Open Cloze Tests: Wife Until Made Pask Lesson No As Said For Behind [PDF]

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OPEN CLOZE TESTS Read the texts and think of the word which best fits each space. 1 Jack Pask and his (1) wife Dora were worried about their son Danny. The boy stayed out too long, not coming home (2) until very late at night. This bad habit (3) made the parents anxious. So one day Jack said to Mrs. (4) Pask, “I’m going to teach our son a (5) lesson. He’s got (6) no business being out till after midnight.” The next evening Danny left the house (7) as usual. “I’m going to a disco,” he (8) said to his mother. “There’s no need to wait up (9) for me.” Then the front door shut with a bang (10) behind big Danny. 2 One morning last summer Jessie (1) made some sandwiches for her husband’s lunch. They were sausage sandwiches. There was one small sausage (2) left over, so Jessie gave (3) it to Henry, her little dog Henry ate it up. Half an hour (4) later, the dog got ill. He kept (5) on shaking his head, and rubbing it (6) on his foot. Jessie thought, “He’s ill. He must have eaten (7) something that didn’t agree with him. Maybe that (8) sausage was bad.” Then she remembered her husband’s (9) lunch. She ran to the telephone and (10) called Jim at his office in town. 3 Edgar Lewis was a coal miner (1) for thirty years he had worked underground in a coal mine. -It was hard and dangerous (2) work. One day Edgar had an (3) accident in the mine; a lot of stone fell on him. A sharp stone cut through his left leg like a (4) knife through butter. Edgar lost consciousness. When he (5) woke, he was in bed in the mine doctor’s room. He felt around with his (6) hands. There was no left leg (7) where his left leg ought to be. “Nurse!” he called loudly. A nurse came. “What have you (8) done with my left leg?” Edgar demanded. She pointed to a brown cardboard box (9) on the floor. “(10) There it is, Mr. Lewis, in that box,” she said. 4 We moved into our new house (1) on a warm September day. It was not really a new house; it was a hundred and four years (2) old, but it was new to us. The house had running (3) water, gas and electricity, but for (4) some reason there was no electric light in the kitchen. We had not noticed this shortage (5) when we had first looked over the house. It was something quite unexpected: a house with electricity but (6) without a kitchen light. It was especially puzzling because our (7) kitchen was a large room, perhaps (8) the largest in the house. I telephoned for an (9) electrician. He came and fixed it for us. And he charged £85 for (10) doing the job. 5 The big tree at my gate was old and beautiful. I was saddened when it blew (1) down in a winter storm. After the storm I sawed (2) away the remains of the tree, level (3) with the ground. Some of the wood was rotten. Pieces came away in my (4) hands. But a good part of the wood was alive and Page 1 of 6

strong. I did not dig (5) up the roots of the tree. I (6) left them in the ground. Three months (7) later, in spring, the old tree began to grow again. It grew strong and beautiful, straight up (8) from the side of the sawn-off part. The colour and smell of its heart-shaped (9) leaves were exactly the same as (10) those of the old tree. I felt very happy. 6 Brian’s father was a coward and not an honest man. He did not himself (1) tell a lie to a judge in a law case, but he wanted Brian to (2) do so, and that was worse. The facts were that Brian and Tim (3) had seen a man attack a boy, knock him down and kick him. The (4) police arrested the man and brought him before a judge. Brian and Tim had to go too, to describe (5) what had happened. Before Brian left home, his (6) father said to him: “Be careful, son. You didn’t see that man kick the boy, (7) did you? Tell the judge you didn’t see the kick. Remember, we have (8) to live in this village with that man.” But Brian was (9) no coward. He told the (10) judge the truth about the attack. 7 A story is a work of imagination. The people (1) who write stories write them in order to give pleasure to (2) those who read stories. Story-readers are, generally (3) speaking, women of all ages and younger men. Readers love the start of a story, where there are new and sometimes strange people to be (4) met for the first time. They enjoy the story itself, the gentleness and the violence, the loves and the (5) hates, with which a good writer interests his (6) readers. They enjoy the end of the story, whether it is happy or (7) sad. The reader’s chief purpose in all this is to (8) escape from ordinary life for a short (9) time. Older men, as a rule, find their ordinary lives (10) too pleasant to run away from. 8 We have seen photographs of the whole earth taken from great distances in outer space. This is the first time, the (1) very first time, in man’s long history that such pictures have been possible. (2) For many years most people have believed that the earth was ball-shaped. A few thought it was round and (3) flat, like a coin. Now we know, beyond doubt, that those few were (4) mistaken. The photographs show a ball-shaped (5) planet, bright and beautiful. In colour photographs of the earth, the sky is as (6) black as coal. The (7) sea looks much bluer than it usually does to us. All our grey (8) clouds are a perfect white in colour because, of course, the (9) sun is forever shining on them. We are (10) lucky to live on the beautiful earth. 9 The big ship began to move slowly out of the port. (1) On board were nine thousand soldiers, on their way home from the battlefield. They (2) have already spent five uncomfortable weeks on the ship. Now, as the ship (3) passed some fishing boats at the port entrance, the soldiers on deck waved to the fishermen. The fishermen waved (4) back, calling out “(5) Good luck!”. Suddenly there was a Page 2 of 6

