Question

national science agencies and private research institutions have long invested heavily in ambitious space exploration missions. a single successful launch can generate international recognition for both the scientists involved and the organizations that support them. however, prioritizing high - profile projects ____ at times diverted resources from smaller - scale research efforts and has done so before: a planned $2 million grant for a regional observatory upgrade was reduced by half after budget allocations were shifted to fund a mars probe.
21 mark for review
which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of standard english?
a has
b have
c to have
d having

Explanation:

To determine the correct verb, we analyze the subject. The subject here is "prioritizing high - profile projects", which is a gerund phrase. Gerund phrases function as singular subjects in Standard English. So we need a singular verb. Option A "has" is a singular verb, while Option B "have" is plural, Option C "to have" is an infinitive (not a main verb form for this context), and Option D "having" is a gerund/participle (not a main verb form for the sentence structure here).

Answer:

A. has