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.


 

Norway

Norway is a country at a crossroads,  … [although/hence/despite/due to]  given Norway's natural wonders and significant wealth, it's a situation in which most countries in the world would love to find themselves. Norway is, by any ... [standards/chance/account/luck]  , one of the most beautiful countries on earth, but the beauty brings with it a responsibility that  ... [weighs/presses/holds/bears]  heavily upon Norwegians, For here is a people with an enduring love for the natural world that is profoundly etched  ... [into/with/for/from]  the national character. In the past, this was expressed in the Norwegian tradition of isolated farm steads that colonised the most  ... [secluded/seditious/scabrous/sedulous]  corners of the country's wilderness.
Increasingly, however, the  ... [irrevocable/irrefutable/irredeemable/irreconcilable]  movement of Norwegians towards the cities – cities that are themselves places of great beauty, such as Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger and Tromso has altered the relationship between Norwegians and their natural world. But one thing remains unaltered: to paraphrase that great Norwegian son, Henrik Ibsen, those who wish to understand Norwegians, must first understand Norway's magnificent but severe natural environment,  ... [for/in case/lest/thus]  these are a people of the land, perhaps more  ... [so/rather/other/sooner]  than any other Europeans.

[answer-table]

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANSWER KEYS

 

1)    ALTHOUGH
CONJUNCTION ALTHOUGH
Used for introducing a statement that makes the main statement in a sentence seem surprising: 
Although he's got a good job now, he still complains.
 
2)    STANDARDS
PHRASE BY ANY STANDARDS
By no matter what measure:  
The building was still magnificent by any standards.
 
3)    WEIGHS
PHRASAL VERB WEIGH UPON
To make somebody anxious or worried: 
The high price of property weighs heavily upon many businesses.
 
4)    INTO
VERB + PREPOSITION ETCH INTO
If an experience, name etc is etched on your memory or mind, you cannot forget it and you think of it often: 
That contrast of tender sensibility and senseless brutality was etched into my mind.
 
5)    SECLUDED
ADJECTIVE SECLUDED
Private, peaceful, and not near other people or places:
We managed to find a fairly secluded spot for our picnic.
 
6)    IRREVOCABLE
ADJECTIVE IRREVOCABLE
Not capable of being changed, impossible to revoke :
They said their resignations were irrevocable.
 
7)    FOR
CONJUNCTION FOR
Used to introduce the reason for something: 
I cannot tell whether she is old or young, for I have never seen her.
 
8)    SO
ADVERB SO
Used to refer back to an idea, action, quality, situation etc that has just been mentioned: 
The band is popular and likely to become more so.