Help me out with this SAT grammar question

Test Preparation
1

<p>This question is frm the blue book. Practice test 1, question 8, SECTION 10, page 429.</p>

<p>Surface mining is safer, quicker, and cheaper than deep mining, but (the greater is its toll in human misery).</p>

<p>a)
b) it has a greater human misery toll
..
e) its toll in human misery is greater</p>

<p>I picked B but the answer was E. I don't understand whn the online explanation given stated tht the pronoun "it" in B is unclear whether refers to surface mining or deep mining.
But thn the BB answer E also uses the same pronoun in its possessive form. How is tht any different? Can anyone explain?</p>

2

<p>I dont understand the 'it vs. its' thing either...however, E flows much better than B. B uses 'misery,' which is a noun, as an adjective to descirbe the toll. E keeps the misery a noun.</p>

3

<p>Surface mining is safer, quicker, and cheaper than deep mining..</p>

<p>e) its toll is greater</p>

<p>Choice E is parallel: mining is safer....., its toll is greater.</p>