核心问题
——What happened to the priceless works of art? —— ____.
A. They were destroyed in the earthquake B. The earthquake was destroying them
C. They destroyed in the earthquake D. The earthquake destroyed them(北京高考,03春-34)
书上给的答案是A。但是，我无论如何也弄不明白为什么选项D是错误的。
词典解答
从语法上说,选项 A 和选项 D 都是正确的,但是,唯有选项 A 符合语境。为什么呢?因为 they 指的是 the priceless works of art, 是已知信息,而 were destroyed in the earthquake 才是新信息。安排语序的原则是:已知→未知。见 end-focus。