Rather than _____ smoothly into a crucial financial summit in December,the EU
seems to be cruising for a bruising.
(A)sailing (B)sails (C)sailed (D)have sailed
答案是（A)
請問各位這邊的sailing他的用法和詞性是當作什麼功能呢？？非常謝謝！！

https://tinyurl.com/yat8fpfh 找 Rather than: alternatives and preferences基本上這是慣用法/固定用法