Some open cloze exercises

Open cloze exercise 1

Fill in the gaps with one suitable word.

BBC Top Gear star punches producer

BBC Television has suspended _______ (1) of its biggest stars for reportedly punching a producer. Reporters say Jeremy Clarkson, 54, the presenter of the hugely popular programme Top Gear, got into a fight with the producer, Oisin Tymon. ________ (2) was an argument about the lack of food available after filming one of the shows. Mr Clarkson supposedly got angry with Mr Tymon over this and hit (3) _______. The BBC immediately suspended the show's host and announced they would not broadcast the next two programmes. Clarkson is so popular worldwide that (4) ________ online petition started, calling for the BBC to "reinstate" him. So far, more (5) _______  400,000 people have signed it.

One of Mr Clarkson's co-presenters, James May, (6) _______ not think the incident was so serious.  Mr Clarkson joked with reporters yesterday. (7) ______ asked him where he was going as he got into his car. He said he was going to the job centre. Clarkson also retweeted a message from a fan to his 4.5 million Twitter followers. It read: "How (8) _______ the BBC not show the remaining episodes of Top Gear? Can't this be resolved without making the fans suffer?" The show is broadcast in over 200 countries. Over 350 million people watch it. Clarkson has a history (9) _______ making racist comments (10) _________ other nationalities.

ANSWER KEY:

1 one  2 There  3 him  4 an  5 than  6 does/did  7 They  8 can  9 of  10 about

Open cloze exercise 2

Fill in the gaps with one suitable word.

U.S. circus to end use of elephants

One of the largest circus companies ________ (1) the USA will soon no longer have performing elephants ________ (2) part of its shows. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus said it would stop using elephants by 2018. All the 43 animals it currently uses will be moved to ________ (3) animal conservation centre in Florida. There, the giant creatures will live out their retirement. The decision came after a lot ________ (4) protests from the public. ________ (5) hundred years ago, people thought it was OK for animals to perform to please humans. However, the world is different today and people are more worried about the lives of the animals. The circus ________ (6) continue to use other animals, such as camels, dogs, horses, lions and tigers.

Circuses ________ (7) been criticised for many years by animal rights activists and the public who care about the treatment of animals. Jessica Johnson, a spokeswoman for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) explained how elephants have a bad life in circuses. She said: "________ (8) of the elephants are painfully arthritic, and many have tuberculosis, so their retirement day needs to come now." Many cities and towns in the USA have banned the use of elephants for entertainment. This has made it hard for circuses ________ (9) travel around the country. Owners of the circus company said the decision to stop using elephants ________ (10) not easy but understood that: "There's been somewhat of a mood shift among our consumers."

ANSWER KEY:

1 In  2as  3an  4 of  5 One  6will 7 have  8 Many/Some/Most  9 to  10 was

Open cloze exercise 3

Fill in the gaps with one suitable word.

Scientists invent 'anti-ageing' chocolate

Imagine a new chocolate ________ (1)   ­keeps you younger looking. It seems too good to be true, ________ (2)  a team of scientists believes they have invented anti-ageing chocolate. A laboratory working with the UK's Cambridge University ________ (3) been working on a method to keep away wrinkles and keep the skin looking younger. It has called its new product 'Esthechoc'. This ________ (4) a combination of the words 'esthetic' (meaning all things beautiful) and 'chocolate'. The new product is also called Cambridge Beauty Chocolate. The makers will start selling it from next month. The laboratory has not said anything about the price ________ (5), but it is likely to be quite expensive. The lab hopes young, rich business executives will buy ________ (6).

The laboratory used a special chemical called an antioxidant in the chocolate. The antioxidant they used is one that gives flamingos their pink ________ (7). The scientists say that the antioxidant can bring parts of the skin of a 50 to 60-year-old person back to the levels of a 20 to 30-year-old. ________ (8) said people who ate the chocolate could see changes in their skin within just three weeks. A spokesman for the laboratory said it took a decade of research and trials with more ________ (9) 3,000 volunteers to produce Esthechoc. The chocolate bar will only be sold in boxes of 21 bars – one a day ________ (10 ) three weeks. Other scientists say more research is needed for people to know whether or not Esthechoc actually works.

ANSWER KEY:

1 that  2 but 3 has  4 is  5 yet  6 it  7 color/colour  8 They  9 than  10 for

Open cloze exercise 4

Fill in the gaps with one suitable word.

University students take 'impossible' exam 

Students at an English university ________ (1) angry about their economics exam. The students have signed ________ (2) online petition saying the exam questions were 'impossible' to answer. Nearly all the 100 students complained and signed ________ (3) petition. They want the university to help them. The students say the exam had questions on topics that were not in their course. They say there ________ (4) questions with a lot of difficult maths that they had not been taught. One student said he was told he would only need 'simple' maths. The students ________ (5) worried that they will get lower test scores and a poorer degree.

The head ________ (6) the department, professor Andy Dickerson, said the exam was fair. ________ (7) said the level of maths ________ (8) the exams was the same as the level taught to the students. Professor Dickerson also said the questions were on topics the students ________ (9) studied. He said: "All questions were based ________ (10 ) topics taught in the course and for which further reading was provided." He said there was one question that used a new term, but this was no problem because the question explained the meaning of the term. The university says it will look carefully at the results.

ANSWER KEY:

1 are  2 an  3 the  4 were  5 are  6 of  7 He  8 in 9 had  10 on

Open cloze exercise 5

Fill in the gaps with one suitable word.

90-year-old starts elementary school 

A 90-year-old grandmother ________ (1) become the world's oldest elementary school student. Priscilla Sitienei is ________ (2) a small village in Kenya. She has spent most of ________ (3) life working as ________ (4) midwife. She helps to deliver babies. She wants to read and write so she ________ (5) pass on her nursing skills. She wants to write down the herbal medicines she uses when she delivers babies. She also wants to be ________ (6) to read the Bible. Sitienei said she didn't go to school when she was younger. She knows she is old. She wants to set an example to younger people. She wants all the village children to study.

When Ms Sitienei first joined the school, the head teacher ________ (7) not think it was a good idea. Now he is very happy. He said Ms Sitienei is a "blessing and a motivator". He said he was proud of her and that ________ (8) students love her and want to learn and play with her. He also said: "She ________ (9) doing well considering her age. I can say I have seen a big difference in this school since she came." Ms Sitienei had a special message. She said: "I want to say to the children of the world, especially girls, that education will be your wealth." She added: "With education, you can be whatever ________ (10) want."

ANSWER KEY:

1 has  2 from  3 her  4 a  5 can  6 able  7 did  8 all  9 is  10 you