Use of English - Open Cloze
B2
Cambridge English B2 Exam
For questions 1-8, 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.
Speaking in Public
Many people avoid speaking in public because they fear making mistakes or being judged (0) BY others. However, public speaking is a skill that can be useful in many areas of life. It helps people express their ideas clearly and respond more confidently (1) .......... different situations. Students who develop this ability often perform better in class, as they are more willing to speak (2) .......... and ask questions. Later in life, these skills can also be valuable at work, where employees may need to present ideas (3) .......... colleagues or clients. Public speaking is not only (4) .......... communication. It also teaches people how to organise their thoughts and choose words carefully. As a result, they become better (5) .......... explaining complex ideas in a simple way. In addition, speaking regularly in front of others can reduce anxiety over time, (6) .......... makes social situations easier to manage. People who are confident speakers are often seen (7) .......... more prepared and reliable. For this reason, learning to speak well in public can be one (8) .......... the most useful skills a person develops.
About Use of English Open Cloze — Cambridge English B2
In this Cambridge English B2 Use of English Open Cloze exercise you read a short text and think of the one word that best fits each of the 8 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 B2 Open Cloze exercise?
There are 8 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.
Keep practising Cambridge English B2
Use of English at every level
More Cambridge English B2 skills
Cambridge English Exam Resources
More Cambridge English exam preparation tools from our family of apps:
Made with by Shining Apps
The best Cambridge English apps ever
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.