Sentence improvement (collocation with “attempt”): prefer “attempt(s) at + gerund” in this construction Original sentence: "The research study is an eye-opener and attempts to acquaint us with the problems of poor nations." Choose the option that gives the preferred collocation and flow.

Given data

• Subject: The research study (singular) → verb form attempts.
• Goal: introduce readers to (acquaint them with) certain problems.

Concept/Approach
Both “attempts to acquaint” and “attempts at acquainting” can be idiomatic. Many exams, however, specifically test the collocation attempt(s) at + gerund. Option (b) provides this explicit pattern and maintains subject–verb agreement.

Option analysis
attempts at acquainting — matches the targeted collocation and the singular subject. ✅attempted to acquaint — wrong tense/aspect.attempt to acquaint / attempting to acquaint — number/aspect issues and less preferred in this test’s rubric.No correction required — not selected per key; the test emphasises the at + gerund pattern.

Final Answer
attempts at acquainting