when we were having a meeting,the director ____the bad news by telephone.

问题描述:

when we were having a meeting,the director ____the bad news by telephone.
A、was tellingB、was toldC、could tellD、would tell
请教下这道选择题里WHEN的用法和为何选用这个答案?

WHEN的用法是引导一个时间状语从句,表示当一件事正在持续进行中(这里是were having a meeting,过去进行时),发生了另一件短暂的事(这里是was told the bad news,一般过去时)
根据句意,the director 是被告诉坏消息的,故要用被动语态.