E-Matura | LiC | Multiple Choice | B2 | The ring finders

A man takes off his baseball glove in Central Park. His wedding ring slips (0) bybelowoffout undetected and disappears into the grass.

Hours pass before he notices that it’s missing. A woman reacts in a fit of anger, (1) stirringtossingthrewreleased her engagement ring into the ocean.

As it hits the water, pangs of regret settle in. A tourist visiting Canada (2) removesreleasestakes awaypulls out

five sentimental rings to sanitize her hands (3) whereasalthoughduringwhile in a rental car.

Later, when she steps out, they are sent sprawling into the snow, and she doesn’t realize they’re gone until she’s on the flight back home. Usually, stories of this variety almost always end in tears. Yet these three people found their lost rings, frantically googling some iteration of I lost my wedding ring and (4) picking upcatching upcoming overstumbling upon

a network of metal detectorists who help people (5) locationlocatedlocatelocating their misplaced jewelry.

They had found their way to the Ring Finders, (6) supporta servicean assistancean effort that pairs these people with one of 430 sleuths stationed around the world.

According to the British insurance company Protect Your Bubble, 11 percent of people have lost their wedding rings in the past five years. Since wedding rings can cost upwards of $6,000, losing them can be especially painful for couples, and (7) althoughunlesshoweveryet it also gives detectives adept in the art of finding lost rings a chance to intervene and be the hero.

Heartbroken couples who (8) find outget overcome acrossuse up the Ring Finders are presented with a search bar to enter their location, which leads to a list of nearby metal detectorists who cover that area.

While the site’s appeal for those who have lost their wedding rings is clear, there’s much for the hunters themselves to (9) benefitgainincreaseprofit.

The Ring Finders service mainly operates on a pay-what-you-can system, (10) just asthoughwhetheras long as

most finders ask that they are at least (11) compensated forcompensated fromcompensating forcompensating from their gas costs.

And while some refuse any payment, others are (12) keenbasedfondeager on seeking out cash rewards to make up for their time and effort. One finder told me of a recent bounty of $200, while another boasted of a $1,500 prize.