GUIDED CLOZE PRACTICE 05

GUIDED CLOZE PRACTICE 05

Read the passages below and decide which answer best fits each space.

Passage A:
The founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, has achieved (1) _______ success as a computer
programmer, inventor and entrepreneur. His path to that point, however, was anything but typical. While
attending Harvard University in the 1970s, he made a (2) _______ move and left university before
graduating to start his own company. His parents didn’t like the idea at first, but Gates (3) _______ down
and worked hard to get their support. He founded Microsoft in 1975, which after a few short years caused
a(n) (4) _______ in personal computing. During the time that Gates was at the head of the company,
some of his employees regarded him as (5) _______ and arrogant. He would sometimes (6) _______ in
on presentations, expressing his dislikes for certain ideas and proposals. He was often described as
being (7) _______: he did whatever he liked and was often hard to reach either in or out of the office. But
whatever anyone may have thought of these minor shortcomings, Gates was a (8) _______ competitor in
the computer software industry who often (9) _______ the competition. In his years as CEO of the
company, he laboured hard at (10) _______ Microsoft’s range of software products, and whenever he
(11) _______ success in a particular area of computing, Gates guarded the position with all his might.
Since then, he has won international (12) _______ as one of the greatest computer software inventors of
all time.

1. A. grueling B. cunning C. crushing D. staggering

2. A. gutsy B. virtuous C. candid D. noble
3. A. broke B. knuckled C. fell D. got
4. A. evolution B. discrimination C. generation D. revolution
5. A. impartial B. modest C. mediocre D. conceited
6. A. cut B. break C. put D. come
7. A. considerate B. candid C. noble D. impetuous
8. A. ruthless B. reckless C. worthless D. selfless
9. A. executed B. crushed C. snatched D. pocketed
10. A. growing B. broadening C. lengthening D. elongating
11. A. achieved B. defeated C. accomplished D. resolved
12. A. acceptance B. approval C. acclaim D. applause

Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Passage B:
Despite the bad publicity surrounding ‘Mad Cow Disease’ in the 1990s, the hamburger remains
an icon for the twentieth century. In its (1) _______, preparation, purchase and very place of
consumption, it tells in (2) _______ the history of the century. In each decade its character and its image
subtly reflected the shifting fashions and preoccupations of the era.
Its origins are (3) _______ in an uncertainty that only assists its status as a characterless object
to which each generation may add whatever (4) _______ it chooses. Its connections with the German city
of Hamburg are unclear. Although every (5) _______ civilization has had some form of ground meat
patty, most food historians do accept a link with the eponymous Baltic port.
Thus the hamburger enters history as the plain but honest food of poor but ambitious immigrants
to the United States. Indeed, according to one food expert, it had its origins in the fare of a German-
owned shipping line on (6) _______ vessels in the 1880s Hamburg beef was minced and then mixed with
breadcrumbs, eggs and onions and served with bread.
But it was at the World Fair in St Louis in 1904 that it first became a symbol of mass-produced
cuisine. It was there that the bun was first introduced and the result was (7) ________ popular. Soon
after, in 1921, the first hamburger chain was established. But generally the burger remained a wholesome
home-made dish. Older Americans still (8) _______ childhood memories of Mom grinding good fresh

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 GUIDED CLOZE PRACTICE 05

steak and, after adding onion and seasoning, taking the result out to the charcoal grill in the garden, but
like all things American, when exported it has been debased and (9) _______.
The hamburger first entered British consciousness as part of the post-Second World War
spending (10) _______, when beef became a symbol of the new prosperity. When, in the late 1950s, the
frozen beefburger was introduced (renamed to avoid unnecessary questions about why it did not taste of
ham), the thin little cake of bland rubbery meat was a glamour product. It was somehow foreign and, of
course, frozen, which was then the height of new technology.

