Q. (7)

Question

Q. (7)

Accepted Answer

1) Grammatical fit: The clause is "The answer ___ in improving the way we plan..." The subject "the answer" is singular and requires a third-person singular verb. "Lies" is the third-person singular present form of the intransitive verb "lie" (meaning "to be located" or "to be found"), so it agrees in number and tense.

2) Syntactic role: The structure calls for a verb that takes a prepositional complement ("in improving...") rather than a transitive object. "Lies" functions intransitively and naturally accepts a following prepositional phrase to indicate where the solution is found.

3) Idiomatic collocation: "The answer lies in..." is a standard, idiomatic expression meaning "the solution is found in...," which precisely conveys the intended meaning that improving planning, building and operation is where the solution can be found.

4) Semantic suitability: Using "lies" expresses that the remedy or source of the problem is located in the proposed action (boosting productivity of infrastructure), which matches the passage’s logical argument.

Therefore, the verb "lies" correctly fills the blank in the given sentence. 
FINAL_ANSWER: D

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