Sentence improvement — Choose the correct aspect for a continuing action with ‘‘for more than 4 hours now’’: improve ‘‘The poor villagers have waited in the bitter cold for more than 4 hours now.’’

Given data
The poor villagers have waited in the bitter cold for more than 4 hours now.

Concept/Approach
Duration with ‘‘for ... now’’ indicates an action that started in the past and is still continuing. Use the present perfect continuous: ‘‘have been waiting.’’

Option analysis
have been waiting — Correct aspect and plural agreement with ‘‘villagers’’.had waited — Past perfect requires a later past anchor; not present.has been waiting — Subject–verb disagreement (singular vs plural).No improvement — Leaves suboptimal aspect.

Verification/Alternative
Template: ‘‘They have been + V-ing for X hours now.’’

Final Answer
have been waiting