Question

the exhibition catalog for the ardent book arts center notes that typographer lina borke, revising riverline (2017) for a 34 - page essay sequence, relied on three principles: generous margins, especially in long essays; restrained ornament, limited to chapter openings; and a consistent grid that aligns captions with images. reviewers at the center reported that these choices ___ reader fatigue during 20 - minute gallery sessions.
21 □ mark for review
which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of standard english?
① reduced
② had reduced
③ has reduced
④ will reduce

Explanation:

The context of the text is in the past (notes, relied, reported). We need a past - tense verb. Option A "reduced" is simple past, which fits the past - tense context of the sentence. Option B "had reduced" is past perfect, which is used to show an action that happened before another past action, but there's no such sequence here. Option C "has reduced" is present perfect, which doesn't fit the past - tense context. Option D "will reduce" is future tense, which also doesn't fit as the events are in the past.

Answer:

A. reduced