Experts are working to undertand why the disruptions, which

Question

Experts are working to undertand why the disruptions, which occurred an hour before the blackout reached its peak,  were not contained, allowing  a cascade of power system shutdowns stretching from Michigan to New Yourk City and into Canada.

A. were not contained, allowing

B. was not contained, allowing

C. were not contained, which allowed

D. were not contained to allow

E. were not contained, a failure that allowed

FatRiverPuff · Answer

I'd pick A.

B does not include the plural "were" (in ref to the distruptions)
C is awkward imo
D modifies the meaning of the sentence
E tempts me, but A is simpler

sasen · Answer

Would go with E since A doesnot have a clear identifier

RaviChandra · Answer

Interesting Question Feel Both A&E are close.

But in E the later sentence doesnt act as a modifier
so its A please suggest if I`m wrong

gautamsubrahmanyam · Answer

I would go with E as the answer.Whats the OA please

urchin · Answer

confused between A and C ..... wats the oA ???

rohityes · Answer

OA = E.

OE (ARCO CAT1): The correct answer is (E). The problem with the original sentence is that "allowing" needs to modify something, but there is no word to which it is connected. The reader is, therefore, left wondering what it is that allowed the cascade of shutdowns. The answer is "a failure", but that word doesn't appear in the original sentence.

(E) Corrects this omission.

(B) Is wrong because "was" fails to agree with the plural "disruptions".

(C) Suffers from the same weakness as the original. The relative pronoun "which" needs to refer to a noun, but there is no "failure" or similar word in the original to be the antecedent.

(D) Makes the error in the original more noticeable.

bakfed · Answer

I was also between (E) and (A), but I ended up choosing (A).

Quick question for SC guru: I've always thought that -ing gerund modifier can modify the entire phrase prior to it. Am I incorrect? I'm specifically referring to the sentence:
"allowing a cascade of power system shutdowns stretching from Michigan to New York City and into Canada"

can't the above sentence be used as a modifier for the entire sentence prior to it?

amma4u · Answer

Experts are working to undertand why the disruptions, which occurred an hour before the blackout reached its peak, were not contained, allowing a cascade of power system shutdowns stretching from Michigan to New Yourk City and into Canada. IMO: A. were not contained, allowing = need plural tense "were" and allowing went well with the were

Experts are working to undertand why the disruptions, which

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards