READING PART 2 GAPPED TEXT
PRACTICE N. 1
You are going to read an article about a student who learns to cook for himself. Seven sentences have been removed from the article. Choose
from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (1-7). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
Cooking at university
For university student Matthew, getting to grips with cooking for himself on his first time away from home was a real learning
curve. Now totally at ease in the kitchen, he looks on the experience as literally life-changing.
‘To be honest,’ Matthew says, 'when I left home for university, I didn't give a great deal of thought to how I would feed myself.
At that time I was more concerned with all the other challenges ahead of me, particularly the academic ones, and anyway I knew
how to heat up ready meals. 1 ____ Especially as I was trying to keep up with difficult new work, and socialising into the small
hours with new friends.
'At first I couldn't believe that snacking on nothing but junk food and sometimes skipping meals altogether could have serious
effects. 2 ____ I had much less energy than before.' And, worryingly, he was in bad shape. ‘That did it,’ he admits. 'After a
lifetime of healthy home cooking, I was suddenly living on junk food. My diet and lifestyle were harming my system and I
desperately needed to turn things round.'
He returned to university equipped with a new pan or two and some cooking lessons from Mum under his belt. 'I decided to eat
as much fresh food as possible - not difficult since I've always enjoyed fruit and vegetables,’ says Matthew. 'I took time to seek
out the best and cheapest places to shop. 3 ____
'These changes, though, didn't cut me off from student life. I wanted to enjoy everything about my experience of university - the
friends, the new interests and the social side as well as the study that would hopefully mark out my career. But it took some
reorganising and a commitment to set aside time to eat more healthily. 4 ____
'Within weeks of changing to a balanced diet of healthy, freshly cooked food, my concentration powers, my energy and my
appearance were all improving. Getting organised brings benefits. I got into the habit of preparing double portions for the fridge
or freezer. I would buy fish or chicken portions, add vegetables and throw the whole thing in the oven. 5 ____ It's also good to
keep a stock of frozen vegetables to save time and to eat wholegrain foods which fill you up for longer. At exam time, when time
is really short, and I'm starving, I can make a filling omelette in minutes.'
What were the reactions to his new lifestyle? Matthew explains: 'Well, these days it's cool for guys to be interested in cooking.
True, there were jokes that I'd let the side down and abandoned student traditions. 6 ____ But I learned that if you are on an
intensive course - I'm doing engineering - you need to have the strength for study and, hopefully, a social life too.
'It was no different for my friends. 7 ____ But we all came to realise that you need to take care of your body if your mind is to
be at its best. And taking an hour or even less to prepare and cook a healthy meal or two still leaves you plenty of time for
everything else.'
A I hadn't, of course.
B Cooking it that way saves on pots and washing up, and it's an easy, tasty meal.
C Before long, though, I was getting pretty fed up with eating those and I started to think cooking for myself might be important
after all.
D I'm not saying they suddenly developed an interest in eating healthily.
E Eating out like that quite often also made a considerable difference.
F On the more positive side, doing all this became easier as time went on.
G But after a few months I made my first visit home, and the family's comments on my unhealthy appearance made me realise it
was true.
H In the same way, I got to know the best times to find the freshest items and when to pick up a bargain.
KEYS: 1 C 2 G 3 H 4 F 5 B 6 A 7 D
You are going to read an article about going to pop concerts. Seven sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from
the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (1-7). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
Quiet, please: rock gig in progress
Talking loudly at a pop concert these days can get you told off - and don't even think of spilling your drink. Fiona Sturges
welcomes this change in attitudes.
Jean-Paul Sartre once wrote about how awful other people are. If he had been born a few decades later and a fan of live music, he
might instead have written about how awful other people at pop concerts are.
It sounds like at least one band would back me up here. Last week a well-known lead singer is reported to have shouted at an
audience member in response to their talking loudly throughout his performance, after which he is said to have emptied a glass of
water on their head. 1 ____ Who hasn't been to a gig at some point and had their night ruined by the behaviour of a stranger?
