3. Native American burial sites dating back 5，000 years indicate that the residents of Maine at that time were part of a widespread culture of Algonquian-speaking people. (A) were part of a widespread culture of Algonquian-speaking people (B) had been part of a widespread culture of people who were Algonquian-speaking (C) were people who were part of a widespread culture that was Algonquian-speaking (D) had been people who were part of a widespread culture that was Algonquian-speaking (E) were a people which had been part of a widespread，Algonquian-speaking culture Verb form + Rhetorical construction The original sentence contains no errors．Each alternative introduces an error, adds unnecessary words，or changes the meaning of the original sentence． A Correct．The original sentence uses the correct verb tense(were)to indicate an ongoing action in the past；the phrasing is concise and clear． B Had been is an incorrect verb tense，suggesting that the Native Americans were no longer part of the culture；wordy． C Algonquian-speaking should refer to people，not culture；wordy． D Had been is an incorrect verb tense，suggesting that the Native Americans were no longer part of the culture；wordy and imprecise． E Were and had been are inconsistent for tenses；which is not the proper pronoun for people；wordy and imprecise． The correct answer is A．
这个句子的主干是sites indicate that –clause，从时态上来讲，在没有明显地过去完成时地征兆情况下是不能用had been的；从句的结构是residents were part of a people，复杂就复杂在people前面的多修饰语，
但是有疑问,选项A抽取出来应该是residents were a culture, 请NN们帮忙解释一下 | 
