Name:

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Grammar Exercise – Open Cloze Set 1

Exercise 1

Fill in the blanks with one suitable word.

Welcome (1) Adventure Holiday Park! We are sure that you will 1.
have an amazing time here, but first we need to tell you (2) the 2.
rules and regulations of the park. Firstly, never leave your group 3.
and always stay (3) to a supervisor. If you hurt (4) or get lost, 4.
shout for help immediately – our staff are (5) happy to take care 5.
(6) you. As Adventure Holiday Park is (7) of the largest holiday 6.
parks in the country, it is important to carry a map or a smartphone 7.
at all times – it might just be the (8) between life and death. 8.
Finally, make sure that you have (9) ! The most important thing is 9.
creating great memories (10) your friends. 10.

Exercise 2

Fill in the blanks with one suitable word.

When I was growing up, Jenna was my best (1). (2) meant 1.
everything to me, and we did everything together, from walking to 2.
school to (3) to music. In my attic at home I have so (4) pictures 3.
of us together. I (5) at them occasionally and wonder why I 4.
haven’t seen Jenna for over 20 (6). When we went (7) university, 5.
we just stopped talking. We (8) had an argument or said 6.
goodbye – it just ended. That all happened before the age of the 7.
internet and (9) media apps. Maybe I could look her (10) now...but 8.
I wouldn’t know what to say! 9.
10.

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 Exercise 3

Fill in the blanks with one suitable word.

RMS Titanic (1) the largest ship in the (2) before it sank on the 1.
night of 15 April 1912. There was a (3) range of passengers on 2.
board when it set off from Southampton, from wealthy aristocrats
3.
to poor immigrants who wanted (4) make a new life in America.
However, though there were 2,224 passengers, there were only 4.
enough lifeboats (5) 1,178 people. 710 people (6) saved in total. 5.
The wreck of the Titanic, which was 92 feet wide and 882 feet (7), 6.
was finally found at the (8) of the Atlantic Ocean in 1985 by
7.
Robert Ballard. Nowadays, Titanic (9) one of the most famous
8.
ships in history, especially because of the 1997 movie of the same
name made by James Cameron, (10) made over 2 billion dollars at 9.
the box office. 10.

Exercise 4

Fill in the blanks with one suitable word.

Dear Julia, 1.
2.
Thank you (1) your application to the London Music
3.
Summer School. I (2) very pleased to tell you that we would (3) to
offer you a place. As you know, the summer school lasts (4) 3rd 4.
July to 9th July and takes place at Sevenoaks School. Many (5) the 5.
concerts will be at the Royal Festival Hall, and you will (6) many 6.
opportunities to perform on the course. You are expected to
7.
behave (7) throughout the course. If for any reason (8) won’t be
8.
(9) to attend the course, please let me (10) as soon as possible.
9.
Yours sincerely, 10.
Derek Johnson

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 Exercise 5

Fill in the blanks with one suitable word.

Zoos have (1) been controversial. Is it (2) or wrong to keep 1.
animals captive? Many people have asked this (3). Some say 2.
animals should always be in their (4) habitats in the wild, while
3.
others say that zoos protect endangered (5) and keep animals safe.
4.
“Convincing people is (6) struggle,” says zookeeper Chris 5.
Davies, “because people think that our animals don’t want to be 6.
here. On the contrary, our animals (7) happy. They are in excellent
7.
(8), hardly ever becoming ill, and they are never (9) because they
8.
have plenty of food.” Whatever you think about zoos, there is no
denying their popularity. Last year, over a million people (10) 9.
London Zoo alone. 10.

Exercise 6

Fill in the blanks with one suitable word.

Michael Jordan is often called (1) greatest basketball (2) of all 1.
time. The superstar was (3) on 17th February 1963 (4) New York 2.
to James and Deloris Jordan. However, the family soon moved
3.
away to North Carolina, where Jordan (5) up. He started playing
basketball at Wilmington High School, at (6) he also played 4.
baseball and football, before going on to play at university. When 5.
Jordan finished his studies and began his professional career in 6.
1984, (7) soon became extremely popular with crowds. He was
7.
not (8) a great player but also had a likeable personality. Jordan
8.
retired relatively early in 1993, but returned in 1995 until his
second retirement in 1999. Amazingly, he then came (9) again in 9.
2001 before retiring for the (10) time in 2003. 10.

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 Exercise 7

Fill in the blanks with one suitable word.

Sue: Wow, this must be the hottest (1) of the year so far – I’m 1.
boiling! 2.
Joe: I know, I have (2) been so hot. (3) clothes are soaked with
3.
sweat. I usually like the sunshine, but today I (4) it.
Sue: If I’d have known it was going to be this hot, I would have 4.
(5) a pair of shorts instead of a pair of (6). 5.
Joe: I have a good idea! (7) we go for ice-cream? 6.
Sue: That’s a great plan, but I don’t have any (8) with me.
7.
Joe: That’s OK, you can borrow some from me. I’d like water
8.
too as I’m very (9).
Sue: Thanks, I’ll pay you (10) the money tomorrow. 9.
10.

Exercise 8

Fill in the blanks with one suitable word.

1.
If you want to be happy in your (1), I have one piece of advice (2) 2.
you: relax! Stress is the enemy of happiness and it makes a huge
3.
(3) to everything in our lives, from eating and sleeping (4)
emotions and relationships. In order to be happy, it is important to 4.
(5) hard in your job and be productive, but on the other (6), doing 5.
too much can have the opposite effect. So, if you want to say (7) 6.
to stress, make sure that you make relaxation part of (8) daily
7.
schedule. Never do work or check work emails (9) 7pm, and start
8.
every (10) with a breathing exercise as soon as you wake up.
9.
10.

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 Exercise 9

Fill in the blanks with one suitable word.

THE RETURN OF STEAM

1.
Steam trains used to (1) the main mode of transportation in
Britain, but nowadays cars and electric trains are (2) common than 2.
steam. After all, the technology is better, cleaner and safer.
However, many (3) still love steam trains, and so steam services 3.
are run on railways which are no longer used for commercial 4.
trains. “I (4) sad when steam travel ended in 1968, I didn’t think I
would be (5) to travel on a steam train ever again,” says Stephen 5.
Lowe, president of the Tapley Steam Association. “Then in the
6.
middle of the 1980s I thought: how (6) a heritage railway in
Tapley? The rest is history.” The Tapley heritage railway recreates 7.
what railways were like in 1900 and is 5 miles (7). It has been
8.
operating continuously (8) over 30 years. Although Stephen loves
the trains, his favourite part of his job is spending time (9) his 9.
railway buddies. “I hope the popularity of heritage steam railways
will spread all (10) the world,” he says. 10.

Exercise 10

Fill in the blanks with one suitable word.

Now, I am going to (1) you a story about a young princess. (2) 1.
lived all alone in a tall tower guarded by a fire-breathing dragon. 2.
She was imprisoned there (3) she was a child after a witch placed 3.
a curse on (4). She could never (5) the tower because of the
4.
dragon, and so she waited for a knight to come and rescue her.
5.
Days turned into weeks, which turned into (6), which turned into
6.
years. “(7) never be rescued!” she thought, and so she hatched a
plan to kill the dragon herself! She had spent too much (8) waiting 7.
in that tower. She found a sword in the castle dungeon. “Finally, I 8.
will be (9) to escape!” Storming down the stairs, she caught the 9.
dragon by surprise and plunged (10) sword into its heart. She was 10.
free at last.