People's enjoyment of a concert relies on the good manners of others. At its best, live music can be a life-changing experience.
When everything goes right, the music coming from the stage can lift the soul and make you forget your surroundings. 2 ____
Something like that happened when I went to see one of my favourite bands. It was a sit-down gig and I had a seat about ten rows
from the front. Despite being so near the stage, I couldn't hear a thing thanks to a group of people sitting in front of me, who kept
on gossiping and laughing all the way through the show. 3 ____ And that's when I leaned forward and asked, as politely as I
could, if they could keep it down. They were absolutely shocked. 'How dare you!' replied one of them.
When it comes to audience interaction, every art form requires a certain amount of appropriacy although there are no formal
rules. 4 ____ For instance, it's acceptable to move around and talk in art galleries but wild dancing is, as a general rule, not
tolerated. In the theatre you can sit down and fall asleep and no one will care, but anyone who talks at anything louder than a
whisper or answers their mobile phone is asking for trouble.
Actually, at one city-centre venue, posters on the walls forbid gig-goers from talking during performances altogether. But
generally, when it comes to pop concerts it's more a case of attitudes starting to change. 5 ____ Singing along loudly is
unreasonable unless the artist specifically requests it. And drinks should be consumed by their owner and not spilt down the back
of the person in front of them.
Another annoying feature of contemporary gig-going is mobile phones. Like tourists viewing foreign landscapes through a
camera, large numbers of gig-goers seem to prefer looking at their musical heroes through little holes in the back of their mobiles
rather than, you know, using their eyes. As the band
walks onto the stage, hundreds of phones are raised to obtain hopelessly poor-quality pictures. 6 ____ Whatever happened to
living for the moment?
It's clear that the habits of gig-goers vary according to the type of music being performed. From the hard-rocking gigs of my
teenage years, I frequently emerged soaked in drinks and sweat, and thought nothing of standing in the middle of a crowd for
hours. Audience chat was never a problem. 7 ____ Happily, I have learned that the further back you stand in a crowd, the less
likely you are to be pushed or have someone step on your foot. As for the talkative ones in the audience, I say pour cold water on
the lot of them.
A This noise went on for around twenty minutes before my patience ran out.
B But there are also times when the greatest performers in the world can't compete with the idiot in the crowd who decides to
sing along, spill drinks and casually push people.
C These days, though, I am much less keen on all this. D Their owners can then post these on a social networking website in
order that their friends can stare at them in envy.
E If this reaction was a bit strong, the emotion behind it was understandable.
F I always walk out whenever they start doing that.
G Some unwritten ones, however, do exist.
H Talking, for example, is acceptable but not to the point where the strangers next to you are forced to listen to details of your
private life.
KEYS: 1 E 2 B 3 A 4 G 5 H 6 D 7 C
You are going to read an article about honey. Seven sentences have been removed from the article. Choose
from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (1 -7). There is one extra sentence which you do not
need to use.
Honey, Food of the Centuries
Of all naturally occurring foods, honey is the one that seems to hold the most magic and mystery. Though
apiculturists can keep their bees in optimum conditions and breed queens with good genetic lines, the
collection of pollen and nectar is beyond human control. The beekeeper must simply cross his fingers and
hope.
The queen bee appears to have an easy life. Once mated, she returns to the hive to live a life of pampered
luxury, sipping royal jelly and laying eggs. 1 ____ Fortunately, they are so good at this and so driven in
their work that they make an enormous excess of honey, and it is harvested twice a year.
The colour, flavour and density of honey depends entirely on which flowers the bees visit. 2 ____ As
regards smell, some honeys are scentless while wildflower honey has a heady perfume.
3 ____ Highly scented but not too sweet, it has an almost jelly-like texture and is tasty spread on fresh
bread with butter.
Mexican blossom honey, clear and dark with an almost sharp flavour is best kept for creamy desserts.
