A 1932 report by celebrated US track coach Lawson Robertson______ that the limits of human physiology ruled out a mile time under 4:01.6 was disproved by Roger Bannister’s sub-four minute mile in 1954—not to mention the fact that more than 2,000 runners have since matched Bannister’s feat.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Explanation
Context: Structure: “A 1932 report… ___ that the limits of human physiology ruled out a mile time under 4:01.6 was disproved by Roger Bannister’s… mile.” The main verb of the sentence is “was disproved,” and its subject is “A 1932 report.”
Answer: D) asserting
Why? Rule: a sentence needs exactly one finite verb per clause; extra descriptive material must take a nonfinite form. “Was disproved” already serves as the main verb, so the blank must be a participle modifying “report”: “A 1932 report… asserting that… was disproved.”
Traps:
- A) asserted → a second finite verb for the same subject, leaving “was disproved” with nothing to attach to.
- B) had asserted → same problem, with past perfect adding an unneeded time layer.
- C) asserts → finite again, and the present tense clashes with the 1932 date.