GUIDED CLOZE PRACTICE - 04
GUIDED CLOZE PRACTICE - 04
Read the passages below and choose the best option that best fits each blank. Passage A:
Plants are (1) _____ to attack and infection by a remarkable variety of symbiotic species and have
evolved a diverse array of mechanisms designed to frustrate the potential colonists. These can be
divided into preformed or passive defense mechanisms and (2) ______ or active systems. Passive
plant defense comprises physical and chemical barriers that prevent entry of pathogens, such as
bacteria, or render tissues (3) _____ or toxic to the invader. The external surfaces of plants, in
addition to being covered by an epidermis and a waxy cuticle, often carry spiky hairs known as
trichomes, which either prevent feeding by insects or may even puncture and kill insect (4) _____.
Other trichomes are sticky and glandular and effectively trap and immobilize insects. If the physical
barriers of the plant are breached, then preformed chemicals may inhibit or kill the intruder, and
plant tissues contain a diverse array of toxic or potentially toxic substances, such as resins,
tannins, glycosides, and alkaloids, many of which are highly effective (5) _____ to insects that feed
on plants. The success of the Colorado beetle in infesting potatoes, for example, seems to be
correlated with its high tolerance to alkaloids that normally repel potential pests. Other possible
chemical defenses, while not directly toxic to the parasite, may inhibit some essential step in the
establishment of a parasitic relationship. For example, glycoproteins in plant cell (6) _____ may
inactivate enzymes that degrade cell walls. These enzymes are often produced by bacteria and
fungi. Active plant defense mechanisms are comparable to the immune system of vertebrate
animals, although the cellular and molecular bases are (7) ______ different. Both, however, are
triggered in reaction to intrusion, (8) _____ that the host has some means of recognizing the
presence of a foreign organism. The most dramatic example of an inducible plant defense reaction
is the hypersensitive response. In the hypersensitive response, cells undergo rapid necrosis ― that
is, they become disease and die ― after being (9) _____ by a parasite; the parasite itself
subsequently ceases to grow and is therefore restricted to one or a few cells around the entry site.
Several theories have been put (10) _____ to explain the bases of hypersensitive resistance. 1. A. adorned B. flexible C. subject D. inclined 2. A. crucible B. inducible C. medicinal D. decimal 3. A. implacable B. unpalatable C. unbiological D. inflatable 4. A. larvae B. larva C. caterpillars D. embryos 5. A. repellents B. pesticides C. expurgations D. deterrents 6. A. bricks B. blocks C. walls D. shields 7. A. paradoxically B. dominantly C. callously D. fundamentally 8. A. decrying B. relying C. implying D. complying 9. A. culminated B. penetrated C. speculated D. inspected 10. A. forward B. out C. in D. off Your answer: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Compiled by The English Hub for the Specialised Page 1
GUIDED CLOZE PRACTICE - 04 Passage B:
US OPTS OUT OF G7 PLEDGE STATING PARIS CLIMATE ACCORD IS “IRREVERSIBLE”
The US has refused to sign up to a G7 pledge that calls the Paris climate accord the “irreversible”
global tool to address climate change. The G7 environment ministers issued a final report after
their two-day meeting in Bologna, the first since the US announced it was withdrawing from the
Paris climate agreement. In a(n) (11)_____ to the G7 report, the US has said on Monday it would
not join with the other six countries in reaffirming their Paris (12)_____, but said it was taking action
on its own to reduce its carbon footprint.
As a result, the US has said it would not join those sections of the report on climate and multilateral
development (13)_____. The head of the US Environment Agency, Scott Pruitt, attended the first
few hours of the (14)_____ on Sunday, but left to attend a(n) (15)_____ meeting in Washington.
Presenting the report, Italy’s environment minister, Gina Luca Galletti, cal ed the Paris accord
“irreversible, non-negotiable and the only instrument possible to (16) ______ climate change”. He
said the other G7 countries hoped to continue constructive (17)______ with the US but insisted on
the Paris (18)_____. “Everything else for us is excluded”
The 2015 Paris agreement aims to prevent the Earth from heating up by 2oC since the start of the
industrial (19)_____. As the world has already warmed about 11oC since the industrial revolution,
the accord aims to ensure the (20)_____ is not breached with each nation curbing heat-trapping emissions. (Source: The Guardian) 11. A. foothold B. footnote C. footprint D. footage 12. A. promises B. endorsements C. commitments D. allegations 13. A. banks B. piles C. heaps D. lumps 14. A. peaks B. summit C. climax D. pinnacle 15. A. cable B. cabinet C. cachet D. capsule 16. A. resist B. clash C. grapple D. combat 17. A. conversation B. discussion C. dialogue D. consultation 18. A. criteria B. bounds C. conditions D. parameters 19. A. age B. era C. time D. epoch 20. A. boundary B. frontier C. threshold D. standard Your answer: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Compiled by The English Hub for the Specialised Page 2