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Practice Writing: Summarize Written Text ID: #552 Country Life B1
Instructions
Live in the country and last three years longer than my city friends? Good news indeed, more backing for a lifestyle choice made half a lifetime ago when it seemed a good idea to exchange an Edinburgh terrace for a farm cottage. I knew it was a good idea because I had been there before. I was born and reared on a farm I had been seduced for a few years by the idea of being a big shot who lived and worked in a city rather than only going for the day to wave at the buses.

True, I was familiar with some of the minor disadvantages of country living such as an iffy private water supply sometimes infiltrated by a range of flora and fauna (including, on one memorable occasion, a dead lamb), the absence of central heating in farmhouses and cottages and a single track farm road easily blocked by snow, broken down machinery or escaped livestock.

But there were many advantages, as I told Liz back in the mid-Seventies. Town born and bred, eight months pregnant and exchanging a warm, substantial Corstorphine terrace for a windswept farm cottage on a much lower income, persuading her that country had it over town might have been difficult.
* Summarize in the box below (between 5 and 75 words)

With a free account: Retry and compare every attempt.

Sample Answer 1

True, the writer was familiar with some of the minor disadvantages of country living such as an iffy private water supply sometimes infiltrated by a range of flora and fauna, the absence of central heating in farmhouses and cottages, and a single track farm road easily blocked by snow, broken down machinery or escaped livestock, and there were numerous advantages as the writer told Liz back in the mid-Seventies.

Sample Answer 2

Born and reared on a farm, I know it was a good idea to exchange an Edinburgh terrace for a farm cottage and there were some minor disadvantages of country living, but it is difficult to persuade my town born and eight months pregnant wife that shifting to a farm cottage has many advantages on a much lower income.

Explanation

Special Case:

1) Changed pronoun (I) in first sentence 

2) Not replacing but in second sentence

True, the writer was familiar with some of the minor disadvantages of country living such as an iffy private water supply sometimes infiltrated by a range of flora and fauna, the absence of central heating in farmhouses and cottages, and a single track farm road easily blocked by snow, broken down machinery or escaped livestock, and there were many numerous advantages as the writer told Liz back in the mid-Seventies.


Original word: many

Replaced word: numerous

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