OE


C, E The key to this sentence is to note that the textile workers feared a negative effect on the demand for their skills as a result of the sewing machine. The answer, then, must be indicative of their displeasure with the technology; furthermore, words like “poorly” and “protests” suggest that they felt very strongly about their fear of a decline in their trade, so you must also find words that reflect the strength of their views. (A) overwhelm is the opposite of what you need and can be rejected. (B) diminish, (D) mitigate, and (F) belittle are all possible choices, but none of these words are strong enough to convey the meaning you are looking for. (C) obviate and (E) eliminate suggest an absolute removal of demand for the worker’s skills and match both the meaning and the strength of the prediction.