One astronaut who joined the program in 1996（ ）only after he had

One astronaut who joined the program in 1996（ ）only after he had been applying for 12 years.
A、has been accepted
B、had been accepted
C、was accepted
D、is accepted
【正确答案】：C
【题目解析】：1996年参加这个项目的一名宇航员在提出申请12年后才被接受。Had been applying for表示过去的过去，而“宇航员”被接受发生在过去。故用一般过去时的被动语态：was/were done结构。