CLOZE READING 2

Full name:………………………………..Date:………………………………
Read the passages and mark A, B, C or D to indicate the correct word that best fits each of the questions
Exercise 11:
Founded after World War II by 51 "peace-loving states" combined to oppose future aggression, the United
Nations now counts 192 member nations, (1)……….. its newest members, Nauru, Kiribati, and Tonga in
1999, Tuvalu and Yugoslavia in 2000, Switzerland and East Timor in 2002, and Montenegro in 2006.
United Nations Day has been (2)……… on October 24 since 1948 and celebrates the objectives and
accomplishments of the organization, which was established on October 24, 1945.
The UN (3)……… in peace keeping and humanitarian missions across the globe. Though some say its (4)
……….. has declined in recent decades, the United Nations still plays a tremendous role in world politics.
In 2001 the United Nations and Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General of the UN, won the Nobel Peace Prize
"for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world."
Since 1948 there have been 63 UN peacekeeping operations that are currently under way. Thus far, close to
130 nations have contributed personnel (5)……… various times; 119 are currently providing peacekeepers.
As of August 31, 2008, there were 16 peacekeeping operations underway with a total of 88,230 personnel.
The small island nation of Fiji has taken part in virtually every UN peacekeeping operation, as has Canada.
(Source: https://www.examenglish.com / PTE / pte_academic _reading_4. htm, December 10th, 2017)
1. A. including                 B. limiting   C. especially                D. possibly
2. A. examined               B. watched C. monitored                D. celebrated
3. A. puts off                  B. looks down  C. takes part                D. makes use
4. A. consequence B. meaning C. awareness D. influence
5. A. on                          B. at  C. by                           D. in

Exercise 12:

On April 3, 1972, a man came out of the Hilton hotel in Manhattan and started walking down the street. He
stopped, (6)______ his hand with a strange object in it, put it to his ear and started to talk into it. This was
the beginning of mobile phone (7)_______, more than 30 years ago. That man was Motorola's project
manager, Martin Cooper, who was (8)______ his 34th birthday that day. The strange object was the first
mobile phone, which was nicknamed "the shoe" because of its unusual (9)_______. Mr. Cooper had gone to
New York to introduce the new phone. The first call he made was to his rival, Joe Engel at AT&T's
research centre. Engel was responsible for the development of the radiophones for cars. "I called him and
said that I was talking on a real mobile phone (10)_____ I was holding in my hand," said Cooper. "I don't
remember what he said in reply, but I'm sure he wasn't happy." The quality of the call was very good,
because although New York had only one base station at that time, it was being used by only one user -
Martin Cooper.
6: A. pulled                   B. raised C. lifted                      D. rose
7: A. past                      B. times C. history                  D. story
8: A. making                 B. driving C. expecting              D. celebrating
9: A. kind                     B. shape C. type                     D. symbol
10: A. that                      B. when C. as                         D. how

Exercise 13:
American folk music originated with (11) ________ people at a time when the rural population was isolated
and music was not (12) ______ spread by radio, records, or music video. It was (13) _____ by oral
traditional and is noted for its energy, humor, and emotional impact. The major source of early American
folk songs was music from the British Isles, but songs from Africa as songs of the American Indians have
significant part in its heritage. Later settler from other countries also contributed songs. In the nineteenth
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century, composer Steven Foster wrote some of the most enduringly popular of all American songs, (14)
______ soon became part of the folk tradition. Beginning in the 1930s, Woody Guthrie (15) _____ great
popularity by adapting melodies and lyrics and supplying new ones as well. In the 1950s and 1960s, singer
– composers such as Peter Seeger, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez continued this tradition by urban’ folk music.
Many of these songs deal with important social issue, such as racial integration and the war in Vietnam.
11. A. ordinary                      B. popular C. common                      D. typical
12. A. even                            B. still  C. until                             D. yet
13. A. transferred                     B. transformed  C. transmitted                    D. transited
14. A. which                             B. this C. who                                D. that
15. A. took                                 B. had C. gained                               D. attracted

