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.


 

British Food


Although stereotypes of British food have tended to focus on two apparently endemic problems — its poor quality and its  ... [blandness/bluntness/baldness/blackness] — by the beginning of the twenty-first century Britain had apparently developed into one of the leading culinary centres in the world,  ... [counting/consiting/composing/combining]  the highest number of top restaurants. It has surpassed even France,  ...  [regarded/regardless/regardful/regarding]  as the birthplace and home of taste and good cooking. Just as importantly, Britons, and  ...  [above/after/over/in]  all Londoners, now have a bewilderingly diverse  ...  [array/pile/cluster/goblet]  of foods available to them both in restaurants and shops. While the quality and range of British food may have changed recently, assumptions  ...  [about/that/for/with]  quality and diversity need questioning in a historical context. But before dealing with these assumptions, we need to tackle more fundamental issues regarding the very basis of the concept of British food which, in  ... [turn/advance/common/conclusion] , raises questions about the authenticity of all national cuisines. During the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as nationalism developed into the  ...  [predominant/pronominal/predestined/precancerous]  signifier of identity, it encompassed all aspects of life for individuals within specific nation states.

[answer-table]

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANSWER KEYS

 

1)    BLANDNESS
NOUN BLANDNESS
The fact of not having a strong or interesting taste: 
The boneless chops were underseasoned to the point of blandness.
 
2)    COUNTING
VERB COUNT SOMEBODY/SOMETHING
To include somebody/something when you calculate a total: 
We have invited 50 people, not counting the children.
 
3)    REGARDED
VERB + PREPOSITION REGARD SB/STH AS STH
To think of someone or something in a particular way: 
Kubrick was widely regarded as one of the most influential post-war film directors.
 
4)    ABOVE
PHRASE ABOVE ALL
As the most important thing: 
He will be remembered above all as a loving husband and family man.
 
5)    ARRAY
NOUN ARRAY OF
A group of people or things, especially one that is large or impressive:
As an Empire player you can choose from a vast array of infantry types.
 
6)    ABOUT
NOUN + PREPOSITION ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT
Something that you accept as true without question or proof:
People tend to make assumptions about you when you have a disability.
 
7)    TURN
IDIOM IN TURN
As a result of something in a series of events:
Increased production will, in turn, lead to increased profits.
 
8)    PREDOMINANT
ADJECTIVE PREDOMINANT
More important, powerful, successful, or noticeable than other people or things: 
Religion is the predominant theme of the play.