B1 English test 1 – text with multiple-choice gaps

Many people have tried 1 to put downgiving upputting downto give up smoking at some point in their lives, and these days many of us 2 attempthad attemptedare attemptingattempted to stop taking 3 othersanotherthe otherother substance which is not cigarettes, but which 4 is able toshouldcanmight be killing the same number of people 5 thatasthanso tobacco, or even more. I am talking about sugar.

When I went to the doctor five years ago, he told me that sugar 6 willshallwouldwas kill me one day if I didn’t avoid 7 eatto eatto eatingeating it. My only chance of long-term survival, said the doctor, was 8 cutting outputting outsetting downcutting down all sugar from my diet. Before that day, I 9 had never triedwas never tryinghave never trieddon't tried to quit anything; 10 even thoughhoweveralthoughso , I didn’t think it would be too difficult. “I have achieved difficult things in my life, much more difficult than that,” I thought. It wasn't true.

I didn't know how difficult it was to stop smoking, or drinking alcohol, because I 11 was neverhad never beenwasn't ever addicted to anything, but when I stopped eating sugar, I realised that sugar is a very powerful drug. I think it 12 would have beenmust behad been easier if I had been addicted to nicotine, for example, instead of sugar. The first few weeks or months I 13 used to dreamwas dreamingused to dreaming that I was eating chocolate or cakes, and then I woke up in the morning and my body was crying for sugar.

It's been 3 months now, and I 14 have been eatinghave eatenate very, very little sugar in that time; only the added sugar that food manufacturers put in some of their processed products, like bread, tinned tomato, etc. I am very happy because I don't crave sweet things any more, and I  feel 15 muchmanyvery healthier and energetic than a few months ago.