Explanation

Creating a filter: When we read the sentence, the subject-verb agreement sounds potentially off. We cut out the prepositional phrase starting with the preposition "in," since none of the nouns in such a phrase can be the grammatical subject. That leaves "the surge indicate," which is incorrect. Choice (A) is out and we have a filter to evaluate the other choices.

Applying the filter: Choices (B) and (C) look good, according to our filter. Answer choices (D) and (E) make the sentence even worse -- it no longer has a main subject and verb, as every sentence must.

Finding objective defects: We're left with (B) and (C). Choice (C) uses the comparative "higher as," which is incorrect. "Higher" is a word of unequal comparison, so, as we have discussed in Classic Silent Film, the comparison word must be "than." The correct answer is (B).