Question

which is the best version of the underlined word connecting sentences 7 and 8 (reproduced below)?
in the 1700s, kidnapped african people were held there until they were sold in slave markets on the other side of the river. thus, by situating this \catastrophe\ caravan in a former site of slave commerce and carving into it figures who seem to vary in age, walker forces the viewer to acknowledge the enormity and brutality of slavery.
no change
yet
but
regardless

Explanation:

The original word "Thus" indicates a cause - effect relationship. Sentence 7 describes a historical fact (kidnapped African people held until sold), and sentence 8 explains the result (Walker's work making viewers acknowledge slavery's enormity). "Thus" is appropriate as it shows that the action in sentence 8 is a consequence of the situation in sentence 7. "Yet" and "But" imply a contrast, which is not the case here. "Regardless" means without being affected by, which also does not fit the cause - effect relationship.

Answer:

NO CHANGE