- Bracket every gap: read the sentence before AND after.
- Do the gaps with strong pins first ("This…", "These…", "For example…").
- "This / these / they" in an option must point back to something just before the gap.
- The extra sentence is ON topic — only pins prove a sentence fits.
- Easiest gaps first — Start with gaps that have a strong pin like "This…" or "For example…"
- Bracket the gap — Read the sentence before AND the sentence after
- Pins both ways — The right sentence links to one side and clashes with neither
- The extra is on topic — The left-over sentence is about the same subject — only pins count
- Check the last gap — Test the last two sentences — don't fill by elimination alone
For thousands of years, sailors have feared rocky coastlines at night. Rocks hidden just below the surface could tear open a wooden hull in seconds, and a ship could sink before anyone saw the shore. (1) ______ The first lighthouses were simply bonfires burning on hilltops. People who lived nearby kept them alight all night, piling on wood or coal until morning.
Later, tall stone towers were built to lift the light higher. The higher a light is, the further away it can be seen, because the curve of the Earth hides low lights from distant ships. (2) ______ This meant that a ship's crew had more time to change course before reaching the rocks. Some towers were even built on tiny islands far out to sea, where waves crashed against their walls.
Every lighthouse needed a keeper. (3) ______ They trimmed the wicks, polished the great glass lenses and wound the clockwork that turned the lamp. Many kept a logbook, writing down the weather and every ship that passed. It was lonely work. Supplies arrived by boat, and in bad weather the boat might not come for weeks. During a storm, a keeper might not sleep at all.
Lighthouses also had to be told apart. A sailor who spotted a light in the dark needed to know exactly which lighthouse it was, so that the crew could work out where the ship was. (4) ______ For example, one light might flash twice every ten seconds, while its neighbour further along the coast flashed red once every five seconds.
In the twentieth century, electric lamps and automatic switches arrived. (5) ______ One by one, lighthouses began to run themselves. By the end of the century, most keepers had packed up and left, and the cottages beside the towers stood empty. Some have since been turned into holiday homes.
Today, ships find their way using satellites and computer maps. (6) ______ Many old towers still shine, however, as a back-up in case the electronics fail. Others have become museums, where visitors can climb the winding stairs and imagine life as a keeper on a stormy night.
Rocks hidden just below the surface could tear open a wooden hull in seconds, and a ship could sink before anyone saw the shore. To warn ships of the danger, people began to build lights along the coast. The first lighthouses were simply bonfires burning on hilltops. People who lived nearby kept them alight all night, piling on wood or coal until morning.
2. Read the sentence AFTER gap 1. What does it start talking about? → The first lighthouses
3. Which sentence bridges 'danger from rocks' to 'the first lighthouses'? → D To warn ships of the danger…
- Wrong place — It talks about a tall tower, but the next sentence says the first lighthouses were just bonfires. Towers come later, in paragraph 2.
- Word match — It is about seeing lighthouses, but in the daytime. 'This meant… more time to change course' needs something about seeing the light from far away.
C Some lighthouses are painted with bright stripes so that they are easy to see during the day.