Question

knowing what time it was as one traveled across the vast north american continent before 1883 was more art than science. most towns had their own local time, generally based on the suns position at its zenith, which wreaked havoc on the railroad industry. imagine having to plan shipping and transportation across thousands of miles of tracks spanning an entire continent. now imagine doing this when no one could even agree on what time it was! the powerful railroad companies solved this conundrum by dividing the continent into four different time zones, creating the universal time - keeping system in use today.
what technique often used in fiction helps the reader better understand the need for uniform time zones?
1 alluding to the railroads as if they were protagonists in an adventure
2 employing imagery to establish the setting before describing the conflict
3 asking the reader to put him or herself in the situation of a character

Explanation:

The text uses phrases like "Imagine having to plan..." and "Now imagine doing this..." which directly invite the reader to step into the scenario of those dealing with the time zone problem, a technique where readers place themselves in a character-like situation to understand the conflict better. Option 1 is incorrect as railroads are not framed as adventure protagonists. Option 2 is incorrect because the text does not focus on descriptive imagery for setting first; it uses direct reader immersion instead.

Answer:

1. asking the reader to put him or herself in the situation of a character