About this test:
"The more scientists learn about subatomic particles, the more closely they come to being able to describe the ways in which the universe operates."
(A) "the more closely"
(B) "to being able"
(C) "the ways in which"
(D) "operates"
(E) No error
I don't think the error in the sentence is answer choice A. The phrase "the more closely" is perfectly grammatical to me in much the same way as "the closer." All of the other answer choices likewise have perfectly grammatical and logical phrasing except (c) "the ways in which." The correct phrasing is "the ways by which," where the preposition "by" is used to mean "through the agency or instrumentality of." The preposition "in," which typically indicates inclusion, location, or position, doesn't denote such agency or instrumentality for how the universe operates.