A special Japanese green tea called genmai-cha contains brown rice and is considered as a delicacy fit for a gourmet by most Japanese, though it is virtually unavailable outside Yokohama.
(A) A special Japanese green tea called genmai-cha contains brown rice and is considered as a delicacy fit for a gourmet by most Japanese, though it is virtually unavailable outside Yokohama.
(B) Considered to be a delicacy fit for a gourmet by most Japanese, genmai-cha is a special green tea that contains brown rice, virtually unavailable outside Yokohama.
(C) A special Japanese green tea called genmai-cha contains brown rice and is considered a gourmet delicacy by most Japanese, though it is virtually unavailable outside Yokohama.
(D) Most Japanese consider genmai-cha, a special green tea which contains brown rice, as a delicacy virtually unavailable outside Yokohama.
(E) Though virtually unavailable outside Yokohama, most Japanese consider genmai-cha, a special green tea that contains brown rice, a gourmet delicacy.
Ans:
A: "considered as" is unidiomatic
B: "considered to be" is wordy (Correct usage: X is considered Y).
"virtually unavailable outside Yokohama" is incorrectly modifying "brown rice".
D: "consider as" is unidiomatic.
"Most Japanese consider genmai-cha delicacy virtually unavailable outside Yokohama"? The Japanese don't consider "cha" unavailable, that is simply a mere fact; instead, they consider "cha" a gourmet delicacy
E: "Though virtually unavailable outside Yokohama" is incorrectly modifying Japanese and not "cha"
One more point about this question:
"It" can absolutely refer to a noun in the main clause from within a subordinate clause. In fact, "it" can refer to something in a completely separate sentence.
I walked to the store in the rain. I was disappointed to find out it was closed.
"It" works the same way other pronouns do -- you can use it when its referent is unambiguous. The only other noun to which it could refer is "brown rice"; if we wanted to say that brown rice was rare, the sentence would be better-written with that closer to "rice". As it is, the sentence is a sequence of three statements about this tea: genmai-cha contains X and is considered Y, though it is Z.