Acacia honey, mildly sweet with floral overtones, goes well with yoghurt or porridge. 4 ____ It is best
brushed on to the skin of roast duck about twenty minutes before the bird is removed from the oven.
The texture of honey depends on how the fruit sugars are mixed. 5 ____ If you prefer clear honey simply
warm set honey before use. I love the rough uneven crunch of crystallised honey.
6 ____ It was one of the few sweeteners available in cold northern countries, where sweet fruit, such as
figs, raisins and dates, were costly imports.
This year the first national honey week takes place. It has been organised to encourage people to enjoy this
delicious, healthy food so look out for a new or unusual jar of honey and take it home. 7 ____
A Those with a high glucose content, such as rape flower, crystallise easily but acacia, which has a higher
fructose level, is clear.
B It might have a wonderful effect on you.
C Heather honey is the most delicious.
D Honey keeps for centuries if stored in a cool, dry place and has been found in good condition in the
tombs of Egyptian pharaohs.
E It is easy to see why honey was important and popular before the arrival of white sugar.
F It is the lesser bees that do all the real work, collecting nectar which is then made into honey as food for
the hive.
G Dark amber Greek honey is highly recommended in cooking.
H Colours range from white, through brilliant yellow, to deep, dark gold.
KEYS: 1 F 2 H 3 C 4 G 5 A 6 E 7 B
This is an article from a newspaper, talking about a new food product that is aimed at children. Seven
sentences have been removed from the article. Fill each gap (1-6) with the sentence which you think fits best
from the list A-H. There is one extra sentence, which you do not need to use. There is an example at the
beginning (0).
Tasty Vegetables for Kids
Flavoured frozen vegetables - including chocolate-tasting carrots - went on sale yesterday. 1 ____ This is in
response to a plea from Gordon McVie, director general of the Cancer Research Campaign charity, for a
solution to unhealthy eating habits among young people.
2 ____. It found that many mothers had all but abandoned the struggle to get their children to eat vegetables.
'We know that a third of all cancers are diet related and potentially preventable,' said McVie, who has lent
his name to the new range of vegetables. 3 ____
The idea for the 'wacky' vegetable grew out of an impromptu discussion in January between Professor
McVie and Malcolm Walker, chairman of Iceland Frozen Foods. They talked about why frozen vegetables
could not incorporate some of the flavours used to market packets of crisps. 4 ____
5 ____ Interestingly, the majority rejected a number of potential lines, including bubble gum broccoli, prawn
cocktail cauliflower and toffee apple sweetcorn. The company declined to comment on the flavouring
process, except to say it had made use of 'natural' additives and had not altered the vegetables' underlying
taste or nutritional value. 'In fact, there has been no genetic meddling and our market research shows that
children and parents are very keen,' said Barbara Crampton, an Iceland spokeswoman.
Professor McVie said the recommendations of specialists for a healthy life were that children and adults
should eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. The study came up with an amazing result. 6 ____
The big supermarkets, responding to increasing public awareness of the problem of children not wanting to
eat their 'greens' have started to repackage fresh produce to appeal more directly to children. 7 ____ Both
the Tesco and Sainsbury chains are also developing vegetables with sauces and coatings aimed at children.
Professor McVie said he hoped the flavoured vegetables might encourage children to move on to more
traditional forms of vegetables, in the same way that fish fingers encouraged children to try fish.
A These have always proved popular with children.
B A study for the charity was carried out among working class families last year.
C Safeway, for example, recently introduced a children's range of miniature fruit and vegetables with
softer flesh and skin.
D Researchers are experimenting with 'super-vegetables' which contain more vitamins.
E It found that for most children this was achieved on only one day a year - Christmas Day.
F The products were extensively market-tested on children aged 7 to 10.
G He believes that unless the British public understands this, there will be potentially serious health
implications for the future.
H Also available are baked-bean-flavoured peas, cheese and onion cauliflower, and pizza sweetcorn.
KEYS: 1 H 2 B 3 G 4 A 5 F 6 E 7 C