Having been bombed for fifty-seven nights in a row, the

Question

Having been bombed for fifty-seven nights in a row,  the Blitz and the refusal to 
surrender London after it took on  almost mythic significance as evidence of British citizens’ 
ability to resist the will of Hitler and Nazi Germany.

a) the Blitz and the refusal to surrender London after it took on
 b) London’s Blitz and the refusal to surrender took after
 c) the Blitz and the refusal of the city of London took over
 d) London’s refusal to surrender after the Blitz took on
 e) London’s refusal to surrender after the Blitz took up

icandy · Answer

Due to lack of historical knowledge, I am using some of my Foot ball Knowledge on the the word blitz

Having been bombed for fifty-seven nights in a row needs to modify something related to London and not the Blitz itself. Blitz probably is referring to non the stop bombing for 75 days

A & C are out

B says London's Blitz. IMO, the original sentence seem to say Hitler Blitzed London and not the other way around

Between D & E, the only difference is on and up. on makes more sense to me, but I am falling short of explanation.

D is my pick. What is the OA? and this SC is very different. Did any one else feel the same?

vd · Answer

IMO A on this one 
i am assuming that blitz were ppl and they had been bombed for 57 days in a row...there is another reason i chose this because ...towards the end of the underlined portion....it seems as if the author wants to say that London had taken on a mythic significance

this sc seems strange one to me .... what s the OA for this

can i please ask the source of this

Ashwin_Mohan · Answer

wow...this is a weird sc....

Blitz is the event where Germany went on a rampage over the skys of Britain in hopes that they can scare them into submission.

Having been bombed for fifty-seven nights in a row, the Blitz and the refusal to surrender London after it took on almost mythic significance as evidence of British citizens’ ability to resist the will of Hitler and Nazi Germany.
a) the Blitz and the refusal to surrender London after it took on
b) London’s Blitz and the refusal to surrender took after
c) the Blitz and the refusal of the city of London took over
d) London’s refusal to surrender after the Blitz took on
e) London’s refusal to surrender after the Blitz took up

see what I dont get is that none of the options has london just after the comma. The bombing has to modify the country. Based on the latter part of the option, the right phrase is that

the Blitz  took on  almost mythic significance. In A, I can't be sure what it (Blitz or london??)refers to. So based on what remains I am forced to choose d, even though I know it's not right....

Where did you get this question???

MamtaKrishnia · Answer

OA given is D.

Guys i am really sorry i don't remember where i did this Q from.However its definitely not Gmat prep. It's been quite some time since this Q has been on my list of doubts. However i had saved the explanation given for it.
It goes some thing like this : 
The answer to this question depends on the correct use of the idiom took on as 
a synonym for acquired or gained. Also, awkward wording in the original wrongly implies that 
the Blitz was the subject of bombing, actually the bombing was done to London.
 1. Awkward wording illogically implies that the Blitz was bombed.
 2. This option incorrectly implies that the Blitz belongs to London; also, the word after results in incorrect idiomatic usage of the phrase took on.
 3. Took over is incorrect idiomatically; this option also illogically pairs the Blitz and the refusal as items of mythic significance.
 4. This option makes it clear that London’s refusal to surrender is the appropriate object of mythic significance. The idiom took on is also used correctly.
 5. The phrase took up is incorrect

According to this explanation London's refusal is right object.However i don't think so. It sems there is some problem with this Q.

mymba99 · Answer

weird sc.
D says, 'refusal' was bombed. 
Disagree with OA but at the same time unable to decide my answer.

fluke · Answer

None of the options is correct. Ignore it.

ray5677 · Answer

I agree

gjayachandra · Answer

a) the Blitz and the refusal to surrender London after it took on 
b) London’s Blitz and the refusal to surrender took after
c) the Blitz and the refusal of the city of London took over
d) London’s refusal to surrender after the Blitz took on
e) London’s refusal to surrender after the Blitz took up
 
use eliminati method :

Took over : alters the meaning so C is eliminated
took after : same as above changes the meanign ; the ability of British was shown before the bombing
 so B eliminated
took on (A,D) vs took up (E)

took up don't go with happening/events so E eliminated
wordy and akward formating in A ( elimiated)

The correct answer is D

Having been bombed for fifty-seven nights in a row, the

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