Multiple-choice cloze
For questions 1-8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.
For years, city leaders have the promise of “smart” technology as the cure-all for urban woes, yet the reality is more nuanced than the sales pitch suggests. Sensors can, in theory, smooth traffic, trim energy use and pollution, but only if the data they is interpreted with a cool head rather than to score political points. Too often, pilot schemes are with much fanfare, then quietly shelved when the results don’t tally with the hype or when budgets tighten. Meanwhile, residents are left to pick up the pieces: patchy apps that don’t talk to each other, cameras that feel like surveillance convenience, and consultation meetings that amount to little more than box-ticking. None of this is to say innovation should be ; on the contrary, it can pay dividends when it’s coupled with transparent rules and a willingness to learn from failure. But until officials the public about trade-offs, “smart” risks becoming a catch-all slogan that lets hard choices be kicked down the road.
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