110. It has been estimated that the annual cost to the United States of illiteracy in lost industrial output and tax revenues is at least $20 billion a year.
(A) the annual cost to the United States of illiteracy in lost industrial output and tax revenues is at least $20 billion a year
(B) the annual cost of illiteracy to the United States is at least $20 billion a year because of lost industrial output and tax revenues
(C) illiteracy costs the United States at least $20 billion a year in lost industrial output and tax revenues
(D) $20 billion a year in lost industrial output and tax revenues is the annual cost to the United States of illiteracy
(E) lost industrial output and tax revenues cost the United States at least $20 billion a year because of illiteracy
In choices A, B, and D, the combined use of annual and a year is redundant. Choices A, D, and E are awkward and confused because other constructions intrude within the phrase cost... of illiteracy: for greatest clarity, cost should be followed immediately by a phrase (e.g., of illiteracy ) that identifies the nature of the cost. Choice E is particularly garbled in reversing cause and effect, saying that it is lost output and revenues rather
我想问问题目中lost是什么词性啊？是形容词吗？应该也不是动词吧（动词＋宾语好像不能做介词宾语吧）
紫草mm 说 题目要表达的意思是: 文盲使美国损失$20billion一年, 而这些损失主要体现在工业产出流失和税收减少上.
按上面的翻译那lost应该是名词了。
请nn指点lost词性应如何理解。 BTW，改为 in the loss of 可以吗？ | 
