GUIDED CLOZE PRACTICE - 01 Guided cloze 1:
Astronomers these days can do the most amazing things. If someone (1) ___________ a
match on the moon, they could spot the flare. From the tinniest throbs and wobbles of
distant stars they can (2) ____________ the size and character and even potential
habitability of planets much too remote to be seen – planets so distant that it would take
us half a million years in a spaceship to get there. With their radio (3) ______________ ,
they can capture (4) ______________ of radiation so preposterously faint that the total
amount of energy collected from outside the solar system by all of them together since
collecting began (in 1951) is “less than the energy of a single snowflake striking the
ground,” in the (5) ______________ of Carl Sagan.
(6) ______________ short, there isn’t a great deal that goes on in the universe that
astronomers can’t find when they have a(n) (7) __________________ to. Which is why it
is all the more remarkable to (8) _________________ that until 1978 no one had ever
noticed that Pluto has a moon. In the summer of that year, a young astronomer named
James Christy at the U.S Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, was making a routine
(9) _______________ of photographic images of Pluto when he saw that there was
something there – something (10) _________________ and uncertain but definitely
other than Pluto. Consulting colleague named Robert Harrington, he concluded that what
he was looking at was a moon. And it wasn’t just a moon. Relative to the planet, it was
the biggest moon in the solar system.
(Adapted from A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson) 1. A. blazed B. hit C. beat D. struck 2. A. defer B. refer C. infer D. prefer 3. A. telescopes B. microscopes C. kaleidoscopes D. endoscopes 4. A. wisps B. wasps C. wads D. wimps 5. A. citation B. quote C. words D. maxims 6. A. On B. In C. By D. At 7. A. head B. care C. notion D. mind 8. A. refract B. reflect C. deflect D. detract 9. A. inspection B. autopsy C. quest D. examination 10. A. blurry B. blotched C. bleak D. bloated
Compiled by The English Hub for the Specialised Page 1 GUIDED CLOZE PRACTICE - 01 Guided cloze 2: EARPLUGS FOR ROCKERS!
Rock legends Phil Collins, Sting and Ozzy Osbourne all (1) _______________ years of
ear-blasting rock music have (2) _________________ their toll on their hearing. But a
new European Union (3) ________________ introduced today means the likes of
Morissey, Marilyn Manson and Madonna could all be sporting earplugs onstage as they
churn (4) _______________ their greatest hits. While the image perhaps isn’t very rock
and roll, musicians have welcomed the new rules.
A spokesperson for the Musicians’ Union said many artists, from orchestra players to rock
stars, suffer hearing problems due to frequent (5) ________________ to loud music. ‘We
welcome the new legislation and are calling on all musicians to (6) _________________ in custom-made earplugs.
The rules (7) _______________ pubs, nightclubs, restaurants and concert arenas, all of
whose management most now ensure the hearing of their staff is protected if music in
the venue regularly (8) _________________ 85 decibels. The regulations do not,
however, (9) _______________ to members of the public. 1. A. claim B. mention C. hold D. demand 2. A. made B. taken C. set D. paid 3. A. legislation B. directive C. command D. notice 4. A. over B. away C. out D. back 5. A. presentation B. vulnerability C. outlook D. exposure 6. A. invest B. purchase C. secure D. acquire 7. A. comprise B. incorporate C. relate D. cover 8. A. exceeds B. overtakes C. passes D. transcends 9. A. utilise B. address C. apply D. spread
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