Reading test: I couldn't live on my pension

In this week's reading test we are going to practise the insert-a-sentence type of task. To do so we are going to use the Guardian feature Not the retiring type, where readers write about their experience of carrying on working in their 70's, 80's and 90's. Sidney Htut is the psychiatrist who writes about his experience in his article I couldn't live on my pension.

Read the text and insert one of the sentences A-J below in the corresponding gap 1-8. There are two sentences you do not need to use. 0 is an example.

 I couldn't live on my pension

I lost my job as a research scientist in my 50s and I was discouraged from (0) ……….. . Then I came across someone who became a psychiatrist at the age of 60 and that gave me inspiration. The training was very challenging, but (1) ………..  .
I applied for training jobs but didn’t get them – they gave all sorts of reasons, but the main reason was my age. I eventually got a senior house officer job in Wolverhampton. After a year, I applied to the Kent & Medway NHS Trust and I got the job. But it (2) ………..  , so I moved and I am very happy: the atmosphere, colleagues, patients. I’ve got job satisfaction and it makes me smile.
Working as a psychiatrist suits me since it is less demanding physically, but does involve mental strain – I am quite tolerant of that. I love working with people (3) ……………..   . Nearly all of my clients have difficulty expressing themselves and are reacting to something going wrong. My duty is to determine what that is – is it their mental health or their environment, their carers or are they in pain? I relish the challenge of (4) ………………. and trying to help them. I still do this work, because it gives me deep satisfaction.
But I also work because I need money. I lost my job, sold my house, then bought this flat in 2005, (5) ……………  . My first wife died of cancer and Nita and I got married just three years ago. If I retire, (6) ………… , because my service in the NHS is less than 10 years and I wouldn’t get a substantive pension and be able to live on it. I came to the UK from Burma in 1989, and Nita left Burma to live with me – we lived on the same street when we were children; (7) ……………. , it wouldn’t be fair on her, because she comes from a very rich family. As long as my health permits, I am thinking of working for roughly another five years, but I might (8) ………….   . I do a lot of meditation and that is very helpful for my health and my work. I’ve just taken up the guitar again – I’ve not played it since I was at school. Nita and I, we’re very happy together – we like our life like this.

A - continuing because people said I was too old – 0 Example

B - finding out what is wrong

C - I do look after myself

D - I knew I could do it

E - I won’t be able to support her

F - if we didn’t have money

G - involved driving long distances

H - keep going

I - so I still have a mortgage

J - who have learning disabilities

Photograph: David Yeo for the Guardian 

KEY:
1D 2G 3J 4B 5I 6E 7F 8H