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.
Scientific Teamwork
Many of the greatest scientific discoveries have depended (0) ON cooperation rather than individual effort alone. Although popular history often focuses (1) .......... a single brilliant mind, progress is usually the result of researchers working together across institutions, countries and even generations. One reason (2) .......... this is that modern science is too complex for one person to master every aspect of a problem. A biologist may need the help of a statistician, while an engineer might work closely with doctors in order to turn an idea (3) .......... a practical solution. Collaboration also allows scientists to check one another's work, which reduces the risk of error. If results are examined (4) .......... several experts, weaknesses are more likely to be noticed before false conclusions spread. In addition, large international projects, such as space missions or vaccine development, would be impossible without teams that are capable (5) .......... sharing knowledge and resources. Of course, collaboration is not always easy. Scientists may disagree, compete for funding, or struggle to communicate clearly. Even so, the benefits are usually greater (6) .......... the difficulties. Thanks to cooperation, ideas can move more quickly from theory to practice, and discoveries can be used (7) .......... improve lives around the world. Scientific progress, then, depends not only on intelligence, but also (8) .......... the ability to work with others.
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.