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.


 

The Italian Renaissance


Late medieval and early Renaissance Italy witnessed many changes, including a  ...  [revival/reeve/revolt/rivet]  of the mercantile economy, the emergence of a vernacular literature, and the first serious efforts to recover the classical tradition of learning. Feudalism, with the  ...  [landed/land/earth/soil]  nobility controlling the lives and destinies of the populace, began to  ...  [loose/get/come/give] its grip. The Holy Roman Empire and the Roman Catholic Church increasingly failed to provide social and political stability. National monarchies, especially those of France and England, rose  ...  [in/for/with/on]  importance, and in Italy, the city-state became the preferred form of political organization. One city-state, Florence, located in north central Italy, took the  ...  [lead/opportunity/floor/plunge]  in projecting the new indefatigable spirit of  ... [humanism/humanity/humanitarianism/humanitarians] , a return to the classical ideal of man being the measure of all things; it became the incontestable intellectual capital of Renaissance Europe. The brilliant painter Giotto appeared early in this remarkable period. The next hundred years gave  ...  [rise/evidence/riase/notice]  to the artist Masaccio and architects Alberti and Brunelleschi; then, toward the end of the fifteenth century, the matchless trio of Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphaels  ...  [burst/blasted/bbroke/blew]  onto the scene.

[answer-table]

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANSWER KEYS

 

1)    REVIVAL
NOUN A REVIVAL OF
An improvement in the condition or strength of something: 
The exhibition has sparked a revival of interest in the Impressionists.
 
2)    LANDED
COLLOCATION LANDED NOBILITY
A category of nobility, for which landownership was part of their noble privileges: 
The landed nobility provided tsarism with a perilously narrow social base.
 
3)    LOSE
IDIOM LOSE YOUR GRIP
To become unable to understand or control a situation: 
Unfortunately, lately her mother seems to have lost her grip on reality.
 
4)    IN
VERB + PREPOSITION RISE IN
To increase in size, amount, quality, or strength: 
Even motor fuel rose in price as the war continued.
 
5)    LEAD
PHRASE TAKE THE LEAD IN
To take a position that is ahead of others:
Their company has taken the lead in developing this new technology.
 
6)    HUMANISM
NOUN HUMANISM
A cultural movement of the Renaissance, based on classical studies:
Thomas More's Utopia was humanism in renaissance literature.
 
7)    RISE
PHRASE GIVE RISE TO SOMETHING
To make something happen or begin, especially something unpleasant or unexpected:
Daily shaving can give rise to a number of skin problems.
 
8)    BURST
PHRASAL VERB BURST ONTO
To appear somewhere suddenly in a way that is very noticeable: 
A major new talent has burst onto the literary scene.