B2Reading and Use of EnglishPhần 6
Gapped text
You are going to read an article. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-G the one which fits each gap (1-6). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
Last January, I realised I was checking my phone so often that I could hardly remember what I’d opened it for. I would unlock the screen in the kitchen, glance at a message, and then, somehow, end up watching short videos in the hallway. It wasn’t dramatic, but it was constant, and it made my days feel broken into tiny pieces. So I decided to try a simple experiment: for one month, I would keep my smartphone, but use it in a more intentional way.
I checked the screen-time report and was surprised by the total. It wasn’t only social media; it was also news apps, shopping sites and even the weather, which I refreshed again and again as if it might suddenly change my plans. At that point, I understood that my real habit was not any single app, but the feeling of “just one more look”.
To make the experiment manageable, I chose three rules. First, I turned off almost all notifications, keeping only calls and messages from close family. Second, I moved the most tempting apps off the home screen, so they weren’t the first thing I saw. Third, I decided to have two “check-in” times each day for social media, one after lunch and one in the evening.
The idea was to reduce mindless scrolling without making my life inconvenient.
The first few days were the hardest. I kept reaching for my phone during small pauses: waiting for the kettle to boil, standing at a bus stop, or even walking from one room to another. However, because notifications were quiet, the phone stopped calling to me, and I noticed the urge more clearly.
Sometimes the answer was information, and I could look it up and put the phone away again. More often, it was boredom, and I could deal with that differently.
Later in the week, something unexpected happened: time began to feel longer. I didn’t suddenly have hours of free time, but I had more complete minutes. For example, I read a few pages of a book while my pasta cooked, and I actually remembered what I’d read. I also listened more carefully in conversations because I wasn’t half-thinking about the next notification.
It was as if my attention had stopped jumping from place to place.
Of course, the experiment wasn’t perfect. One Saturday, I had a stressful morning and broke my own rule by scrolling for nearly an hour. I felt annoyed with myself, and for a moment I wanted to abandon the whole idea. Nevertheless, I treated that day as useful information rather than a failure.
Once I saw that, I could look for other ways to handle stress, such as going for a short walk or making a cup of tea and sitting quietly.
By the third week, the rules felt normal. I didn’t miss most notifications, and I stopped checking the weather every hour. Moreover, I noticed that some apps were only “useful” because they were there. When I removed a shopping app, for instance, I bought fewer things I didn’t need, which was good for my budget and my space.
In the end, the month didn’t turn me into a different person, but it did change the rhythm of my life.
Now, several months later, I still use the same basic system. I’m not against technology, and I don’t think everyone should copy my rules. Yet I’ve learned that attention is like money: if you spend it without thinking, it disappears. If you decide in advance what matters, you can use it for the things you truly enjoy, and that makes ordinary days feel richer.
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