My Answer: D

a survey by national council of churches showed that in 1986 there were 20736 female ministers, almost 9 percent of the nations's clergy , twice as much as 1977

a) twice as much as 1977 - > Incorrect comparison, 20736 vs 1977
b) twice as many as 1977 -> - > Incorrect comparison, 20736 vs 1977
c) double what it was in 1977 -> "It" is ambiguous
D) double the figure for 1977
e) a number double that of 1977's -> Why do we need "a number"? Incorrect

because this is a comparison you need to compare the figures "in 1986" to the figures "in 1977" to keep the sentence parallel. because D is the only answer that does this it is the correct answer.

thanks akhilesh for your points and again i thank our expert mrs tpr becky for giving time

pradeep kaushal