B2 First (FCE) >> Gapped Text Reading Worksheets >> The second part of the B2 First Reading section is gapped text - a single page of text with some numbered gaps which represent missing sentences. After the text there are some sentences which are not in the right order. Students have to read the text and the sentences and decide which sentence best fits each gap. This is a short article, Aromatherapy for Paris Metro.
B2 First
Gapped Text Reading 11
In the following text, four sentences or parts of sentences have been removed. Below the extract you will find the four removed sentences PLUS one sentence which doesn't fit. Choose from the sentences (A-E) the one which fits each gap (1-4). Remember, there is one extra sentence you do not need to use.
Aromatherapy for Paris Metro
Starting this week the French capital Paris will have the sweetest smelling underground trains system in the world. Five years ago Metro officials ordered extensive research to develop an antidote to the foul odours that have plagued the subway system. (1)________________________
Now they have produced Madeleine, named after one of the network's smelliest stations. The manufacturers say Madeline is composed of lemon, orange and lavender, with an extra hint of floral bouquet and underlying woody notes, accompanied by vanilla and musk. (2)________________________
Either way it is said to be better than the foul odour caused by a combination of trains, five million daily passengers, homeless people using stations as lavatories and an inadequate ventilation system.
Metro director Jacques Rapoport said: "We had to find a smell that was sweet rather than violent, that lingered for two weeks and that suggested a feeling of cleanliness and well-being rather than of filthiness being covered up."
Every month, 1.5 tonnes of Madeleine will be added to the system's cleaning products to overpower the existing smells of decaying bacteria, human sweat, urine, vomit, burning rubber and other unpleasantness. Invalides station will be the first to benefit from Madeleine. (3)________________________
It is not the first time the authorities have tried to freshen up the underground. Madeleine's predecessor, Francine, a scent of lavender, eucalyptus and mint, was tested in 1993 and 1994. (4)________________________
This time no chances were taken. Four scents, from an initial 500, were shortlisted for trials involving 5,000 Metro users. Madeleine was declared the overall winner - by a nose.
source: bbc news
Choose from the following sentences to fill the spaces in the text. There is one extra.
- It was abandoned after generating more complaints than praise.
- But some, who have smelled the mixture, say it is more like disinfectant.
- Tourists have reacted positively to the new aroma.
- Eventually it will be introduced across the 98-year-old network's 380 stations.
- Officials were concerned the smell was deterring passengers.
