B2Reading and Use of Englishパート 6
Gapped text
You are going to read an article. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-G the one which fits each gap (1-6). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
Last spring, I noticed something strange about my reading habits: I was buying more books than ever, but finishing fewer of them. The pile by my bed kept growing, and I felt slightly guilty every time I added another title. At the same time, I missed the excitement of talking about a story with other people. That was when my neighbour Lena mentioned a “book swap” she wanted to start in our street.
The idea sounded simple: bring a book you’ve enjoyed and take another one home.
Because of that, she suggested we meet in person rather than leaving books in a box outside. We chose Saturday morning, when most people were free, and agreed to use the small community garden at the end of the road.
In the week before the event, I looked at my shelves with new eyes. I didn’t want to give away anything I might reread soon, but I also didn’t want to bring something boring.
This small message felt surprisingly personal, as if I were starting a conversation with a stranger.
When Saturday arrived, the garden looked different from usual. Someone had put up a hand-made sign, and there were two tables covered with colourful paperbacks and hardbacks.
However, once Lena greeted everyone and invited us to place our books on the tables, the atmosphere changed. Within minutes, neighbours who had only ever said “hello” in the hallway were swapping recommendations and laughing about childhood favourites.
I expected the best part to be choosing a new book, but it turned out to be the stories behind the choices. One man admitted he always read crime novels because they helped him relax after work. A teenager said she was tired of reading on her phone, so she wanted “real pages” again.
As a result, picking a book felt less like shopping and more like accepting a gift.
Of course, not everything went perfectly. A few books disappeared without being swapped, and somebody left a stack of old school textbooks that nobody wanted.
That practical decision kept the mood friendly while also making the system fair.
Afterwards, I walked home with a novel I had never heard of and a list of other titles to try. Later that evening, I opened the first page and found a note from its previous owner, just like the one I had written. It said, “Read this when you need hope,” and it made me smile.
Now our swap happens every six weeks, and it has become an easy way to turn strangers into familiar faces, one story at a time.
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