Diabetes, together with its serious complications, ranks as the nation's third leading cause of death, surpassed only by heart disease and cancer.
(A)ranks as the nation's third leading cause of death, surpassed only
(B)rank as the nation's third leading cause of death only surpassed
(C)has the rank of the nation's third leading cause of death, only surpassed
(D)are the nation's third leading causes of death, surpassed only
(E)have been ranked as the nation's third leading causes of death, only surpassed
题目分析：diabetes，这个词是单数复数？后面说的是with its serious complications，就证明这个词汇是单数，那谓语必须用单数，B D E主谓不一致，AC对比，一个用ranks as 一个用has the rank of，都是一个意思，ranks as更利索点，选A
