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Alice was not scared. Not at all. Maybe a little bit. But she was determined to confront the ghost in her house. Alice lived in a farmhouse built in 1921. All of the floors and doors were original; the doors even had skeleton key locks. But by far the most terrifying part of the house was the basement. She kept that door locked and ignored the thumps, crashes, and cries that came from below the house. What made Alice determined to confront the ghost today was the especially loud crashes the previous night. She'd gotten no sleep, convinced the ghost was going to break through the door and do something horrible. What, she wasn't sure, but the ghost would do something.
Alice hadn't seen the ghost, but what else could be making loud noises in an old house? The one time she had been down in the basement was after buying the house unseen. Once she saw the shelves with old glass jars, she was a little put off. But what made her keep the door shut and locked was the abrupt end of the concrete floor halfway across the room. Because nothing good ever happened in a basement with a dirt floor. Alice had seen enough horror movies to know that.
Alice stared at the basement door, trying to gather enough confidence to open it and march down the stairs like she owned the place. Because she did-or she would, once she finished paying her mortgage in 30 years. Alice took a deep breath and yanked the door open. She marched down the stairs, only to stop abruptly at the bottom. Because she was face to face with not a ghost at all. It was a calico cat, one who looked utterly unimpressed by her brave journey into the basement.

Which of the following time frames represents a gap in the sequence described in the passage?

  • A. From when she opened the basement door until she saw the calico cat looking unimpressed
  • B. From when she bought the house unseen until she saw the jars in the basement
  • C. From when she was looking at the basement door to when she entered it
  • D. From the night when she heard the loudest noises to when she couldn't sleep
Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The correct answer is B because there is a gap in the sequence between the time when Alice bought the house unseen and the moment when she saw the jars in the basement. The passage does not provide detailed information about what happened during this period, creating a gap in the timeline. Choices A, C, and D do not represent significant gaps in the sequence as they describe continuous actions or events that are directly connected in the passage. In the passage, there is a clear transition from Alice buying the house unseen to her being put off by the sight of the old glass jars in the basement, indicating a missing part of the sequence that is not elaborated on.