3.[单选题] The three mountain climbers ___ if the villagers had not found them lying at the bottom of the valley.A. would have starved to deathB. would starve to deathC. would be starving to deathD. would have been starving to death

本题考查与过去事实相反的虚拟语气。

• 关键点在于条件句中的动词形式：if the villagers had not found them 是过去虚拟的结构（过去完成时），说明假设的情况与过去事实相反。
• 主句需对应使用 would have + 过去分词 的结构，表示对过去结果的虚拟。
• 错误选项中，B项混淆了现在虚拟的结构，C、D项错误地使用了进行时态。

选项分析

A. would have starved to death

• 正确。符合“与过去事实相反”的虚拟语气结构（would have + 过去分词），表示“本会饿死”。

B. would starve to death

• 错误。would + 原形动词 是现在虚拟的结构，适用于与现在事实相反的情况（如条件句为过去时）。

C. would be starving to death

• 错误。would be + 现在分词 表示现在进行时，但题目需表达已完成的结果（饿死是一次性事件）。

D. would have been starving to death

• 错误。would have been + 现在分词 表示过去完成进行时，但“饿死”无需强调动作的持续性，结构冗余。