cry, followed (6) by a splash. “Man overboard!” someone on the ship shouted. A bell began to (7) ring. A white lifebelt was thrown into the (8) water. The ship sailed on, faster now. No doubt the man was picked (9) up by the fishermen. In wartime, a big ship cannot stop just (10) for the sake of one man overboard. 10 Early each morning Jack Dobbins left the house (1) where he lived and walked to a newsagent’s. He bought the morning paper and then (2) came home again. One day in 1954 Jack did that as usual, except (3) for one thing: he did not return to the (4) house. Mrs. Dobbins missed (5) her husband, but she was a brave woman. She took a (6) job in a shop, working there full-time and earning enough money to live (7) on. She (8) made a lot of new friends and found new interests. Many years (9) passed, five, ten, twenty. Mrs Dobbins grew old. One morning in 1979 Jack came home. He held up the morning (10) newspaper. “Not much news today,” he said to his wife. 11 The Kemp family lived (1) next door to me. They were interesting and intelligent people, but they (2) were always getting into some sort of trouble. It was usually either illness (3) or accident, but there were other things too. Their house (4) caught fire twice, and twice the whole family had to stay (5) with me while repairs were made. The Kemps were always losing things, important things (6) like money or keys. Pictures often fell off the (7) walls in their house; the children often fell out of their (8) beds: at night. I used to wake (9) up in the mornings and think: “What strange thing will happen (10) to that family today?” 12 While travelling abroad, Ed Jackson ran short of money. So he wrote to his brother, asking (1) for £500. “Send the money (2) by telegram to the bank here,” he wrote. After a week Ed began calling at the bank. He showed his passport (3) to the bank clerk. “Nothing has come for you, Mr. Jackson,” he (4) was told. This went (5) on for three weeks, and Mr. Jackson got very worried. He then phoned his brother, asking (6) where the money was. The brother said it (7) had been sent three weeks before. That evening Ed Jackson was arrested for failing to (8) settle his hotel bill. He tried to explain his problem, but no one (9) would believe him. He was (10) sent to prison for sixty days. 13 FROST AND FIRE Iceland has been called the “land of frost and fire.” This is a very satisfactory (1) name, for the mountains on this island in the North Atlantic are capped with snow the year round, and (2) there are scores of fiery volcanoes. Contrary (3) to what most people think, however, Iceland’s (4) climate is not extremely cold. Most days are quite agreeable because (5) of the warm current of the Gulf Stream. (6) When the Vikings began to settle in Iceland in 874 AD, they found books and crosses that showed the Irish had (7) already been there. It is likely that the Irish and Scotch had come Page 3 of 6

to Iceland about seventy years (8) before the Vikings arrived. These explorers, however, had made (9) no lasting settlements. The first real colonists were Scandinavians who came directly (10) from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. The people of Iceland have very high educational standards. It is said that (11) more books are sold in Iceland in relation to its population than in any other country in the world. Since Iceland is adjacent to one of the (12) most important shipping routes (13) between the United States and England, (14) it became very important during (15) the Second World War. 14 A THREE-MINUTE SUPPLY The body of the average adult has in storage (1) enough food to last for several weeks. It has enough water to last for several (2) days. At any one time, however, the body has only enough oxygen stored in the (3) lungs to last for three or four minutes! Fortunately, it is (4) not difficult for us to acquire the oxygen we need. (5) As a rule, we need only to breathe in the (6) air around us for an adequate supply. The amount of oxygen needed (7) by a person at any one time depends upon his activities. As the activities of the body increase, the use of oxygen (8) also increases. He begins to breathe deeper and faster to bring (9) more oxygen into the lungs. More red cells are thrown into the bloodstream to aid (10) in carrying the added supply of oxygen. Blood (11) from the stomach and the intestines is transferred into the blood vessels of the muscles (12) which are at work. This blood helps to transfer the added oxygen to the (13) parts of the body that need it. If blood is taken from the stomach right after a (14) meal, digestion of food will be hampered. It is best, therefore, (15) not to exercise strenuously right after eating. 15 100,000,000 MILES OF TAIL A comet is a heavenly body (1) with a long tail. Comets orbit about the sun. At rare intervals a comet may be (2) seen from earth, appearing as a streak of light (3) which travels swiftly across the heavens. The head of a comet contains a more or less solid portion (4) called the nucleus. The comet’s tail, however, contains so (5) little solid matter that the earth or another planet could pass through it without any harmful effects. Even (6) if one of the largest comets were to strike the earth head on, we (7) would notice only a shower of meteors. These meteors are hot celestial bodies entering the (8) atmosphere of the earth at great speeds. It is hard, therefore, for us to imagine that the head of a comet may be over a million miles wide (9) And that a comet’s tail may extend over one hundred million miles in (10) space! In ancient times, the (11) appearance of a comet aroused great alarm among people. It was (12) thought that a comet would be followed by some great misfortune. Such fear is not surprising. (13) Without the benefit of scientific knowledge, our ancestors had no (14) way of knowing the natural causes of Page 4 of 6