Exercise 14:
A 16-year-old girl from Essex has been sacked after describing her job as boring on the social networking
website, Facebook. The teenager, who had been working (16) _____ an administrative assistant at a
marketing company for just three weeks, didn’t feel very enthusiastic about the duties she was asked to do.
(17) _____ of moaning to her friends she decided to express her thoughts on her Facebook page to a
colleague, who (18) _____ the boss’s attention to it. He immediately fired her on the (19) _____ that her
public display of dissatisfaction made it impossible for her to continue working for the company. She later
told newspapers she had been treated totally unfairly, especially as she hadn’t even mentioned the
company’s name. She claimed she’s been perfectly happy with her job and that her (20) _____ comments
shouldn’t have been taken seriously. A spokesperson from a workers’ union said the incident demonstrated
two things: firstly, that people need to protect their privacy online and secondly, that employers should be
less sensitive to criticism.
16: A. for                      B. as  C. like                     D. at
17: A. Due                    B. Regardless C. Instead                D. In spite
18: A. got                      B. caught C. paid                     D. drew
19: A. terms                  B. condition C. grounds               D. basis
20: A. good-hearted       B. light-hearted C. kind-hearted        D. big-hearted

Exercise 15:
Why do people often get uptight and worried before meeting someone for the first time? It is often said that
(21)______a good first impression is very important, and according to recent studies, it appears that there is
something to it. In his book, Blink, author Malcolm Gladwell says that we form an opinion of someone in
the first 2 seconds after meeting them. In other words, if Gladwell is right, most of us pass (22)         on
people we meet almost immediately. It makes (23)                    that we create a better first impression when
we’re friendly.  A  warm  smile  can  really  make  a  difference.  And   then  if   we  have  interests  
(24)    common, the other person may feel they want to get t know us. However, when we meet someone
from abroad who (25)______a foreign language, there’s no need we have to keep our distance from them. If
we decided to take the trouble to communicate, we might make a new friend.
21. A. doing                         B. making C. passing                      D. having
22. A. prejudice                    B. judgement C. impression                  D. doubt
23. A. logic                            B. sense C. interest                       D. friends
24. A. in                                 B. by` C. with                             D. to
25. A. speaks                         B. asks C. says                            D. talks

Exercise 16:
We've just come back exhausted after a two-week holiday in France. We were really stupid. On the last day
we drove non-stop from Marseille to Calais- we should have(26)_____ our journey in Lyon or Paris. As if
that wasn't enough, the sea was so rough in the English Channel that the (27) _____ took three hours
instead of one and a half. Next year we've decided we're going on a cheap (28) _____ holiday to Italy. It
sounds marvellous- the cost of the flight, the hotel and all our meals are (29) _____ in the price. While
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we're in Rome we'll be going on a guided tour of the Coliseum. The last time I was in Italy, I was on a
business trip - I can't say I saw many of the famous tourist (30) _____ on that occasion
26. A. stopped                   B. paused C. broken                     D. interrupted
27. A. expedition               B. crossig C. cruise                      D. passage
28. A. party                       B. package C. overall                     D. inclusive
29. A. included                 B. involved  C. contained               D. combined
30 A. views                      B. visit  C. scenes                    D. sights

Exercise 17:
  Most people think of computers as very modern inventions, products of our new technological age. But
actually the idea for a compute had been worked out over two centuries ago by a man (31) ______ Charles
Babbage. Babbage was born in 1791 and grew up to be a brilliant mathematician. He drew up plans for
several calculating machines which he called “engines”. But despite the fact that he (32) ______ building
some of these, he never finished any of them. Over the years, people have argued (33) _____ his machines
would ever work. Recently, however, the Science Museum in London has finished building (34) _______
engine based on one of Babbage’s designs. (35) ______ has taken six years to complete and move than four
thousand parts have been specially made.
            Whether it works or not, the machine will be on show at a special exhibition in the Science Museum
to remind people of Babbage’s work.
31. A. called                        B. written  C. recognized                 D. known
32. A. wanted                      B. started  C. made                         D. missed
33. A. until                           B. why C. which                         D. whether
34. A. some                         B. the  C. an                             D. that
35. A. It                              B. He  C. They                        D. One

