Read the following passage about How Remote Work Is Changing American Cities Forever and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet t...

Read the following passage about How Remote Work Is Changing American Cities Forever and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the option that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 18 to 22.

The growing trend of remote work has completely changed American cities, creating serious problems for urban areas that nobody expected before. (18)_________, they could have prepared better plans to handle mixed-use buildings. Office vacancy rates reaching almost twenty percent show how serious this change has become; (19)_________. The Penn Institute's detailed study, which collected opinions from many university researchers and business experts, shows that hybrid working will continue permanently. Commercial property values dropping by forty-five percent means about six hundred billion dollars in losses across the country, putting city budgets that depend on taxes at risk.

(20)_________. Downtown areas, once full of workers, are now struggling to stay alive; as a result, buses and trains have fewer passengers and less money. Empty office buildings, their dark windows showing failed business dreams, remind us of an old way of working. (21)_________. Changing empty offices into apartments or community centers could bring life back to dying neighborhoods while solving housing problems, too. Small businesses and creative companies looking for cheaper spaces might move into these former corporate buildings, creating new business areas.

Successful change needs cooperation between government offices, building developers, and local communities—a difficult task requiring lots of money and effort. Without good planning, some city centers might decline forever, losing their ability to compete economically. Cities (22)_________, while those fighting against change face long periods of being stuck.

https://penniur.upenn.edu/al

Question 18:

A. Having noted early signs of remote-work shifts in prior policy reports

B. Key survey data that had indicated remote-work trends at an early stage

C. Urban experts who had detected early signals of online labor change

D. Had city leaders predicted this huge move toward working from home earlier