4.2. Summary Completion
Complete a short summary of the passage, either with words copied from the text or with words chosen from a box.
Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
A national standard was of little use unless the correct time could be spread quickly, and the 20 that followed the railway lines made that possible. From 1852 the Royal Observatory sent a time signal every hour, and within three years an estimated 21 per cent of public clocks were corrected by it. The Corn Exchange clock in Bristol was given a second 22 so that both times could be read from one face.
The short version
A summary is a short paragraph that retells one part of the passage, with gaps in it.
Two forms: copy words from the passage under a word limit, or pick words from a box and choose the letter.
The words around a gap are reworded. The word that fills the gap is not.
The gaps usually come from one part of the passage, not always in order. In the box form there are more words than gaps.
What you have to do
The test shows a short paragraph with numbered gaps. It retells one part of the passage in different words. There are two forms. In the passage form the instruction gives a word limit, such as ONE WORD ONLY, and you copy a word. In the word-list form a box holds lettered words, more words than gaps, and you choose the letter of the one that fits. In both forms the gaps usually come from one part of the passage, not always in order.
What changes and what stays
The summary rewords the sentences around each gap: paid for becomes funded, fit becomes install. The word that goes in the gap is not reworded. In the passage form it appears in the passage exactly as you must type it. In the word-list form the box may offer a synonym, so you match the meaning of the passage, not its spelling.
Step by step
- 1Read the summary before the passage
Read the whole summary once, so you know which part of the passage it covers. Check the word limit, or count the words in the box against the gaps. Highlight the names, dates and figures in the summary: these will lead you to the right lines.
- 2Decide what kind of word each gap needs
Look at the words either side of the gap. After a or the it needs a noun. Before a noun it needs an adjective. After once a it needs a length of time. Say the kind to yourself. In the word-list form this alone rules out several words in the box.
- 3Find the line and match the meaning
Scan the passage for the name, date or figure nearest the gap. The verbs and linkers will be reworded, so expect paid for to appear as funded. Read the whole sentence you land on and find the word that carries the meaning of the gap.
- 4Rule out what cannot fit
Passage form: reject any word the summary already gives you, and any answer over the limit. Word-list form: rule out every word in the box with the wrong grammar, then every word the passage does not support. One word survives both tests.
- 5If you cannot find it
Look near the last gap you filled first, because the gaps often run in passage order. If it is still missing after a minute, type the word of the right kind from the nearest sentence. With a word list, take the last word left in the box. Then move on. Never leave a gap empty.
Quiz time5 questions
Each question gives you the one or two sentences the gap is answered from. The first three are the passage form; the last two use a word list.
Decide the kind of word
ONE WORD ONLY from the extract. Ask what kind of word must follow panels of before you look.
Read thisThe market hall was roofed in 1878 with glass panels set in a cast-iron frame, so that stalls could trade under daylight without the rain.
The 1878 roof used panels of held in an iron frame.
Write no more than 1 word.
Expect the verbs to change
NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the extract. The verbs around the gap have been reworded. The noun has not.
Read thisTraders were charged by the length of their frontage rather than by the weight of their goods, and the fee was collected each Saturday by the hall keeper.
Stallholders paid according to the of their frontage, not the weight of what they sold.
Write no more than 2 words.
Right word, too long
ONE WORD ONLY from the extract. The passage gives you three words. Keep the one that carries the meaning.
Read thisBy 1950 the panels leaked so badly that the council replaced them with corrugated asbestos sheets, which cut the light by half.
In 1950 the glass was replaced with , and the hall became much darker.
Write no more than 1 word.
Cut by grammar first
Word-list form. Three words from the box are offered. Rule out the ones the grammar of the gap cannot take.
Read thisThe new roof, finished in 2011, returned to glass, but the panels are now toughened and sit on a steel frame that weighs a third of the old one.
The current roof has glass panels on a much ______ steel frame.
The familiar word
Word-list form. All three words are in the extract. Choose the one the passage supports for this gap.
