Explanation

From the clues in this sentence, you know that Singapore’s independence was newlygranted and that industrialization and foreign investment had not yet taken root. You need a word that means something like unstable or weak for the blank. Choices (A), (B), and (C) all go in the opposite direction of what you’re looking for, so eliminate them. Fortuitous doesn’t fit in the context of your clues, making dubious the best answer.

Hence option E is correct!
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Sometimes, when the sentences are confusing. I usually apply the following methodology.

I try to look at whether I have 4 similar answers and one option is odd one out.

In this scenario, A, B, C, D are similar and E is odd one out.

Now you can reverse engineer to see whether the odd one options fit!

Yes, E fits in this scenario. Hence, E is the Answer.