18. What change, if any, is necessary in the underlined portion in the following passage? Next time someone shares their favorite meal with you, ask yourself "why. this food is importan I to them." (paragraph 2) why "this food is important to them." why this food is "important" to them. why this food is important to them. correct as is

The correct answer is: why this food is important to them.<br /><br />Explanation: The underlined portion "why this food is important to them" is grammatically correct and conveys the intended meaning clearly. The use of quotation marks around "important" is unnecessary and incorrect in this context. Therefore, the correct change is to remove the quotation marks, making it "why this food is important to them."