Read thisRents rose after the reopening, and a quarter of the old traders left within a year; most of the empty stalls were taken by cafes.
Within a year of reopening, a quarter of the original ______ had gone.
Try a full set
Below is a three-paragraph passage with two summaries, set as the test sets them: the first in the passage form, the second with a word list. Work the five steps in order for each one: read the summary, decide the kind of word, find the line, rule out what cannot fit, then answer.
Public drinking fountains spread across British towns from the 1850s, and most were paid for by private donors rather than by councils. The first in London opened in 1859 against the railings of a church and was used by several thousand people on its first day. Fountains were cast in iron or cut from granite because both materials survive frost. Many carried a small metal cup on a chain. That cup was withdrawn in the 1920s after doctors linked it to the spread of infection, and most fountains were converted to a jet or switched off. Since 2018 several councils have reopened old fountains and installed new ones. A modern fountain draws water straight from the mains, so it needs no tank. A slow drip keeps water moving through the bowl, which stops it standing in warm weather. Each fountain is tested for bacteria every month, and the results are posted on the council website. A bottle-filling spout is now standard, and counters fitted to those spouts suggest that a city-centre fountain fills about 300 bottles a day in summer. The revival has limits. A fountain in a quiet street is used far less than one beside a station, yet the monthly tests cost the same in either place. Councils therefore prefer sites where footfall has already been counted. The other constraint is winter. A fountain without a drain must be shut off before the first frost or its pipe will split. Some councils accept the closure; others fit heaters, which cost about three times as much to run.
Early fountains were mostly funded by private 1 ______, not by councils. Drinkers shared a metal 2 ______ hung from a chain, which was withdrawn in the 1920s because of infection. A modern fountain takes its water from the 3 ______, so no tank is needed, and it is checked for bacteria once a 4 ______. A fountain without a 5 ______ has to be shut off before the first frost.
The full set: passage form5 questions
Gap 1
ONE WORD ONLY from the passage.
Early fountains were mostly funded by private , not by councils
Write no more than 1 word.
Gap 2
ONE WORD ONLY from the passage.
Drinkers shared a metal hung from a chain
Write no more than 1 word.
Gap 3
ONE WORD ONLY from the passage.
A modern fountain takes its water from the
Write no more than 1 word.
Gap 4
ONE WORD ONLY from the passage.
and it is checked for bacteria once a
Write no more than 1 word.
Gap 5
ONE WORD ONLY from the passage.
A fountain without a has to be shut off before the first frost
Write no more than 1 word.
A fountain in a 6 ______ street is used much less than one beside a station, although the tests cost the same. Councils prefer sites where 7 ______ has already been measured. In winter some councils close the fountain, while others install 8 ______, which cost far more to run.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| busy | counters | footfall | heated | heaters | quiet | quietly | visitors |
Eight words, three gaps. Five of these words are never used.
The full set: word list3 questions
Gap 6
Choose the word from the list that fits both the grammar and the passage.
A fountain in a ______ street is used much less than one beside a station.
Gap 7
Choose the word from the list that fits both the grammar and the passage.
Councils prefer sites where ______ has already been measured.
Gap 8
Choose the word from the list that fits both the grammar and the passage.
In winter some councils close the fountain, while others install ______, which cost far more to run.
Tips
- Cut by grammar before meaning
In the word-list form, rule out every word that cannot fit the gap grammatically. That usually leaves two, and only then do you go back to the passage.
- A familiar word is not a safe word
Spare words are often lifted straight from the passage and offered for a gap where the passage never uses them.
- Expect the verbs to change
Summaries reword the verbs around a gap and leave the noun alone. Paid for becomes funded, counted becomes measured.
Recap
Read the summary first, decide the kind of word each gap needs, then find the line.
Passage form: copy the exact word, inside the limit, never one already in the summary.
Word-list form: cut by grammar first, then test what is left against the passage.
Next: the same skill in a table, where the row you are in decides the answer.