Use of English - Open Cloze
B1
Cambridge English B1 Exam
For questions 1-6, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap. Click the gaps to type your answer.
Lantern Day
Every spring, a small town in the hills celebrates an unusual festival called Lantern Day. It is (0) AN event that brings together music, costumes, and a night walk through the old streets. The tradition began many years ago, (1) .......... nobody is completely sure why. Some people say it started after a storm, while others believe it was created simply to bring neighbors closer. (2) .......... the weather is bad, the festival still goes ahead, and people carry bright paper lanterns through the town square. The parade usually starts (3) .......... sunset, when the sky is turning dark and the lights look most impressive. (4) .......... the event is small, visitors often travel from nearby cities to see it. There is not a big prize for the best lantern; (5) .........., everyone tries hard to make something original. The mayor says the festival will continue for many years (6) .......... younger people keep joining and sharing new ideas.
About Use of English Open Cloze — Cambridge English B1
In this Cambridge English B1 Use of English Open Cloze exercise you read a short text and think of the one word that best fits each of the 6 gaps.
Open Cloze tests grammar and common fixed expressions — articles, prepositions, pronouns, auxiliary verbs and linking words. Only one word goes in each gap, and it is usually a small grammatical word rather than vocabulary.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many gaps are in this B1 Open Cloze exercise?
There are 6 gaps, and you must write exactly one word in each.
What kind of words go in the gaps?
Usually grammatical words: prepositions, articles, pronouns, auxiliaries, relative pronouns and parts of fixed phrases.
What is the best strategy for Open Cloze?
Read the whole text first for meaning, then look closely at the words around each gap — the answer almost always depends on the immediate grammar.
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What to do
This part consists of a short text with a series of gaps. There are no words from which to choose the answers, candidates have to think of a word which fits the gap correctly.
Errors in punctuation are ignored, although spelling must be correct.
Contractions (e.g. don’t, we’ve, won’t) count as two words. However, can’t is a contraction of cannot, which is one word.
Sometimes, there is more than one correct answer. Cambridge will always account for this and all options will be accepted. However, you should not write more than one answer.
Don't spend time in a word you don't know. Wasting time on this activity might cost you points later in the exam because you won’t have enough time to do other tasks well.
Strategy
- Read the title and the whole text so that you understand what it is about.
- Read the whole sentence in which the gap occurs, to look for clues as to what kind of word you need.
- Check the words before and after each gap and look for grammatical collocations.
- Remember you must write only one word.
- You are never required to write a contraction. If you think the answer is a contraction, it must be wrong, so think again.
- Read the whole text through once you have completed it to make sure you have not missed any connectors, plurals or negatives.