Tips Part 6- Gapped Text- Reading and Use of English

The Text is Full of Clues

Like in a good Agatha Christie book, there are lots of clues to the right answer.

What sort of clues are in a text?

• Names and pronouns (Jack… he… this…)
• Chronology (Then… Finally…)
• Quotation marks (“I couldn’t believe it.”)
• Contrast words (However, but)
• Verb tenses (had gone… will have finished)
• Cause and effect (Therefore… as a result…)
• Repetition (in other words…)

Examples:

?NAMES AND PRONOUNS 1

Once upon a time there was a boy named Jack. [1] __________________________. Then he died.

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

A – He ate all the chocolate in London.

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 eating all the chocolate and dying.

?NAMES AND PRONOUNS 2

The documentary featured 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’ means ‘the documentary’. But B could be the answer because ‘one’ refers 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 but, funny, and comedian. Those three words fit together perfectly.

?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.

Which do you think is a better story?

Answer 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 golden age’ is a time period in the past which contrasts with ‘these days’. Basically it means ‘in the past… but now…’

Sentence B might be true, but has nothing to do with this story.

?QUOTATION MARKS

Sometimes the gap will be in speech marks (” “) – that makes it pretty easy to find the answer. Which of the sentences sounds like it was said by a person? If there is a text written in a neutral tone and one of the answers has the word ‘I’ then that must be in quotation marks.

But there was more to his performance than scoring the winning goal. He also motivated his younger teammates. ‘[5]_____________________.’

A – He had become a true leader.
B – I felt like I was on top of the world.

See? It can only be B.