Question

For many travelers, charter vacations often turn out to cost considerably more than they originally seemed.

• A. They originally seem to
• B. They seemingly would cost originally
• C. It originally seemed they would
• D. It seemed originally
  

Answer 1

The correct option is C

It originally seemed they would

The tricky part is to choose between it and they. 'They' would imply that the travelers themselves first seemed to do one thing and then ended up doing another. The expletive 'it'(indefinite pronoun), the pronoun with no clear antedecent - makes more sense, it simply suggests that initial cost indications were misleading. Using 'it', it is necessary to include the phrase 'they would' to make it clear what seemed to be the case.

Furthermore, the "past future" of would in C is more precise than the simple past in D. Since we're talking about something we'd learn after a certain point in the past, would is better.