(15) such an object. 16 WORKER DIAMONDS Glittering gems called diamonds are among the most (1) precious of human possessions. Through the ages (2) they have been a lasting evidence of wealth. Lands may lose-their soil, buildings may be destroyed, stocks and bonds may become worthless, (3) but the value of diamonds remains relatively unchanged. Diamonds are not of value only (4) as signs of wealth. In addition, the diamond is one of (5) the hardest, longest-wearing substances known to man. Because of (6) this, it is very valuable for practical use. In fact, about three-fourths of the total annual supply of diamonds (7) is used in factories and machine shops. A diamond on the (8) end of a cutting tool can cut through the hardest steel but (9) only a diamond can cut (10) another diamond. Because of their unusual (11) hardness, diamonds are used to sharpen grinding wheels. They are placed on the tips of the grinding drills used to cut through tons of bed rocks. In scores of (12) other ways, diamonds are essential to turning the wheels (13) of modern machines. About 4 1/2 tons of diamonds are mined annually. The vast diamond (14) mines of South Africa produce most of these diamonds, but in recent years many diamonds (15) have also come from Brazil. 17 BARK MEDICINE According to an old (1) story, in the early seventeenth century a Peruvian Indian was cured of a terrible fever (2) by eating the bark of the cinchona tree. Quinine, the drug (3) which can be extracted from cinchona bark, was (4) not widely used as medicine until 1816. Quinine has proved invaluable to modern medicine. It is used in (5) the treatment of malaria, a (6) disease transmitted by the anopheles mosquito and common in the tropical (7) regions of the world. Quinine preparations are also used to help cure typhoid fever, rheumatic fever, and (8) other sicknesses. The cinchona tree belongs to the evergreen family and, unlike most evergreens, (9) has very fragrant flowers. Cinchonas are native to South America, but are now (10) grown in such other places as India, Sri Lanka, and Java. (11) Although cinchona trees do not reach full size for about eight years, the bark can be taken (12) from three-year-old trees. First the young trees are cut down. (13) Next the bark is carefully stripped off, dried, and packed. It is sent to a factory (14) where it is ground into a brown powder. (15) From this powder, the quinine is extracted. 18 GROWING LANGUAGE Linguists believe that early men used many gestures to communicate (1) with one another. This, it is thought, was man’s first form of (2) communication, and the only one he had (3) for a long period of

time. Even today we use some sign language: for example, we shake our (4) heads to indicate yes or no, we point and we wave. The first spoken words may have been early man’s attempt to (5) imitate the sounds made by animals. Then he may have developed sounds of his (6) own. Gradually, man may have repeated certain sounds so (7) often that they became familiar and understandable to others. Once spoken language had begun, perhaps man invented new (8) words as he needed them to express himself verbally (9) or to name new objects. In this way we can imagine language growing. (10) By using words, parents were able to teach them to their children. The children in turn probably made up new (11) ones. Each generation, therefore, in the development of language, knew more words than the generation (12) before it. Language is still growing and changing. Can you think (13) of some words that you use today (14) which were not used by your parents or grandparents (15) when they were children? 19 Last autumn I (1) spent a week at a big hotel in London. It was one of those modern hotels where (2) every room is the same size and (3) has the same furniture, and looks just (4) like every other room. My room was 311 on the third (5) floor. One night, quite late, I got back to the hotel (6) after a very good dinner with some friends. I walked into the lift and (7) pressed the button. When the lift (8) stopped, I got out and walked to my room-or what I (9) thought was my room. (10) When I opened the door I saw an astonishing scene. A man was pointing a revolver (11) at a woman sitting in an armchair, and the woman was saying in a frightened (12) voice: “Please (13) don’t shoot me!” I turned round, ran along the corridor and (14) down the stairs - I daren’t wait for the lift and found the night porter in the hall. “Quick,” I cried, “someone is (15) being murdered in my room.” [....] 20 NATURE’S LIGHT When you see a firefly flitting through the air on a dark summer (1) night, you may wonder (2) at the source of its light. This light (3) comes from a mineral called phosphorus, which is found in small amounts in the (4) body of the firefly. Phosphorus is also found in the bodies of many (5) kinds of deep-sea fish. Sometimes (6) when a large number of these fish congregate near the surface of the ocean, their bodies illuminate an area that can be (7) seen for long distances. Phosphorus is also found in many parts of our bodies (8) and is essential to human life. In modern times, many vital uses have been found (9) for this mineral. Large amounts of phosphorus are utilized in medicines, in agriculture, and in manufacturing. Perhaps (10) the most generally familiar (11) place to find phosphorus is in the heads of matches. Because phosphorus burns violently (12) at low temperatures, the small amount of heat produced by the friction of rubbing the head of a match (13) against a rough surface is sufficient to (14) cause the phosphorus in the match head to burn. As the head of the match ignites, it lights the wood or paper that forms the (15) body of the match.

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