Multiple
Choice Lexical Cloze
Instructions
For questions 1-18, read the three texts below and decide which answer
(A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.
Jerome
Flynn - Actor Turned Singer After a variety of jobs, Jerome Flynn became
(1) ........ successful with fellow Robson Green in the TV series Soldier, Soldier,
and then when they (2) ........ up as singers in 1995, they had three number one
hits. 'It was a whirlwind, fantasy time,' says Jerome. 'We made the records because
we quite (3) ........ the money, and it paid off. It was a lot of fun, but you
can become (4) ........ in the pop world. It's addictive, and once you're a pop
star, people tend to (5) ........ you on a pedestal. It was so mad we had to get
out while the going was good. Now money doesn't seem so much, although it (6)
........ me to leave my career behind for a while. But Robson wanted to go back
to acting and has made quite a success of it. I'd like to work with him again
one day.'
| 1 | | A
| | greatly | | B | | largely | C | | hugely | D | | grossly |
| 2 | | A
| | joined | | B | | teamed | C | | fixed | D | | grouped |
| 3 | | A
| | craved | | B | | longed | C | | yearned | D | | fancied |
| 4 | | A
| | laid
up | | B | | seized
up | C | | taken
up | D | | caught
up | | 5 | | A | | lift | | B | | have | C | | put | D | | hold |
| 6 | | A | | enabled | | B | | empowered | C | | entitled | D | | effected |
The
Sailing Trip A few days ago, I was (7) ........ my new sailing gear ready
for my first long trip, around the coast of Britain on the sailing ship Hirta.
I watched a TV report of some fellow yachtsmen crossing the finishing (8) ........
off a place called Ushant to complete a record round-the-world voyage. The sea
was rough, the wind looked fierce and, although they were putting a brave (9)
........ on it, the winning yachtsmen looked exhausted. What I was seeing on the
television screen was not my (10) ........ of yachting. I felt smug knowing I
had this marvellous opportunity to drift gently round Britain learning to sail,
and that I would be steering (11) ........ of the horrors of ocean sailing. Casually
I looked up Ushant on the map. I went quite cold: Ushant was (12) ........ 32
kilometres further south than the starting point for my great journey on the Hirta.
| 1 | | A
| | going
through | | B | | settled
down | C | | checking
up | D | | passing
over | | 2 | | A
| | mark | | B | | strip | C | | line | D | | sign |
| 3 | | A
| | face | | B | | eye | C | | appearance | D | | view |
| 4 | | A
| | thought | | B | | idea | C | | notion | D | | sense |
| 5 | | A | | clean | | B | | straight | C | | short | D | | clear |
| 6 | | A | | virtually | | B | | practically | C | | simply | D | | barely |
Mrs
Murgatroyd 'And there's another thing,' said Mrs Murgatroyd. Beside her
in the taxi her husband concealed a small sigh. With Mrs Murgatroyd there was
always another thing. No matter how well things were (13) ........, Edna Murgatroyd
went through life to the accompaniment of a running commentary of complaints,
an endless litany of dissatisfaction. In short, she (14) ........ without ease.
In the seat beside the driver, Higgins, the young executive from head office,
who had been selected for the week's vacation at the (15) ........ of the bank
on the grounds of being 'most (16) ........ newcomer' of the year, sat silent.
He was in foreign exchange, an eager young man whom they had only met in London
airport twelve hours earlier and whose natural enthusiasm had gradually (17) ........
away before the onslaught of Mrs Murgatroyd. The driver, full of smiles when they
selected his taxi for the run to the hotel a few minutes earlier, had also caught
the mood, and he too had (18) ........ into silence.
| 1 | | A
| | doing | | B | | getting | C | | going | D | | being |
| 2 | | A
| | nagged | | B | | gossiped | C | | uttered | D | | voiced |
| 3 | | A
| | liability | | B | | expense | C | | debit | D | | deficit |
| 4 | | A
| | promising | | B | | emerging | C | | favourable | D | | auspicious |
| 5 | | A | | washed | | B | | ebbed | C | | dripped | D | | rinsed |
| 6 | | A | | paused | | B | | reposed | C | | lapsed | D | | desisted |
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