The expedition did not enter the water-filled clearing because it beli

Clear D.

Here in all option choices except d, it or this is used to refer to the action of entering.

A pronoun can't represent action.

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answer D: doing so would endanger
this is the correct idiom

The expedition did not enter the water-filled clearing because it believed that to do it endangers the rare Spanish moss hanging from the trees.

The expedition believed in something that entering the water filled clearing would endanger the Spanish moss. So the sentence is an if-then construction of simple past – simple past/would verb type.

A. to do it endangers – WRONG. Simple present is wrong. ‘To do’ is another wrong construction.
B. doing it endangers - – WRONG. Simple present is wrong.
C. to do this would endanger – WRONG. ‘To do’ is wrong construction.
D. doing so would endanger – CORRECT. The “would + verb” construction is properly used.
E. to do it would endanger - – WRONG. ‘To do’ is wrong construction.

Answer (D).

D.

'Doing so' is the correct idiom to apply here.

IMO it's D.
Because Doing so correctly matches with the action of not entering the expedition.

The expedition did not enter the water-filled clearing because it believed that to do it endangers the rare Spanish moss hanging from the trees.

D. doing so would endanger

The expedition did not enter the water-filled clearing because it believed that to do it endangers the rare Spanish moss hanging from the trees.

A. to do it endangers
B. doing it endangers
C. to do this would endanger
D. doing so would endanger
E. to do it would endanger

D sounds right.

Official Explanation

Correct Answer: D

The best answer is D. Choice D appropriately used the adverb so to refer back to the verb accord

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