In 1997, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, designed by architect Frank Gehry, opened in a struggling industrial city in northern Spain. The museum drew millions of visitors and helped revive Bilbao's economy, a pattern later called the "Bilbao effect." ______ many other cities have commissioned striking buildings from famous architects in hopes of reviving their own economies, though not all have had the same success.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Since then,
Before this,
In contrast,
Instead,
Answer: A
Other cities followed Bilbao's example after the museum's success, so the final sentence describes events later in time. "Since then" signals that sequence. "Before this" reverses the order, and "In contrast" and "Instead" wrongly suggest that the other cities did something opposed to what Bilbao did.
"In contrast" may seem to fit the mention that not all cities succeeded, but the main point of the sentence is that other cities imitated Bilbao.
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