e-GMAT wrote:
At the heart of euro crisis is
Mrs. Merckel's lack of quick or bold reaction, the reason for lack of halting of the downward spiral of the euro.
- A. Mrs. Merckel's lack of quick or bold reaction, the reason for lack of halting of the downward spiral of the euro
B. Mrs. Merckel, whose lack of quick or bold reaction is the reason that the downward spiral of the euro has not halted
C. the lack of quick or bold reaction by Mrs. Merckel, the reason that the downward spiral of the euro has not halted.
D. Mrs. Merckel, whose lack of quick or bold reaction is the reason of lack of halting of the downward spiral of the euro.
E. the lack of quick or bold reaction by Mrs. Merckel, resulting in the downward spiral of the euro
Lets reverse the sentence to understand the structure better:
Mrs. Merckel's
lack of quick or bold reaction IS at the heart of euro crisis, the reason for lack of halting of the downward spiral of the euro.
"lack of quick or bold reaction" is the SUBJECT (not Merckel)
Original sentence intends to say two key things:
1) Lack of X is at the heart of Y (here X = quick or bold reaction; Y = Euro Crisis)
2) The lack of X is THE REASON for continued downward spiral of Euro
With this understanding, lets look at choices:
A - donot find much problem (we will come back)
B - distorts the meaning (
Merckel IS AT THE HEART OF EURO CRISIS) - choice changes the subject from "lack of quick or bold reaction" to Merckel.
Merckel is NOT AT THE HEART OF EURO CRISIS, ITS her lack of reaction DROP
C - donot find much problem (we will come back)
D - Same problem as B. DROP
E - it keep the doer same, but changes the 2nd key meaning of the original sentence. 2nd part of The original sentence says "The lack of X is THE REASON for continued downward spiral of Euro". But choice E says "Lack of X is at the heart of Y" IS RESULTING (LEADING)to downward spiral of Euro. DROP
Now, A vs C - in both choices THE REASON...EURO acts as an ABSTRACT MODIFIER and therefore modifies the entire PREVIOUS CLAUSE
A - attractive choice as there is no passive element, but IMO, it has THREE key problems:
(a) LACK OF QUICK..., the reason for LACK OF.. (presence of LACK twice makes it awkward)
(b) lack of HALTING OF THE DOWNWARD (LACK OF VERBING OF = bit awkward)
(c) ABSTRACT MODIFIER (THE REASON...EURO) takes the time (verb) from TIME PERIOD of preceding clause ie IS (present simple) - this signifies that DOWNWARD SPIRAL HAS STARTED
NOW
C - presence of BY MERCKEL does not make it grammatically incorrect , the modifiers contains PRESENT PERFECT to clearly signify that DOWNWARD SPIRAL STARTED EARLIER and continues even today.
IMO
C
