sparkles3144 wrote:Baseball, the only major professional sport during the Great Depression, was as present as the weather, and as much discussed.

A) as present as the weather, and as much discussed
B) present like the weather was, and it was also discussed as much
C) as present and was discussed as the weather was
D) so present as to be discussed like weather
E) present and discussed as often as the weather was

Answer A

B: like the weather was
like + SUBJECT + VERB is always wrong.
Eliminate B.

C: Baseball...was discussed as the weather was [discussed]
The word in brackets is omitted, but its presence is implied.
Here, a reader might construe that baseball and the weather were discussed AT THE SAME TIME.
The intended meaning is that baseball was discussed as OFTEN as the weather.
Eliminate C.

D: so present as to be discussed like weather [was discussed]
The words in brackets are omitted, but their presence is implied.
like + SUBJECT + VERB -- even if the verb is only implied -- is always wrong.
Eliminate D.

E: Baseball was present.
Conveyed meaning: Baseball existed.
The intended meaning is that baseball was AS PRESENT AS the weather.
In other words -- like the weather -- baseball was EVERYWHERE YOU LOOKED.
Eliminate E.

The correct answer is A.

OA: Baseball was as present as the weather, and as much discussed [as the weather was discussed].
The words in brackets are omitted, but their presence is implied.
Conveyed meaning:
Baseball was EVERYWHERE YOU LOOKED and was discussed as OFTEN as the weather.