In the sixteenth century, the push for greater precision in

Question

In the sixteenth century, the push for greater precision in measuring time was  not, like more recently, motivated by complicated philosophical questions about the nature of matter and the universe, but the practical matters of navigation : sailors simply needed more highly accurate timepieces in order to compute their longitude from the positions of
the stars.
A. not, like more recently, motivated by complicated philosophical questions about the nature of matter and the universe, but the practical matters of navigation
B. being motivated by the practical matters of navigation, instead of complicated philosophical questions about the nature of matter and the universe, as it has been recently
C. motivated not by complicated philosophical questions about the nature of matter and the universe, like they were more recently, but by the practical matters of navigation
D. motivated by the practical matters of navigation, not complicated philosophical questions about the nature of matter and the universe, which was the case more recently
E. motivated not by complicated philosophical questions about the nature of matter and the universe, as has been the case more recently, but by the practical matters of navigation

FN · Answer

E maintains ||ism

also the flow of events is more smooth...I'll pick E...

macca · Answer

I'd pick E,
A- out because like more recently is misplaced.
B and D are quite awkward. 

So we've got C and E left. 
In C, the question is what they are refeering to, 

Think as is the best choice in this sentence so E is the best choice.

HIMALAYA · Answer

E. long and winding. 

the idiom is not by x but by y. only E has this construction...

nakib77 · Answer

Good job Guys.. OA is indeed E.

When I did this problem I eliminated all but C and E. and finally choose E whithout realizing the problem of C. Now I figured in C motivated not by complicated philosophical questions about the nature of matter and the universe, like  b]they   were more recently, but by the practical matters of navigation, is wrong because we are comparing the  Push , which is a singular number. And refering that with They is incorrect. E does the job properly by using  has . So E is correct.

In the sixteenth century, the push for greater precision in

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