Error spotting (exam direction): Identify the erroneous part (A/B/C) — choose D if there is no error — 'The crew were on board, / and they soon busied themselves / in preparing to meet the storm. / No error.'

Given sentence parts (A–D)
A. The crew were on board,B. and they soon busied themselvesC. in preparing to meet the storm.D. No error.

Concept/Approach (collocation with 'busy oneself')
Standard usage is 'busy oneself with something' or simply use a participle: 'busied themselves preparing…'. The preposition 'in' is awkward here.

Step-by-Step correction
1) Replace or drop the preposition: 'busied themselves in preparing' → 'busied themselves with preparing' / 'busied themselves preparing'.2) Corrected example: '…and they soon busied themselves with preparing to meet the storm.'

Verification/Alternative
Dictionaries list 'busy oneself with' as the idiomatic pattern.

Common pitfalls
Using 'in' after 'busy' due to confusion with 'engaged in'.

Final Answer
C — 'in preparing to meet the storm.' → 'with preparing…' / 'preparing…'