Im sorry its late, and im that this is probably wrong, but im guessing that it is c,mapping
To shirk means to avoid doing something.
So, if there are any choices, I'd choose that someone would be tempted to shirk a difficult task, or something you just don't feel like doing.
Diminish means become less severe
Answer: The authors choice impacts the meaning because it could change the whole story by one little move. And anything could happen within a second of the story due to the authors actions.
