READING - GAPPED TEXTS

In this exercise some sentences have been removed from the reading. Your job is to put them back into
the right place. There are 6 gaps, and 7 sentences, so there is one you won't use. This can be a hard part
of the exam, but the answers are very logical.

Tips for doing a gapped text exercise

• Read the text with the gaps first. It's very helpful to know what the text is about and get some
idea of the structure of the reading before you start trying to find the answers.
• The most important sentences are the ones before and after each gap – read these paying a lot of
attention.
• You don't have to fill in the answers in order – start with the one you think is easiest and when you
get to the most difficult one there will only be 2 answers left.
• The text is full of clues that will help you do it! Let's look at each clue type in more detail.

Clues

NAMES AND PRONOUNS 1

Once upon a time there was a boy named Jack. [1] __________________________. Because of
this, he had to buy a lot of new clothes.

Choose one of these sentences to go in gap [1]:

A – He lost a lot of weight.

B -Their house was on a hill.

That's pretty easy, isn't it? Jack is a 'he', not a 'their'. There's also a logical connection between losing
weight and having to buy new clothes. This connection is seen in the text thanks to the connector
“because of”.

NAMES AND PRONOUNS 2

The documentary  showed interviews with many of top scientists.

[2] __________________________.  But the story was not funny, and many viewers complained
about its depressing ending.

A - It was watched by 8 million people.

 B - One was Simon Baron-Cohen, brother of the famous comedian.

This one is hard. “A” could be the answer because “it” could refer to “the documentary”. But B could also
be the answer because “one” may refer to “top scientists”.

So in this example, what do we do next? The three sentences must fit together like a lock fits a keyhole.

The clue is in the relationship between the words comedian, but, and funny. Those three words fit
together perfectly because “but” joins “comedian” and “funny” and shows a definite contrast between
them, a contrast which, by the way, is perfectly logical. So “B” is definitely the answer.

CONTRASTING PHRASES
We've seen an example of 'but'. Here's another one:

At first, the show was not popular. [3] __________________________.

A – However, in 2014 more people watched it every week and it ended the year as the
number 1 show in America.

B – In 2014 more people watched it every week and it ended the year as the number 1 show
in America.

The answer, which is “A” gives a nice contrast. At first the show was not popular but later it was popular.
The word 'however' introduces the change from negative to positive.

TIME PHRASES

In the so-called Golden Age of Hollywood, actors and actresses were tied to one-sided
contracts. [4]__________________________.

A -These days, however, they are free to choose projects that interest them.

B – More movies are now made in India than in Los Angeles.

The expression “The golden age” refers to a time period in the past which contrasts with “these days”.
Basically, what we are given is a sharp contrast between what actors did in the past and what they do
now. Moreover, notice that in sentence “A”, the pronoun “they” clearly refers to the noun “actors”.

Sentence “B” might be true, but has nothing to do with this story, and it is certainly not linked to the
previous sentence by means of pronouns like sentence “A” is.