Part 4
Questions 16-20
Five sentences have been removed from the text below. For each question, choose the correct answer (A-H). There are three extra sentences which you do not need to use.
The Unexpected Garden
When my neighbour Mrs Chen moved into a care home last spring, she asked me to look after her garden. I agreed, mostly because I felt I should be helpful. 16 . I lived in a flat and had never grown so much as a potted plant in my life.
The first time I unlocked her gate, I felt completely overwhelmed. The garden was much larger than it looked from the street. There were flower beds, a small vegetable patch, and a little greenhouse in the corner. 17 . I pulled out my phone and spent twenty minutes searching for advice online, but it only made me more confused.
I decided to start with something simple. I found a watering can in the shed and gave everything a good soak. 18 . She told me which plants needed shade and which ones needed to be cut back. After an hour, I had filled three pages of notes.
Week by week, I began to understand the rhythm of the place. I learned that the tomatoes needed support sticks, that the roses hated being watered in the evening, and that something called bindweed had to be pulled out the moment it appeared. 19 . I found myself looking forward to my visits. The quiet concentration of weeding or deadheading flowers cleared my mind in a way I hadn’t expected.
By the end of the summer, the garden looked better than ever. Mrs Chen’s son sent me a photo of her sitting by her window at the care home, smiling at a bunch of flowers I had picked from her own garden. 20 . She just wanted to know that it was being loved. I realised then that I had got far more out of the arrangement than I had given.
A. I didn’t even know the names of most of the plants.
B. She had left detailed instructions in a blue folder on the kitchen table.
C. The truth was, though, that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.
D. It turned out that was exactly the right thing to do, according to Mrs Chen’s granddaughter who stopped by later that week.
E. My own flat started to feel smaller and more crowded every time I returned from there.
F. That picture made me understand something important: she hadn’t asked me to be an expert.
G. I was worried that I might accidentally destroy something valuable.
H. I immediately went out and bought several gardening books to study.
For this task: Answers with explanations :: Vocabulary
