Reading - Missing Sentences
B1
Cambridge English B1 Exam
A few sentences have been removed from the text below. For each question, choose the correct answer. There are extra sentences which you don't need to use.
A Weekend Without My Phone
Last month, my friend Lena suggested something unusual: a weekend without our phones. I laughed at first, because I use mine for everything—messages, maps, music, even paying for things. (1) ........... On Saturday morning, we met at the train station and put our phones in our backpacks on silent mode. We promised not to touch them unless it was a real emergency. At first, the journey felt strange. (2) ........... We simply watched the countryside and talked. When we arrived, we walked to a small lake near the town. There were families having picnics and people riding bikes. I wanted to take a photo, but of course I couldn’t. (3) ........... I started noticing details like the sound of birds and the reflections on the water. In the afternoon, we got a little lost while trying to find a footpath. Normally, I would open an app and follow the blue dot. Instead, we asked an older couple for directions. (4) ........... It made me realise that most people are happy to help if you speak politely. That evening, we cooked pasta in the hostel kitchen and played cards with two travellers from Spain. Without checking our screens, we actually listened to each other’s stories. (5) ........... When I finally turned my phone on Sunday night, I had lots of messages, but none of them were truly urgent.
About Reading Missing Sentences — Cambridge English B1
This Cambridge English B1 Reading Missing Sentences exercise removes several sentences from a text. Read the text and choose the sentence that best fits each gap; there are extra sentences you do not need to use.
It tests how well you follow the development of ideas and use reference words, pronouns and linking expressions to see how the parts of a text fit together.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Reading Missing Sentences?
A text has gaps where sentences were removed. You choose the correct sentence for each gap from a list that includes extra, unused options.
What does it test?
Cohesion and coherence — how ideas connect through reference words, linkers and the logical flow of the text.
Any tips for Missing Sentences?
Read the sentences before and after each gap carefully and look for reference words (this, they, however) that link the missing sentence to the text.
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What to do
This part is one of the longest texts that you must read. 5 sentences were removed. Your task is to choose the right sentence in the right gap.
Be careful there are 3 extra sentences you don’t need.
Some of the questions ask about facts and some ask about opinions. You’ll always be able to find the answers in the text.
Strategy
- The first thing you should do is to read the whole text to get a general understanding of what it is about.
- Then, look at each numbered space in turn and choose one of the sentences to fit the gap. In order to do this, you not only need to check that the meaning is correct for the gap but also that it fits grammatically with the sentences before and after the gap.
- Once you have chosen the sentence that you think fits best, quickly check that the other sentences don’t fit and try to decide why they are wrong.
- Once you have found all the missing sentences, read the text once more to make sure that it all makes sense.
