“Critics who Charged that”: Can you help me to understand what the "recent report" is actually saying, and who "failed to take into account the recent report"?

Question

Can you help me to understand what the "recent report" is actually saying, and who "failed to take into account the recent report"? I don't understand who is saying what in this question. I've read and watched the explanations but I still don't get it.

Answer

This question is definitely a tough one! There are enough twists and turns to leave even the seasoned reader dizzy. I think it's best to break this sentence down and simplify it so you can understand the action a bit better. Here's the full thing:

Critics who charged that the technology start-up had blatantly appropriated the laptop design of the leading manufacturer failed to take into account a recent report citing that the start-up had been anything but ______________, as not only was it the first to market, but pictures of its original design had initially surfaced publicly.

If we break it into smaller sentences it's easier to follow the subject/action:

1. Certain critics charged that the technology start-up had blatantly appropriated the laptop design of the leading manufacturer.
2. These critics failed to take into account a recent report citing that the start-up had been anything but ______________.
3. The technology start-up wasn't _______________ as not only was it the first to market, but pictures of its original design had initially surfaced publicly.

The blanks here are the same word. Now let's turn these into easily digestible sentences:

1. Certain critics said that the technology start-up had stolen the laptop design of the leading manufacturer.
2. These critics didn't note a recent report that showed the start-up had not been ______________ at all.
3. The technology start-up wasn't _______________ because it the first to market and pictures of its original design were public beforehand.

So we can read it the following way:

Critics say the technology start-up is ___________ because they think the start-up stole a laptop design; however, the start-up isn't ________ at all because their design came before the other company's design.

Again the blanks are the same, I've just extended it to two times so it's easier to understand what the blank refers to. So whatever the blank here is, the technology start-up is NOT that, rather it is a misconception of the start-up by some critics. Since the blank refers to this misconception and that misconception is basically that the technology start-up stole a design, unscrupulous works perfectly here.

When you encounter a confusing sentence like this, sometimes it helps to break it down into manageable sentences so you can follow what's happening.

Link

http://gre.magoosh.com/questions/3293