Tracking the mountain lion (Gapped sentences, CAE)

This quiz is given by the University of Cambridge as a free sample of Paper 1 (Reading), Part 2 (Gapped Sentences) of the ESOL Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE).

This type of test assesses how well candidates understand the structure of the text and the development of the theme (so pay attention to demonstrative pronouns and adjectives, time references, sequence of verb tenses etc.)

You are going to read an extract from a magazine article. Six paragraphs have been removed from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A – G the one which fits each gap (1-6). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

Good luck!

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Tracking the mountain lion

Rupert Isaacson joins a volunteer project to protect mountain lions in Idaho, USA.




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HERE ARE THE PARAGRAPHS YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM:

A The dart hit the lioness in the back of the leg. It flinched, growled and then turned sleepily back to the hounds. Like a tiring boxer, its slashing movements became slower and slower until it slumped into the snow, unconscious.

B Finally, on the fifth or sixth try, the houndsmen managed to drop the restraint over the lion’s head and tie it around a sagebrush trunk. Quickly and efficiently they did the same with one of its hind legs, then I helped them to sit on the protesting lion until John arrived with the tranquilliser.

C On the way, John told me he had recruited Ken and Kevin, two hunters, to assist in the lion study because of their local knowledge. At first my fellow volunteers felt uncomfortable with this. How could these men kill animals one day, then try to protect them the next?

D The men exchanged nods, then bent down to set the animals loose. And with a whoop, they were off, bounding through the snow, leaving the rest of us to lumber after them, each laden with his allotted encumbrance.

E Kevin barely had time to reply before the lion reached out a massive paw and swiped at the rifle. With impressive speed, John seized his own rifle, and – what seemed like a split-second later – the creature lay motionless on the ground, a tranquilliser dart in its tawny side.

F This motley crew formed the ten-strong paying volunteer group taking part in a University of Idaho study into the effect of habitat fragmentation on wildlife. Our task was to radio-collar mountain lions and gather data on their feeding habits, with the ultimate aim of persuading state authorities to curb urban growth and adopt more wildlife-friendly forestry practices.

G They sprinted effortlessly over the rocky ground, while I stumbled along in their wake. After five kilometres we spotted the lion. ‘Quick,’ said Ken, thrusting the hounds’ collars into my hand. ‘You distract it for a moment.’ Scarcely able to believe what I was doing, I found myself letting the straining dogs lunge at the lion just enough to make it come at us, then jumping back in time to avoid its claws.