Exercise 18:
It can take a long time to become successful in your chosen field, however talented you are. One thing you
have to be aware of is that you will face criticism along the way. The world is full of people who would
rather say something negative than positive. If you’ve made up your (36) ______ to achieve a certain goal,
such as writing a novel, don’t let the negative criticism of others prevent you from reaching your target, and
let the constructive criticism have a positive effect on your work. If someone says you’re totally in the
(37)_______ of talent, ignore them. That’s negative criticism. If, (38)________, someone advises you to
revise your work and gives you a good reason for doing so, you should consider their suggestions carefully.
There are many film stars who were once out of work . There are many famous novelists who made a
complete mess of their first novel – or who didn’t, but had to keep on approaching hundreds of publishers
before they could get it (39)_______. Being successful does depend on luck, to a certain extent. But things
are more likely to (40)_______ well if you persevere and stay positive.
36. A. thought              B. mind C. idea                  D. brain
37. A. absentee              B. missing C. lack                      D. shortage
38. A. hence                    B. however  C. whereas                D. otherwise
39. A. publishes                  B. published C. to publish               D. publish
40. A. deal with                   B. turn out C. sail through            D. come into

Exercise 19:
The invention of the mobile phone has undoubtedly revolutionized the way people communicate and
influenced every aspect of our lives. The issue is whether this technological innovation has done more harm
than good.
In order to (41)______ the question, we must first turn to the type of consumer. Presumably, most parents
buy mobile phones for their teenagers to track their whereabouts and ensure their safety. We can also
assume that most teenagers want mobile phones to avoid missing out (42)______ social contact. In this
context, the advantages are clear. However, we cannot deny the fact that text messages have been used by
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bullies to intimidate fellow students. There is also (43)______ evidence that texting has affected literacy
skills.
The ubiquitous use of the mobile phone has, (44)______ question, affected adult consumers, too. What
employee, on the way home from work, would be reluctant to answer a call from their boss? Apparently,
only 18% of us, according to a recent survey, are willing to switch off our mobile phones once we’ve left
the office.
Admittedly, mobile phones can be intrusive but there are obvious benefits to possessing one. Personally
speaking, they are invaluable when it comes to making social or business arrangements at short (45)______.
According to a recent survey, they also provide their owners with a sense of security in emergency
situations.
In conclusion, mobile phones do have their drawbacks, but these are outweighed by the benefits. I would
argue that it is not the tool that chooses its purpose, but the user.
41. A. answer                   B. address C. remedy                   D. put right
42. A. in                            B. to C. of                            D. on
43. A. indisputable             B. arguable C. doubtless                 D. unhesitating
44. A. out of                     B. without C. beyond                   D. outside
45. A. time                          B. notice C. term                        D. warning

Exercise 20:
Why is it that many teenagers have the energy to play computer games until late at night but can't find the
energy to get out of bed (46) ________ for school? According to a new report, today's generation of
children are in danger of getting so (47)______ sleep that they are putting their mental and physical health 
at (48)_______. Adults can easily survive on seven to eight hours' sleep a night, (49)_______teenagers
require nine or ten hours. According to medical experts, one in five youngsters (50)________ anything
between two and five hours' sleep a night less than their parents did at their age.
 By Tim Falla and Paul A.Davies, Solutions Advanced . OUP
46.  A. behind time          B. about time C. in time                  D. at time
47  A. few                       B. less  C. much                    D. little
48.  A. jeopardy               B. threat C. risk                       D. danger
49.  A. or                          B. because C. whereas                  D. so
50.  A. puts                      B. gets C. brings                   D. makes