Anna arrived far too early. Usually she left things to the last minute， but today was a very special occasion. It was almost 17 by getting there an hour beforehand that she hoped to cause the plane to arrive sooner.
17. A. because B. since C. as if D. when 答案是C但是 It was almost as if by getting there an hour beforehand that she hoped to cause the plane to arrive sooner.这句话be动词was后怎么直接加（我把almost当做不存在）连词词组as if了呢？as if by doing也是个词组吗？求教大神们

从7点到10点是一个时间段，所以是一个持续的状态have been doing sth.已经正在做某事