CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH examinations / PROFICIENCY EXAM / CPE / 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.


 

Atlantis


While scholars almost universally have considered the story of Atlantis little more than a fine  ... [yarn/yolk/yell/yard]  , does the fact alone preclude it  ...  [from/at/by/for]  being true? Though the story is written as an imaginary dialogue, it contains a  ...  [wealth/source/riches/treasure]  of detail that seems out of place in a piece of pure fiction. Additionally, Plato himself implies that the story was true and takes great  ...  [pains/care/pride/delight]  to explain how the story came to him through various intermediaries. Why employ such an elaborate  ...  [ruse/rite/totem/braid]  if it was intended purely as a fable? Unless we are prepared to accept that Plato lied, which would seem ...  [inconsistent/erratic/contrary/variable]  with history's view of him as one of the most ethical men of the ancient world, it seems presumptuous to simply dismiss it as a work of fiction and leave it ...  [at/with/as/like]  that. On the other hand, there is no especially compelling reason to assume Plato could not have been duped himself, as so erroneously portrayed a purely ...  [fictitious/fictional/fractious/fricative]  story as fact; after all, anyone – even the greatest individual of all time, or so one would imagine – is capable of being deceived.

[answer-table]

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANSWER KEYS

 

1)    YARN
NOUN (informal) YARN
A long story, especially one that is exaggerated or invented: 
The old captain would often spin us a yarn about life aboard ship.
 
2)    FROM
VERB + PREPOSITION PRECLUDE sb FROM sth
To prevent something or make something impossible:
The injury precluded him from having an athletic career.
 
3)    WEALTH
NOUN + PREPOSITION WEALTH OF
A large amount of something:
The new manageress brings a great wealth of experience to the job. 
 
4)    PAINS
IDIOM TAKE GREAT PAINS TO DO STH
Make a special effort to do something:
She's taken great pains to improve her image.
 
5)    RUSE
COLLOCATION ELABORATE RUSE
A plan or trick used for hiding your true intentions:
Barbara tried to think of a ruse to get him out of the house.
 
6)    INCONSISTENT
ADJECTIVE + PREPOSITION INCONSISTENT WITH
Not in agreement with something:
The decision was inconsistent with the company's policy.
 
7)    AT
IDIOM LEAVE IT AT THAT
To not do anything more about something:
You've said you're sorry, so let's leave it at that.
 
8)    FICTITIOUS
ADJECTIVE FICTITIOUS
Invented by somebody rather than true:
All the places and characters in her film are fictitious.