Rational Cloze Exercise 1

Choose the best answer from the options A, B, C and D.

Professor Stephen Hawking is a quadriplegic. A quadriplegic is a person who is paralysed in

both arms and legs. He is now a Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of
Cambridge; a post ___1___ held by Sir Isaac Newton. Hawking is also a bestselling author
___2___ book, 'A Brief History of Time', was so popular it was ___3___ the British
bestseller list for 237 weeks. In his book, Hawking explains the ___4___ ideas of the
universe in a very simple and exciting way.

He is really a brilliantly gifted man. ___5___ being unable to use pen and paper, Hawking is
able to solve problems ___6___ constructing the necessary diagrams and manipulating the
complex equations in his head. He is believed by many to be the ___7___ genius alive today.
Hawking has received many honours for his contributions to science. For example, in 2006,
he was awarded the Copley Medal by the Royal Society of London.

1. (A) last 5. (A) Due to

(B) once (B) So
(C) soon (C) Despite
(D) later (D) In spite

2. (A) who 6. (A) by

(B) why (B) with
(C) whose (C) from
(D) which (D) through

3. (A) in 7. (A) great

(B) on (B) greater
(C) at (C) greatest
(D) of (D) greatly

4. (A) complicate
(B) complicates
(C) complicated
(D) complicating
 Rational Cloze Exercise 2

Choose the best answer from the options A, B, C and D.

Big Vikings and Little Mermaids

For a small country, Denmark has had a big influence on the world.

The small European kingdom of Denmark has a population of only 5 million, but it has a long
and influential history. Denmark is made up of a large peninsula and a group of islands
___1___ in the northeastern seas of Europe. Its people have always been skilled sailors and
fishermen, and this strong ___2___ with the sea was the source of Denmark's early power.

Early on, Denmark was home to Europe's most feared pirates the Vikings. These fierce
seamen would farm and fish in the winter before ___3___ in their longboats to hunt along the
shores of Europe in the summer. They fought and traded as far away as Egypt and Russia,
and even sailed thousands of miles to settle in North America. Gradually, however, the pagan
traditions of the Vikings were ___4___ by Christianity, and the warrior chiefs became kings
and lords. Denmark had joined the rest of European civilization, and its sailors were no
longer terrors on the coast.

___5___ the Vikings had brought fire and the sword to the mainland, Denmark's most famous
citizen, Hans Christian Andersen, brought joy. Born in 1805, Hans Christian Andersen wrote
many famous fairy tales, ___6___ The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor's New Clothes, and The
Little Mermaid. These stories are still told all over the world, further than the Vikings ever
sailed.

Nowadays, Denmark is a peaceful country. Its fearsome Vikings no longer pose a threat
___7___ the rest of Europe. Instead, tourists come to the beautiful capital, Copenhagen, to
see its historic buildings, as well as a cute attraction a statue of the Little Mermaid.

1. (A) locating 5. (A) While

(B) located (B) Unless
(C) which locate (C) Since
(D) to locate (D) Whether

2. (A) occupation 6. (A) providing

(B) admission (B) regarding
(C) permission (C) considering
(D) connection (D) including

3. (A) getting off 7. (A) in

(B) passing out (B) for
(C) setting off (C) to
(D) dropping out (D) with

4. (A) reminded
(B) replaced
(C) recalled
(D) removed
 Rational Cloze Exercise 3

Choose the best answer from the options A, B, C and D.

Dear Janet,

Thank you for the invitation to join your family for a holiday in Pulau Langkawi. I would
___1___ to accept. I am looking forward to ___2___ you and the others. You told me that you
would ___3___ your parents in Penang first. Give them my ___4___ when you see them. It's
been many years ___5___ I last saw them. I think it was at your sister's wedding. By the way,
___6___ is your grandmother ? She must now be over eighty years of age ! My family doing fine
except for my other who ___7___ from arthritis and frequently ___8___ of pain. I have been
really busy and the ___9___ of a holiday by the sea is really attractive. I'll meet you ___10___
the hotel on the fifteenth. I will be taking the afternoon flight and should be there by dinner time.
Goodbye for now.

Love,

Lina

1. (A) love 6. (A) who

(B) happy (B) where
(C) eager (C) when
(D) delighted (D) how

2. (A) see 7. (A) suffer

(B) saw (B) suffers
(C) seen (C) suffered
(D) seeing (D) has suffered

3. (A) visit 8. (A) talks

(B) visits (B) discusses
(C) visited (C) suggests
(D) visiting (D) complains

4. (A) wishes 9. (A) dream

(B) regards (B) wonder
(C) affection (C) idea
(D) greetings (D) ambition

5. (A) before 10. (A) by

(B) after (B) at
(C) since (C) on
(D) when (D) outside
 Rational Cloze Exercise 4
Choose the best answer from the options A, B, C and D.

