Much as ______, I couldn't lend him the money because I simply didn't have that much spare cash.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】 句意：尽管我很想借给他钱，但是我做不到，因为我没有那么多现金。much as放在句首，等同于however much，意为“尽管，不管程度多高”。would like to表示意愿，过去式为would have liked to。