In the same passage on economic slowdown, choose the correct word to fill the blank: 'spending to ________ people's material distress…'

Introduction / Context:
This cloze question examines your understanding of vocabulary and collocations related to economic and social policy. The phrase 'spending to ________ people's material distress' refers to what public spending is meant to do: reduce or ease the suffering caused by economic hardship. You must choose the word that best fits both grammatically and semantically in a serious economic commentary.

Given Data / Assumptions:

Partial phrase: 'spending to ________ people's material distress'.
Options: cool off, cut, less, mitigate.
We assume the writer is talking about government spending aimed at reducing hardship.
The missing word should be a verb that takes an object and matches the formal tone of the passage.

Concept / Approach:
In formal English, when we talk about reducing negative conditions such as pain, damage, or distress, we use verbs like 'mitigate', 'alleviate', or 'ease'. 'Mitigate' means to make something less severe, serious, or painful. 'Cool off' is informal and usually refers to reducing heat or emotional intensity, not socioeconomic distress in a written analysis. 'Cut' is a general verb meaning 'reduce', but 'cut distress' is not a common collocation. 'Less' is not a verb at all; it is a determiner or adjective. Therefore, 'mitigate' fits best in meaning, style, and grammar.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Understand the phrase: the government is being urged to spend money in order to make people's material distress less severe. Step 2: Check 'mitigate': it means 'to make less severe', and 'mitigate distress' is a standard formal expression. Step 3: Check 'cool off': it is informal and usually applied to tempers, arguments, or temperature, not to economic distress in a serious passage. Step 4: Check 'cut': while you can 'cut taxes' or 'cut spending', the phrase 'cut distress' is not idiomatic and sounds unnatural. Step 5: Check 'less': it cannot function as a main verb in this structure; 'spending to less people's material distress' is ungrammatical. Step 6: Conclude that 'mitigate' correctly completes the phrase, both semantically and stylistically.

Verification / Alternative check:
We can verify by forming the complete phrase: 'spending to mitigate people's material distress'. This matches typical language found in economic articles or reports, which often speak of 'mitigating the impact of a recession' or 'mitigating hardship'. Replacing it with 'cool off', 'cut', or 'less' gives either informal or incorrect expressions: 'spending to cool off people's material distress' sounds awkward, 'spending to cut people's material distress' is not usual collocation, and 'spending to less people's material distress' is grammatically wrong. This confirms that 'mitigate' is correct.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
'Cool off' does not match the formal, analytical tone of the passage and collocates poorly with 'material distress'. 'Cut' works better with quantifiable items such as 'costs', 'deficits', or 'budgets', not abstract suffering. 'Less' is simply not a verb and cannot fill the blank without breaking grammar. Examiners often include such distractors to test whether you are paying attention to both grammar and appropriate register.

Common Pitfalls:
Some candidates may choose 'cut' because they associate economic context with 'cutting' deficits or expenses, without checking the surrounding words. Others may be unfamiliar with 'mitigate' and therefore avoid it, even though it is exactly the kind of formal verb typically used in editorial writing. Building a strong vocabulary of formal verbs like 'mitigate', 'alleviate', and 'ameliorate' is particularly useful for comprehension and cloze passages in competitive exams.

Final Answer:
The correct word is 'mitigate', giving the phrase 'spending to mitigate people's material distress'.