OG(11th)76

[alva0930]

Never before had taxpayers confronted so many changes at once as they had in the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
(A)so many changes at once as they had in
(B)at once as many changes as
(C)at once as many changes that there were with
(D)as many changes at once as they confronted in
(E)so many changes at once that confronted them in

對OG的解釋有一點小小的疑問，OG的解釋說：
The correct idiom for the kind of comparison shown here is as many ... as. So many ... as is not the correct idiom.
然而OG(11th)30的解釋中提到：
Not so much as is another idiom used only in the negative: ...

我的疑問是，Never before ... 沒有negative的意涵嗎？為什麼這一題只能用as ... as呢？