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.
is this really a pet?
All parrots have one thing in ... [common/addition/fact/advance]: They are wild creatures. Unlike domesticated dogs and cats that have been bred in captivity ... [for/since/during/while] thousands of years, and are genetically programmed to accept us and to live with us ... [on/in/at/with] our terms, most parrots have been breeding readily in captivity for only the last 15 years. In ... [all/every/each/whole] probability, the parents or grandparents of the hand-fed baby parrot that you purchase today from a breeder or pet-store were wild-caught, imported birds.
A baby parrot born in captivity may be tame, but it is still far better equipped psychically and emotionally to ... [deal/handle/control/approach] with life in the wild than with life as someone's pet. A parrot may live 30 to 60 years or more, so it is a ... [lifetime/lifestyle/lifeline/lifework] job teaching it to successfully and happily coexist with people. Someone unprepared for this kind of commitment would be better ... [off/out/up/down] with a more common ... [companion/colleague/comrade/company] animal.
[answer-table]
ANSWERS
GAP 1 (COMMON) ... All parrots have one thing in common: They are wild creatures. Unlike domesticated dogs and cats ...
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 2 (FOR) ... been bred in captivity for thousands of years, and are genetically programmed to accept ...
PRESENT PERFECT + FOR
FOR => used to say how long an action or situation continues for.
Common Errors:
She has lived in London since five months. X
She has lived in London for five months. V FOR + PERIOD!
She has lived in London since last year. V SINCE + POINT!
GAP 3 (ON) ... and to live with us on our terms, most parrots have been breeding readily ...
ON + OUR + TERMS => FIXED PHRASE
ON SB'S (OWN) TERMS => according to the conditions that someone wants.
Other Fixed Phrases and Idioms:
COME TO TERMS WITH sth => to reach an agreement.
IN THE LONG/SHORT TERM => used to describe what will happen a long, short, etc. time in the future.
IN TERMS OF => used to indicate the specific thing that is being described, thought of, etc.
GAP 4 (ALL) ... only the last 15 years. In all probability, the parents and grandparents of the hand-fed baby parrot ...
IN + ALL + PROBABILITY => IDIOM
IN ALL PROBABILITY => it is very likely that.
Other Fixed Phrases and Idioms:
(ON) THE BALANCE OF PROBABILITY => (considering) the evidence on both sides of an argument.
HIGH/STRONG PROBABILITY => what is likely or something that is likely.
GAP 5 (DEAL) ... and emotionally to deal with life in the wild than with life as someone's pet. A parrot may live ...
DEAL + WITH => VERB + PREPOSITION
DEAL WITH => to take action about something.
Common Errors:
I know how to deal with computers. X
I know how to use computers. V
GAP 6 (LIFETIME) ... years or more, so it is a lifetime job teaching it to successfully and happily coexist with people ...
LIFETIME + JOB => COLLOCATION
LIFETIME => the period of time during which someone is alive or something exists.
Other Fixed Phrases and Idioms:
THE CHANCE OF A LIFETIME => the best opportunity, experience etc that you will ever have.
NOT IN THIS LIFETIME => not at all, never.
ONCE IN A LIFETIME => used to describe something special that is not likely to happen to you again.
GAP 7 (OFF) ... kind of commitment would be better off with a more complaint (8) ... animal. ...
BETTER + OFF => ADJECTIVE
BETTER OFF => having more money than someone else or than you had before.
Other Fixed Phrases and Idioms:
BETTER OFF WITH/WITHOUT => happier, improved, more successful.
BE BETTER OFF DOING SOMETHING => used to give advice or an opinion.
GAP 8 (COMPANION) ... would be better off with a more complain companion animal. ...
COMPANION + ANIMAL => COLLOCATION
COMPANION ANIMAL => an animal that serves as a domestic pet.
Other Collocations:
CONSTANT COMPANION, CLOSEST COMPANION, TRAVELLING COMPANION, DRINKING COMPANION.