请教一道语法题

virgmat

Retailers reported moderate gains in their November sales, as muchbecause of their sales of a year earlier being so badas thatshoppers were getting a head start on buying their holiday gifts.

• of their sales of a year earlier being so bad as that
  
• of their sales a year earlier having been as bad as because
  
• of their sales a year earlier being as bad as because
  
• their sales a year earlier had been so bad as because
  
• their sales of a year earlier were as bad as that
  

答案选4，但是as后面可以加because吗？觉得好奇怪，请大侠赐教，谢谢!!!

virgmat

自己顶一顶~~

Indigolove

Retailers reported moderate gains in their November sales, as much because of their sales of a year earlier being so bad as that shoppers were getting a head start on buying their holiday gifts.

A. of their sales of a year earlier being so bad as that
B. of their sales a year earlier having been as bad as because
C. of their sales a year earlier being as bad as because
D. their sales a year earlier had been so bad as because
E. their sales of a year earlier were as bad as that

Solution:
generally, because of noun Verbing
so we can elinimate A,B,C

Then in D,E

"as much ... as ..." is a parallel structure
as much because X as because Y

So the right answer is D

virgmat

Indigolove 发表于 2013-10-20 17:31
Retailers reported moderate gains in their November sales, as much because of their sale ...

解释的太清楚了，谢谢