Official Solution:The latest investigation proves that either the building-owner or his tenants are to be accounted for yesterday’s fire that burnt as long as or longer than four hours.A. to be accounted for yesterday’s fire that burnt as long as or longer than
B. accounted for yesterday’s fire, which burnt at least as long as
C. held accountable for yesterday’s fire, which burnt longer or as long as
D. accountable for yesterday’s fire, which burnt at least as long as
E. to be held accountable for yesterday’s fire that burnt longer than or at least as long as
A. The idiom accountable for, not accounted for, is used to mean responsible for . The phrase as long as or longer than is unnecessarily wordy and awkward.
B. The idiom accounted for is incorrect.
C. To hold someone accountable for something means to consider someone responsible for something. The investigation proves that someone is accountable for the fire. The investigation is not meant to prove that someone is held accountable for the fire.
than is missing for the comparative adjective longer. Even with the than, the phrase would be wordy.
Correct. D. The idiom accountable for is correctly used. The phrase at least as long as presents the intended meaning most economically.
E. The phrase longer than and at least as long as are redundant.
Answer: D
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58% (00:28) correct 