The Education Ministry has called for public opinion on caning in schools. It wants to decide
___1___ the cane should be brought back to the classroom to ___2___ discipline. Discipline
among schoolchildren has worsened. In 1983 the Ministry issued guidelines to ___3___
teachers did not misuse their authority and abuse students. Unfortunately this has had an
adverse ___4___. Students today do not have respect ___5___ authority and are not afraid of
their teachers. In fact they are not even afraid of their own parents. Students have become
more rude ___6___ undisciplined as they know teacher cannot cane them. An informal
telephone poll shows that many people are in favor ___7___ using the cane as it is an
effective deterrent. Others ___8___ the idea as they feel that ___9___ should remain the
parents' responsibility. They fear that teachers ___10___ abuse their power.

1. (A) why 6. (A) of

(B) when (B) but
(C) whether (C) and
(D) should (D) if

2. (A) instill 7. (A) of

(B) show (B) to
(C) encourage (C) for
(D) increase (D) with

3. (A) certain 8. (A) against

(B) sure (B) unhappy
(C) ensure (C) refuse
(D) assure (D) oppose

4. (A) affect 9. (A) problem

(B) effect (B) caning
(C) effects (C) teaching
(D) effective (D) discipline

5. (A) to 10. (A) can

(B) for (B) many
(C) with (C) will
(D) from (D) must
 Rational Cloze Exercise 5

Choose the best answer from the options A, B, C and D.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are gathered here today to bid farewell to our beloved teacher, Mrs Lee. She ___1___ in
our school ___2___ fifteen years. Before she came here, she ___3___ in Pontian and Kluang.
Her teaching career has spanned thirty years and now she ___4___. It is indeed a great loss to
the school and the profession. Many students past and present owe their good ___5___ of
English to Mrs Lee. Our volleyball team is the district champion because of her untiring
___6___. Students who have problems know that ___7___ can always talk to her. She listens
without prejudice and ___8___ us helpful advice. We shall all ___9___ her. On behalf
___10____ all the students and teachers of this school, I wish her all the best in her
retirement.

1. (A) teach 6. (A) ability

(B) teaches (B) help
(C) taught (C) dedication
(D) has taught (D) efforts

2. (A) for 7. (A) he

(B) since (B) we
(C) during (C) they
(D) wile (D) those

3. (A) serve 8. (A) give

(B) serves (B) gives
(C) served (C) gave
(D) has served (D) given

4. (A) retires 9. (A) miss

(B) retired (B) misses
(C) is retiring (C) missed
(D) has retired (D) missing

5. (A) fluency 10. (A) at

(B) command (B) by
(C) technique (C) of
(D) method (D) with
 Rational Cloze Exercise 6
Choose the best answer from the options A, B, C and D.

Move Over, Big Bird!

In the past, you saw exotic animals at the zoo. When you went to a farm, you saw common
animals that might ___1___ on your dinner table. Nowadays, the lines have been blurred and
what was once considered wild is now a commercial product that people eat and wear. The
farming of ostriches is a new trend that has made its way across the globe. Although an
ostrich's natural ___2___ is the savannahs and deserts of Africa, it can survive anywhere
where sufficient food supplies can be found.

Ostriches are the world's largest and heaviest birds. ___3___ flightless, they are incredibly
fast runners. The male ostrich is black and white, while its female counterpart is grayish
brown and smaller in size. In the wild, a male will have about six hens in his flock. While he
mates with all of these hens, he selects one as his main mate. This female puts her eggs in the
middle of the nest to ___4___ their survival over the other hens'' eggs.

Nests are actually holes dug in the earth. ___5___ to popular belief, ostriches do not bury
their heads in the sand. Instead, they lay their bodies atop the eggs and place their necks
along the ground. Both males and females incubate eggs, which can weigh ___6___ 1.5 kg
and are the largest in the world. Males also help care for chicks after they are born. However,
observers note that ostrich parents can be a bit absent-minded ___7___ it comes to watching
over their eggs. If left unattended, other adult ostriches may roll the eggs from the nest and
even enjoy them as a snack.

