Question

It was many years ____ she made a fortune and established an insurance company.

A. since B. when C. that D. before
Which one? why?

Answer 1

D
before是在...时间之前，奋斗了许多年了；而since是自从...到现在，但made这个时态与现在无关，故错误；that的话就只能理解为强调句了，但是去掉It was....that后，句子是不成立的，故错误；when是“当...的时候”，词义错误，它无法表明was这个状态的时间。
若强调句的话应该说：It was for many years that she made.......

Answer 2

that 解析： It is/ was + 被强调部分（通常是主语、宾语或状语）+ that/ who（当强调主语且主语指人）+ 其他部分。 　　例子 It was yesterday that he met you.

Answer 3

C 强调句式