Hoi!
"As a result" indicates a cause-and-effect sentence. This sentence discusses the price of shipping goods, which lessened due to better ways of transportation. The price lessening is a result of of new transportation methods, so "As a result" is the correct answer.
Hi,
I read Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawer.
The answer is: Tom Sawer does
Instead of the 'and' you could put a comma instead?