FCE / USE OF ENGLISH / Multiple Choice Cloze

For questions 1- 8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.
 

a true friend

 ... [Making/Doing/Producing/Building]  friends is one of the most difficult and worthwhile experiences of human life  ... [because/seeing/owing/due]  it requires time and  ... [effort/deed/attempt/feat]  and patience and understanding and acceptance and honesty. Many people  ... [confuse/argue/mix/blend]  friendship with acquaintances and they're not the same at  ... [all/best/control/ease]. Acquaintances are people you  ... [hang out/hang up/hang on/hang back]  with; they're convenient but interchangeable. 

Friends are people you actively seek out, people with whom you have something in  ...[common/touch/regards/advance] , and the link is deeper and stronger. It is very possible for one to become the other, and everyone who becomes a friend had to be an acquaintance first. (Friendship can be downgraded, for example, when two people move apart geographically or emotionally or situationally - changing jobs,  ... [marital/marriage/martial/marry]  status, and so on). If you've taken yourself off house arrest, you've begun making acquaintances. The question then is how to turn an acquaintance into a friend.

[answer-table]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANSWERS

 

GAP 1 (MAKING) ... Making friends is one of the most difficult and worthwhile experiences of human life ...
MAKE + FRIENDS => COLLOCATION
MAKE FRIENDS => to become friendly with.
Other Collocations:
MAKE NOISE, MAKE AN EFFORT, MAKE LOVE, MAKE A JOURNEY. 

 

GAP 2 (BECAUSE) ... experiences of human life because it requires time and effort and patience and understanding ...
BECAUSE must be followed by a verb!
BECAUSE => (CONJUNCTION), used when you are giving the reason for something.
BECAUSE + SUBJECT + VERB
Common Errors:
She couldn't go because her illness. X
She couldn't go because she was ill. V

 

GAP 3 (EFFORT) ... because it requires time and effort and patience and understanding and acceptance ...
EFFORT => physical or mental energy needed to do something.
Other Collocations:
CONIDERABLE EFFORT, DEMAND EFFORT, TAKE EFFORT, BE WELL WORTH EFFORT. 

 

GAP 4 (CONFUSE) ... and honesty. Many people confuse friendship with acquaintances and they're ...
CONFUSE + WITH => VERB + PREPOSITION
CONFUSE STH WITH STH => to think wrongly that somebody/something is somebody/something else.
Common Errors:
I don't see how anybody could confuse my brother for my father. X We use CONFUSE somebody WITH somebody!
I don't see how anybody could confuse my brother with my father. V 

 

GAP 5 (ALL) ... and they're not the same at all Acquaintances are people you hang out with; they're ...
AT ALL => used in negative statements and questions to emphasize what you are saying. 
Other Fixed Phrases and Idioms:
ALL IN ALL => used to show that you are considering every part of a situation.
ALL OVER => everywhere.
ALL AT ONCE => suddenly.

 

GAP 6 (HANG OUT) ... Acquaintances are people you hang out with; they're convenient but interchangeable. ...
HANG OUT => PHRASAL VERB
HANG OUT WITH sb => to spend a lot of time in a particular place or with particular people.
Common Errors:
She spent a couple of days hanging with her old friends out. X HANG OUT => INTRANSITIVE PHRASAL VERB!
She spent a couple of days hanging out with her old friends. V 

 

GAP 7 (COMMON) ... with whom you have something in common, and the link is deeper and stronger ...
HAVE + IN + COMMON => FIXED PHRASE
HAVE sth IN COMMON => to have the same interests, ideas, etc. as somebody else. 
Common Errors:
There are so many things in common between Bob and Jane. X
Bob and Jane have so many things in common. V

 

GAP 8 (MARITAL) ... or situationally - changing jobs, marital status, and so on). If you've taken yourself ... 
MARITAL + STATUS => COLLOCATION
MARITAL STATUS => the condition of being married or unmarried.
Other Collocations:
PROFESSIONAL STATUS, ECONOMIC STATUS, CELEBRITY STATUS, FULL STATUS.