Final answer:
The correct completion for the sentence 'People in rural areas live ______ than those in cities' is 'more simply' as this provides an accurate comparison between lifestyles in rural areas and cities.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the English language, comparative adjectives are used to compare differences between the two objects they modify (i.e. larger, smaller, faster, higher). They are used in sentences where two nouns are compared. In this case, we are comparing people living in different areas, rural and the cities.
The proper choice of word from 1) simplier 2) more simply 3) more simple 4) simpler to complete the sentence 'People in rural areas live ______ than those in cities' would be 2) more simply. We use 'more' in front of adverbs to create the comparative form in English.
Overall, choice 'more simply' provides an accurate comparison between the lifestyles of people in different areas. The term 'simply' is an adverb that's used to denote the manner in which a verb happens, in this case, live. Adverbs describe verbs, and the term 'more simply' would be the suitable comparative form in this context.
Learn more about Comparative Adjectives