1. (A) catch up 5. (A) Owing

(B) wind up (B) Contrary
(C) make up (C) In addition
(D) stand up (D) With regards

2. (A) vacancy 6. (A) such as

(B) location (B) as wide as
(C) scenery (C) up to
(D) habitat (D) much less

3. (A) As 7. (A) if
(B) However (B) until
(C) Though (C) once
(D) Because (D) when

4. (A) ensure
(B) insure
(C) assure
(D) sure
 Rational Cloze Exercise 7

Choose the best answer from the options A, B, C and D.

The Flower Kisser

Times Square is an attraction that could only be found in the modern world.

Hummingbirds are the smallest birds on Earth, and they are also the most fascinating.
Hummingbirds live in the Americas, with a ___1___ in Central and South America. The life
of an active little hummingbird revolves around getting food. On a regular day, one
hummingbird will visit ___2___ 1,000 flowers to find nectar. To ensure that they get enough
protein in their diet, they also prey on spiders in their webs and small insects.

___3___, a human's heart beats 72 times per minute. While doing something strenuous, that
number can double. Hummingbirds'' heartbeats, however, can get all the way ___4___1,260
beats per minute. This is because they flap their wings incredibly fast when they fly, never
stopping. Hummingbirds are the only birds ___5___ wings can move in a complete circle.
This ___6___ them to fly forwards, backwards, sideways, and even upside down. They can
also move their wings in a figure eight shape so they can hover in the air like a helicopter.

Like most birds, hummingbirds dislike cold weather and ___7___ south for the winter. This
is most impressive for birds from North America, which travel all the way to Central
America. Canadian hummingbirds travel the farthest, flying 4,000 kilometers to reach a
warmer environment. On one leg of the journey, the hummingbirds fly over 1,000 kilometers
without stopping at all. Don't underestimate the diminutive hummingbird: it's more powerful
than it looks !

1. (A) plenty 5. (A) what

(B) capacity (B) which
(C) majority (C) whose
(D) popularity (D) their

2. (A) barely 6. (A) forces

(B) roughly (B) enables
(C) practically (C) makes
(D) relatively (D) lets

3. (A) On average 7. (A) migrate

(B) On the spot (B) immigrate
(C) Above all (C) explode
(D) At one time (D) expand

4. (A) as much as
(B) such as
(C) to and fro
(D) up to
 Rational Cloze Exercise 8

Choose the best answer from the options A, B, C and D.

In 1969, something of a sensation was caused at the Palace Hotel when Mr J. Smith and his eleven-man team of
demolition workers reported alarming and apparently ___1___ happenings at this thousand-room hotel.

Eerie voices were heard from empty rooms and corridors on the second floor and the four-ton ___2___ was said
to have moved up and down many times of its own volition. After conducting an investigation, the North Wales
Electricity Board asserted that not an amp of power was going into the hotel; ___3___ having been, in fact, cut
off weeks earlier.

One of the men stated that he entered the foyer in the company of eight others and they all saw the doors slam
shut and the lift move up to the second ___4___.

One Mrs Templeman called at the hotel on business and was talking to workmen when she saw the lift suddenly
begin to move ___5___ . She said there was no sound whatsoever; the lift moved about two metres, almost to
the second floor and then stopped. Mrs Templeman ran up to the winding room with one of the workmen. They
discovered that the lift brake was still firmly at the "on" position and there seemed no ___6___ way to explain
the movement of the lift. The emergency winding handle for cranking the lift had been removed by this time.

At length it was decided to cut the cables to ___7___ the lift and although this was done, the lift did not budge.
Now the main shafts were ___8___ and still the lift would not move. It was continually thumped with twenty-
eight-pound hammers for twenty-five minutes before it eventually plunged to the bottom of the lift shaft and
buried itself one meter into the cellar. The workmen all agreed that it was ___9___ : although the lift had
moved, silently and without apparent effort by itself on so many occasions, it should have been so difficult to
knock down.

During the course of a television broadcast a dog was shown ___10___ to pass the second floor landing
although it had no such objection to passing other, apparently identical, landings.

1. (A) identifiable 6. (A) legible

(B) inexplicable (B) logical
(C) indefinite (C) magical
(D) undefeatable (D) critical

2. (A) floor 7. (A) release

(B) safe (B) empty
(C) lift (C) deliver
(D) board (D) raise

3. (A) water 8. (A) turned on

(B) all lights (B) cut through
(C) electric current (C) pushed out
(D) the floor (D) pulled up

4. (A) lift 9. (A) normal

(B) dining room (B) expected
(C) hotel (C) incredible
(D) floor (D) usual

5. (A) up and down 10. (A) refusing

(B) downwards (B) enthusiastic
(C) upwards (C) agreeing
(D) sideways (D) defeating