Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
singh_amit19 wrote:
The computer company’s present troubles are a result of technological stagnation, marketing missteps, and managerial blunders so that several attempts to revise corporate strategies have failed to correct it.
(A) so that several attempts to revise corporate strategies have failed to correct it
(B) so that several attempts at revising corporate strategies have failed to correct
(C) in that several attempts at revising corporate strategies have failed to correct them
(D) that several attempts to revise corporate strategies have failed to correct
(E) that several attempts at revising corporate strategies have failed to correct them
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that the computer company’s present troubles are a result of technological stagnation, marketing missteps, and managerial blunders, and several attempts to revise corporate strategies have failed to correct these blunders.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Pronouns + Idioms• “in that” is used to reflect an intrinsic property and “because” is used to indicate a cause-effect relationship.
• "attempt + to" is the correct idiomatic construction.
A: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun phrase "technological stagnation, marketing missteps, and managerial blunders" with the singular pronoun "it". Further, Option A alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "so that several attempts to revise corporate strategies have failed"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that several attempts to revise corporate strategies have failed to correct the computer company's managerial blunders.
B: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "so that several attempts at revising corporate strategies have failed"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that several attempts to revise corporate strategies have failed to correct the computer company's managerial blunders. Further, Option B incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "attempts + at"; please remember, "attempt + to" is the correct idiomatic construction.
C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "in that several attempts at revising corporate strategies"; the use of "in that" incorrectly implies that the fact that several attempts to revise corporate strategies failed to correct them
is an intrinsic property of the computer company’s present troubles being a result of technological stagnation, marketing missteps, and managerial blunders; the intended meaning is that the computer company’s present troubles are a result of technological stagnation, marketing missteps, and managerial blunders,
and several attempts to revise corporate strategies have failed to correct these blunders; remember, "in that" “in that” is used to reflect an intrinsic property. Further, Option C suffers from pronoun ambiguity, as it is unclear whether the pronoun "them" refers to "managerial blunders" or "corporate strategies". Additionally, Option C incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "attempts + at"; please remember, "attempt + to" is the correct idiomatic construction.
D: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase "that several attempts to revise corporate strategies have failed to correct" to modify "managerial blunders", conveying the intended meaning - that the computer company’s present troubles are a result of technological stagnation, marketing missteps, and managerial blunders,
and several attempts to revise corporate strategies have failed to correct these blunders. Further, Option D avoids the pronoun errors seen in Options A, C, and E, as it uses no pronouns. Additionally, Option D correctly uses the idiomatic construction "attempts + to".
E: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "have failed to correct them"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that several attempts to revise corporate strategies have failed to correct the computer company's managerial blunders. Further, Option E suffers from pronoun ambiguity, as it is unclear whether the pronoun "them" refers to "managerial blunders" or "corporate strategies". Additionally, Option E incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "attempts + at"; please remember, "attempt + to" is the correct idiomatic construction.
Hence, D is the best answer choice.All the best!
Experts' Global Team