1. A. foundation B. provenance C. cradle D. descent

2. A. microcosm B. miniature C. diminution D. pocket
3. A. dipped B. cloaked C. dwarfed D. misted
4. A. dressing B. savour C. relish D. gusto
5. A. culinary B. gastronomical C. pedigree D. mosaic
6. A. which B. that C. what D. whose
7. A. amply B. frantically C. profusely D. wildly
8. A. yearn B. endear C. cherish D. relish
9. A. deflected B. perverted C. depraved D. garbled
10. A. spree B. thrift C. flux D. binge

Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Passage C:
Except perhaps for learning a foreign language and getting your teeth properly sorted out (1)
_______ and for all, there is nothing more rewarding than learning a musical instrument. It provides a
sense of accomplishment, a creative outlet and an absorbing pastime to (2) _______ away the tedious
hours between being born and dying. Musical “At Homes” can be a fine way of entertaining friends,
especially if you (3) _______ a bitter grudge against them. Instrumental tuition is widely available publicly,
privately and by post.
Before choosing an instrument to learn you should ask yourself five questions. How much does it
cost? How easy is it to play? How much does it weigh? Will playing it make me a more attractive human
being? How much does it hurt? All musical instruments, if (4) _______ properly, hurt.
The least you can expect is low back pain and shoulder (5) _______, in some cases there may
also be bleeding and unsightly swelling. Various relaxation methods such as meditation can help.
The most popular instrument for beginners is the piano though I don’t know why this should be
so. The piano is expensive, it’s (6) _______ difficult to play, it weighs a ton and it hasn’t been sexy since
Liszt died. If you sit at the keyboard in the approved position for more than a few minutes, the pain is such
that you are (7) _______ to break down and betray the secrets of your closest friends. The only good
thing you can say about the piano is that it provides you with a bit of extra shelf space around the house.
Being difficult to play means that learning the piano could make you vulnerable to syndrome
known as Lipchitz’s Dilemma. Lipchitz was an Austrian behavioural psychologist who observed that
setting (8) _______ to acquire a difficult skill leads to one of just two alternative results.
Either, because of lack of talent or lack of application, you reach only to a low average level of
attainment, which leads to general dissatisfaction and maudlin sessions of (9) _______ about the house,
gently kicking the furniture and muttering, “I’m hopeless at everything.”
Or you reach a very high attainment level but, because you spend anything up to 18 hours a day
reaching and maintaining this level, other (10) _______ of your personality do not develop properly, which
leads to general dissatisfaction and maudlin sessions of wandering aimlessly about the house, gently
kicking the furniture and muttering, “Up the Villa.”

1. A. first B. once C. one D. foremost

2. A. spend B. kill C. while D. brush
3. A. maintain B. nurture C. harbour D. lodge
4. A. to be played B. playing C. having played D. played
5. A. strain B. tension C. wrench D. sprain

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6. A. acutely B. fiendishly C. roughly D. savagely

7. A. liable B. prone C. susceptible D. subject
8. A. out B. about C. down D. off
9. A. skating B. lounging C. moping D. brooding
10. A. respects B. shades C. facets D. aspects

Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Passage D:
That the cheetah is the fastest of the big cats is beyond (1) _______ and common knowledge,
with it having reportedly been (2) ______ at speeds in excess of 70 mph. However, whilst it has
impressive acceleration over short distances, it could not (3) _______ sustain such speeds for any
significant length of time. Therefore, when hunting, it relies largely on the (4) _______ of surprise to use
its speed to good advantage. Otherwise, in a prolonged hunt, it will (5) _______ wanting in the stamina
department and generally have to abandon the chase.
Still on the (6) _______ of running, incredibly, a sprinting cheetah is actually completely airborne
more than fifty percent of the time. Indeed, at full (7) _______, its single stride length is an impressive
seven metres.
Cheetahs are peculiar amongst big cats, though, because, aside from their breath-taking speed,
their performance in other areas actually leaves a lot to be (8) _______. For instance, their nocturnal
vision is little better than our own. Uncharacteristically for a big cat, too, females are (9) _______ to be
loners, whilst it is males that are more likely to (10) _______, frequently in groups up to five. The
collective noun for a group of male cheetahs is a coalition.

1. A. contention B. dispute C. conflict D. debate

2. A. mounted B. reached C. struck D. clocked
3. A. conceivably B. perceivably C. comprehensively D. predictably
4. A. segment B. feature C. portion D. element
5. A. show B. prove C. confirm D. disclose
6. A. course B. field C. subject D. content
7. A. rate B. throttle C. rush D. scurry
8. A. desired B. required C. craved D. fancied
9. A. tended B. disposed C. prompted D. inclined
10. A. conjoin B. convene C. congregate D. converge

Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

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