Just when bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain

Question

Just when bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp raise in  personal bankruptcies over the next few years signalling much pain for the many hard-pressed households, little, if any, gain for lenders, and major problems for the overall economy. 
 1 Just when bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp raise in 
 2 Even as bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp rise in 
 3 While the bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp rising of 
 4 Although the bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp rise of 
 5 Despite the bankruptcy reform appearing to head for a certain passage in the Congress, the economic omens point to a sharp rise in

vaka · Answer

I'd choose E. 1. imo sounds incorrect; 2. at the beginning of the sentence indicates a negative outcome under positive circumstances

edealfan · Answer

Let me take a shot at it..

Sharp raise in (1) is not right. It should be "rise" instead. So, (1) is out.
Scanning down .. "rise of" and "rising of" sound unidiomatic. So, eliminate (3) and (4).
Now, looking at (2) and (5), I like the usage of "appears to <be or infinitive form of verb> better. So, I'd go with (5). I also like "Despite" better than "Even as"

What is the official answer?

dj · Answer

vote for E. ...to a sharp rise in...
..rise of...is unidiomatic in this context.

Vicky · Answer

i had also chosen E, but official answer was B.
 jaydi  can u explain why did u choose B..
thanks

jaydi8 · Answer

the way i thought:
 'rise in' is the correct idiom usage, so the answer has to be B or E. Moreover the first clause should have a verb which is true for B(appears) but not for E(appearing). B also has the verb tenses in parallel form: Even as the bankruptcy reform appears -----, the economic omens point ------. 

please correct me if i am wrong

-jay

stoolfi · Answer

C, D, and E are all wrong after the first three words.

The idiom should be "the bankruptcy reform bill" or "the bankruptcy reform package". If we don't use the article "the", we can talk about "bankruptcy reform" without using the word "bill".

I have absolutely no citations to back this up, only my personal experience of reading the Wall Street Journal every weekday for the past ten years.

dj · Answer

good observataion, guy! seems like WSJ is doing it 's work :wink:

ann · Answer

I did like this:

First ,choose between"rise in " and "rise of" . I think "rise in" is better. Do C & D are out.
A is out becuase Just......(Correct idiom is Just ..as ....so)
E is out because Despite is used to compare noun & nominals (becuase it is preposition...I read it somewhere)

So only left with B

rohitgoel15 · Answer

B it is ..
"Rise in" is correct + i chose "appears" instead of "appearing" !

Just when bankruptcy reform appears headed for a certain

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