12版红OG662页26题: Emily Dickinson's letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan’s marriage to Emily’s brother and ending shortly before Emily’s death in 1886, outnumbering her letters to anyone else. (A) Dickinson were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan’s marriage to Emily’s brother and ending shortly before Emily’s death in 1886, outnumbering (B) Dickinson were written over a period that begins a few years before Susan’s marriage to Emily’s brother and ended shortly before Emily’s death in 1886, outnumber (C) Dickinson, written over a period beginning a few years before Susan’s marriage to Emily’s brother and that ends shortly before Emily’s death in 1886 and outnumbering (D) Dickinson, which were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan’s marriage to Emily’s brother, ending shortly before Emily’s death in 1886, and outnumbering (E) Dickinson, which were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan’s marriage to Emily’s brother and ending shortly before Emily’s death in 1886, outnumber 答案是E选项,我的理解是这应该是一个并列句,就是letters were written..., outnumbered....这里,outnumber应该用和were written一样的过去时才对吧?反观A选项,用一个分词结构做定语来避免了时态的问题,不是更好吗?
A选项读起来相当别扭,和它所要修饰的letters相隔太远,这不是习惯的表达方式,如果非要用这种结构,我觉得outnumbering her letters to anyone else可以作为插入语放在Emily Dickinson's letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson和were之间,不过这样句子的重心就发生变化了,也不符合要求,所以还是E最好,而且which是不用于修饰人的,这里这能修饰letters,没有歧义
再多读读原文,你会发现outnumber是整句话的谓语动词,而“which were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan’s marriage to Emily’s brother and ending shortly before Emily’s death in 1886”是用来修饰letters的, 比较一下A和E,E的表达更简洁咯