The number of people invited fifty, but a number of them absent for different reasons.
A. were; was
B. was; was
C. was; were
D. were; were
网友回答
A. were; was
B. was; was
(答案→)C. was; were
D. were; were
解析：考查主谓一致：第一空填was，因为主语是The number of people“人们的数量”，后面接单数谓语，第二空填were，因为主语是a number of them“他们中的很多”，后面接复数的谓语。句意是：被邀请的人的数量是50，但很多人因为各种原因缺席了。选C。