More Practice- Part 6- Gapped Text- Reading and Use of English

You are going to read a magazine article about a type of fruit. Six sentences have been removed from the article on the left. Choose the most suitable sentence from the list A-G on the right for each part (1-6) of the article. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

Tongue Trickster

Never mind the tongue twister – here’s the tongue trickster. Frank Parsons reports on the craze for a strange type of fruit.

Imagine drinking a glass of pure, freshly-squeezed lemon juice with nothing added. It’s enough to turn your stomach.

1) ….. .

I watch as one-by-one they down the drink, tentative at first, and then smiling broadly as they declare, ”It tastes just like grandma’s lemonade.” Fifty or so people crowd around a table on the rooftop terrace of Larry’s small but swish apartment. I edge my way forward and arrive at the table that positively groans with the array of food piled high.

2) ….. .

My host appears at my shoulder, and says, ”Here, have this.” This turns out to be a small red berry about the size of a blueberry, but slightly elongated, the shape of a coffee bean.He looks at the expression on my face. ”It’s known as the miracle fruit. Just put it in your mouth,” he instructs, ”and chew it slightly to separate the pulp from its seed.”

3)…. .

I obey his command and then discreetly spit the remains into my handkerchief while his glance is averted.”Done?” he asks, turning back to me. I nod. He grabs a glass of the lemon juice from a passing waiter and offers it to me. ”Now drink.” I take a small sip, and close my eyes. The guests are right.

4)…. .

My host states knowingly I have experienced first-hand the phenomenon of the Synsepalum Dulcificum, or the Miracle Fruit. This small berry has the amazing effect of causing bitter or sour foods to taste as sweet as sugar candy.

5)….. .

When it comes into contact with acidic foods, like vinegar, it starts to behave like a sweetener.A native fruit of West Africa, the fruit was discovered by western explorers around 1725.

6)… .

Left uncultivated, the miracle fruit grows in bushes reaching six metres in height. It produces crops twice yearly, usually after the rainy season, and has attractive white flowers.Despite being around for centuries it is only in recent years that the miracle fruit has been cultivated as a potential sweetener. There has been some albeit limited interest from the diet food industry. Not only that – the fruit can aid patients receiving medical treatment that may leave an unpleasant taste in the mouth.

A. These range from wedges of fruit, strong cheeses and pickles to plates of Brussel sprouts.

B. It’s like I’ve been transported back to childhood, sitting on the porch with Grandma and her delicious homemade pop.

C. According to scientists the result happens because of a protein called miraculin.

D. Then push it around your mouth like you’d do with a piece of gum for about sixty seconds.

E. Yet that is what the guests of host, Larry Walters, are given on their arrival at one of his tasting parties in an upmarket district of New York.

F. Not everyone is a fan of the berry’s strange effect, however.

G. They first noticed its distinctive property when they saw local people chewing the berry before a meal.

Check your answers⇓

Answer key

1. E
2. A
3. D
4. B
5. C
6. G