Plug in 1/2 for each of the occurrences of x:

x^-1 + x^-2 + x^-3 + x^-4 =
(1/2)^-1 + (1/2)^-2 + (1/2)^-3 + (1/2)^-4 =
1/(1/2) + 1/(1/2)^2 + 1/(1/2)^3 + 1/(1/2)^4 =
2 + 1/(1/4) + 1/(1/8) + 1/(1/16) =
2 + 4 + 8 + 16 =
30, choice (D).