Hello Everyone!
Let's tackle this question, one issue at a time, to find the correct option! Before we dive in, here is the original question with any major differences highlighted in orange:
The use of the bar code, or Universal Product Code, which was created in part to enable supermarkets to process customers at a faster rate, has expanded beyond supermarkets to other retail outlets and have become readily accepted despite some initial opposition when it was first introduced in 1974.
(A) have become readily accepted despite some initial opposition when it was first introduced in 1974
(B) has become readily accepted despite some initial opposition when they were first introduced in 1974
(C) have become readily accepted despite some initial opposition when first introduced in 1974
(D) has become readily accepted despite some initial opposition when the bar code was first introduced in 1974
(E) bar codes have become readily accepted despite initial opposition when it was first introduced in 1974
After a quick glance over each option, a couple major differences jump out at us:
1. have become vs. has become (verb tense)
2. it/they/the bar code (pronoun-antecedent agreement)
Let's start with #1 on our list, which is choosing the right verb tense. If we look at the original sentence, we see that there are two things that bar codes did for supermarkets:
The use of the bar code, or Universal Product Code, which was created in part to enable supermarkets to process customers at a faster rate, has expanded beyond supermarkets to other retail outlets and have become readily accepted despite some initial opposition when it was first introduced in 1974.
Whenever we're talking about two characteristics, properties, items, etc. they MUST use parallel structure and consistent verb tenses! Since the first part uses "has expanded," we need to use the same wording (has + verb) to match. Let's see how each option stacks up:
(A) have become readily accepted despite some initial opposition when it was first introduced in 1974
(B) has become readily accepted despite some initial opposition when they were first introduced in 1974
(C) have become readily accepted despite some initial opposition when first introduced in 1974
(D) has become readily accepted despite some initial opposition when the bar code was first introduced in 1974
(E) bar codes have become readily accepted despite initial opposition when it was first introduced in 1974
We can eliminate options A, C, and E because they don't uses consistent verb tense/wording for both phrases.
Now that we're only left with 2 options, let's tackle #2 on our list: pronouns! Whenever we're dealing with pronouns, we must make sure the pronouns are clear and refer back to the right antecedent. Let's see how each option handles this:
(B) has become readily accepted despite some initial opposition when they were first introduced in 1974
This option is INCORRECT because it's not 100% clear what "they" is referring to: bar codes, supermarkets, retail outlets, customers, etc? Since the writer didn't make it absolutely clear, we can rule this one out.
(D) has become readily accepted despite some initial opposition when the bar code was first introduced in 1974
This is CORRECT because the writer makes it absolutely clear that bar codes were introduced in 1974, and nothing else! When you have so many nouns that a pronoun could refer back to, sometimes it's best to just repeat the antecedent instead of replacing it with a pronoun. It also uses consistent wording/verb tense throughout.
There you have it - option D is the best choice!
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