------OG10-143

143. Recently discovered fossil remains strongly suggest that the Australian egg-laying mammals of today are a
branch of the main stem of mammalian evolution rather than developing independently from a common
ancestor of mammals more than 220 million years ago.
(A) rather than developing independently from
(B) rather than a type that developed independently from
(C) rather than a type whose development was independent of
(D) instead of developing independently from
(E) instead of a development that was independent of

Choice B, the best answer, correctly uses the construction mammals ... are a branch... rather than a type, in
which the terms compared by rather than are grammatically parallel nouns. Choices A and D fail to parallel
branch with another noun, instead following rather than or instead o/with the verb phrase developing
independently from.... In C, the expression a type whose development was independent of a common
ancestor states the opposite of the original point_that the type of mammal mentioned was thought to have
developed independently of the main stem of mammalian evolution, but still to have descended from a
common ancestor. Choice E repeats the error of C, further straying from the intended meaning by referring to
the type as a development.

我怎么看不出来C选项有still to have descended from a common ancestor的意思呢？

In C, the expression a type whose development was independent of a common
ancestor states the opposite of the original point_that the type of mammal mentioned was thought to have
developed independently of the main stem of mammalian evolution, but still to have descended from a
common ancestor.

that所指为黄色部分，所说的是原句的意思