarity or difference but is usually used to stress the difference.

"X is Y" vs "X is like Y" vs "X is similar to Y"

See this question:

Q. Trying to mimic some of the pitch variations of a dolphin chattering is the same as attempting to sing like a sick parakeet when one is intoxicated; the complete lack of harmony and apparent randomness of the noise means the human vocal chords are completely incapable of reproducing these sounds.

A. the same as attempting to sing like a sick parakeet when one is intoxicated.
B. similar to an intoxicated person singing like a sick parakeet
C. like singing like a sick parakeet as an intoxicated person
D. the same as an intoxicated person singing like a sick parakeet
E. like the intoxicated person is singing like a sick parakeet

It involves parallel structure. You have to look carefully to figure out what form the comparison takes. The comparison is not one of similarity, it is on of equality. Saying "x is y" is quite different from saying "x is like y" or "x is similar to y". Choices B, C and E all change the fundamental underlying concept of the sentence. Choise D disrupts the parallel structure. The parallel structure is "trying to mimic" and "attempting to sing". A is the correct answer.

INTERVAL BETWEEN

Whenever within a sentence you see the world INTERVAL make yourself very clear that it's talking about two parts so it has to be followed by "BETWEEN".

For e.g.

Because the economic cycle in the USA changes little during its twenty year interval between recessing , it is fairly easy for analyst to predict analogous trends in the stock market.
a) between recessing
b) of recessing
c) between its recessions
d) of it recessions
e) as it recesses

Since, its talking about the USA's economic cylce the pronoun should be "its", therefore answer is C.

OF A TYPE vs IS A TYPE

Have a look at this sentence-


Astronomers at the Palomar Observatory have discovered a distant supernova explosion, one that they
believe is a type previously unknown to science.
(A) that they believe is
(B) that they believe it to be
(C) they believe that it is of
(D) they believe that is
(E) they believe to be of

The correct answer is E.
The correct usage here is ..they believe to be of a type previously unknown to science.

DISTINGUISH BETWEEN.....AND.....

We normally have the confusion between the following two sentences-

DISTINGUISH BETWEEN X AND Y

DISTINGUISH BETWEEN X FROM Y

Well the correct idiomatic expression is-
DISTINGUISH BETWEEN X AND Y