求助一道GWD语法，没找到之前的讨论

vbdjulia

Q18: GWD-13-30
For the first time in the modern era, non-Hispanic Whites are officially a minority in California, which amounts to a little less than half the population of the state, down from nearly there-quarters only a decade ago.

A.    which amounts to a little less than half the population of the state, down from nearly three-quarters only a decade ago
B.    which amounts to a little less than half the population of the state, down from a decade ago, when it was nearly three-quarters
C.    and that amounts to a little less than half the population of the state, down from a decade ago, when they were nearly three-quarters
D.    amounting to a little less than half the population of the state, down from nearly three-quarters a decade ago
E.    amounting to a little less than half the population of the state, down from what it was a decade ago by nearly three-quarters
答案是D，这道题C中的that不对，A、B中的which觉得不妥，在D、E中选，我选了E。
请大家指点一下，谢啦！

chenxuleon

就是Lz的看法~

pansean

对。。我是这么理解的。。
而且主句主语是复数名词，it也指代不明了

vbdjulia

有点理解了，是不是E改变了原意啊？
E是说和一个decade前相比减少了nearly three quarters
而原句是指从 a decade ago的three quarters 减少到现在的 less than half the population。

silent7706

E) "down from what it was a decade ago by nearly three-quarters"; what does "it" refer to? "it" does not have a clear reference.

pansean

我觉得..
题中，down应该是指数目的下降吧，也就是所这里是数据的对比，后面from nearly three-quarters a decade ago，nearly three-quarters与前面数字构成对比
如果选E，from what it was a decade ago，nearly three-quarters变成modifier了，对比成分就变成了数字与what it was, 对比有误

阿尔法柔笼

这个题我认为D比E简洁的原因是因为，Dfrom后面跟着是一个短语 XX years ago， 但是E中加的是一个疑问代词what引导的宾语从句，两者表达的意思一样并且都没有错误的时候选D，能用短语说清楚的不用从句嘛

vbdjulia

没人啊，自己顶一下~