CAE Use of English Part 2: open cloze exercises
The C1 open cloze is CAE Use of English Part 2: a short text with eight gaps and no options, so you have to supply each missing word yourself. The answer is always one word, spelling must be correct, and many gaps depend on the structure of the whole sentence.
- Questions
- 8 (9–16)
- Marks
- 1 each
- Answer
- One word
- Counts towards
- Use of English
What the CAE open cloze tests
Part 2 is a text of about 160 words with a title and eight gaps, numbered 9–16, plus an example (0) at the beginning. There are no options. You write one word in each gap, and the answer is always a single word: answers of more than one word score nothing, and contracted forms such as n't or 'd are not accepted. Spelling must be correct, though punctuation mistakes are ignored. On the paper-based exam you write in capital letters on the answer sheet; in the digital exam you type straight into the gap.
The focus is mainly grammatical, with some vocabulary. Cambridge lists verb forms, auxiliaries and modals, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, determiners, linkers and fixed phrases. At C1 the missing word usually depends on the structure of the whole sentence rather than on its neighbours: an inversion that needs Not or Rarely, a comparison that needs than twenty words later, or a concession that needs however or whatever.
Each gap is worth one mark, and Part 2 counts towards your Use of English score, which is made up of Parts 2, 3 and 4 (28 marks in total). Sometimes more than one word is correct, and the mark scheme accepts every valid answer. But if you write two alternatives and one of them is wrong, you get no mark, so always commit to one word.
Try a C1 open cloze exercise
Read the text and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap.
Why we keep collecting
Few hobbies are as widespread, or as hard to explain, as collecting. Stamps, vinyl records, old postcards: (9) the object, the urge to complete a set seems to be remarkably similar. Psychologists suggest that collecting gives people a sense of control in a world that often feels unpredictable. (10) only does a growing collection provide a clear goal, but each new item also delivers a small and reliable reward. For some collectors, the pleasure lies less in owning things (11) in the search itself, and the moment a set is finished, their interest fades. Others are driven by nostalgia, buying the very toys they were (12) allowed to have as children.
Show the answer and explanation
9 whatever. Whatever the object means "it does not matter what the object is". The colon and the comma tell you a concession is coming. However would need an adjective ("however rare the object").
10 Not. The sentence continues with does a growing collection provide (auxiliary before subject) and later but … also. That inversion and pairing only work with Not only … but also.
11 than. Less earlier in the sentence needs a comparison: less in owning things than in the search. A tempting wrong answer is but, which leaves the comparative unfinished.
12 never (also accepted: not). Both make the sentence negative and grammatical. This is a gap with two acceptable answers; you only need to write one.
Two more C1 open cloze exercises
These are full-length texts with eight gaps, numbered 9–16 as in the exam. Allow about ten minutes for each.
Practice set 2: The return of the letter
Read the text and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).
The return of the letter
There was a time when receiving a handwritten letter was an ordinary part of daily life. Today it has become (0) so rare that many young people have never received one. Yet a growing number of writers' groups are trying to bring the habit back.
Members insist that the appeal lies not in nostalgia but in the effort involved. (9) a message on a phone, which can be sent without a second thought, a letter demands time and attention. 'You have to decide what really matters,' explains one organiser, '(10) you'll run out of paper before you've said anything worthwhile.'
There is also the matter of waiting. (11) from being a drawback, the delay between writing and receiving a reply is, for many members, (12) makes the exchange feel special. One member remembers checking her letterbox every morning for a fortnight; no sooner (13) the reply arrived than she sat down to write back.
Critics dismiss the movement (14) a passing fashion. The organisers are unconcerned. 'Whether it lasts (15) not,' says one, 'people are rediscovering something that was in danger of being lost (16) good.'
Show the answers and explanations
9 Unlike. A contrast between two things: unlike a message on a phone, a letter…. Compared would need to or with.
10 otherwise (also or). The gap introduces what happens if you do not decide what matters.
11 Far. Far from being means "not at all", and introduces the opposite of what you might expect.
12 what. What means "the thing that": the delay is what makes the exchange feel special.
13 had. No sooner had … than: an inversion with the past perfect for one action followed immediately by another.
14 as. Dismiss something as + noun: to reject it as unimportant.
15 or. Whether … or not.
16 for. For good means "permanently".
Practice set 3: Why holidays stretch in memory
Read the text and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).
Why holidays stretch in memory
Most of us have had the experience of a holiday that seemed to pass in a flash, only for it to feel, looking (0) back, as if it had lasted for weeks. Psychologists call this the 'holiday paradox', and it is (9) the clearest examples of how unreliable our sense of time can be.
The explanation, it seems, lies in the way memories are formed. While we are on holiday, every day is filled with new experiences, so time appears to fly. It is only afterwards (10) the effect is reversed: the memories are (11) numerous that the period seems long. Routine works the other way round. A week in (12) nothing unusual happens leaves few traces and counts for very (13) when we look back.
This may explain why the years seem to speed up as we get older. The (14) new experiences we have, the faster the years seem to have gone when we look back. Researchers suggest that we have the power to slow time down, at least in memory, (15) seeking out novelty. Much (16) we might like to, we cannot add hours to the day, but we can change how long those hours feel.
Show the answers and explanations
9 among (also amongst). Among the clearest examples means "one of the clearest". One of would need two words.
10 that. A cleft sentence: It is only afterwards that… puts the emphasis on afterwards.
11 so. So + adjective + that gives a result. Such would need a noun.
12 which. After a preposition, the relative pronoun for things is which: a week in which. That cannot follow a preposition.
13 little. Count for very little means "have hardly any importance". Few would need a plural noun.
14 fewer. The fewer …, the faster…: a double comparative. Looking back, few new memories make time seem short, so more reverses the logic, and experiences is countable, so less is wrong.
15 by (also through). By + -ing shows how something is done.
16 as. Much as we might like to means "although we would like to". A concession pattern typical of C1.
How to complete a C1 open cloze, step by step
- 01
Read the whole text and its title once without writing anything. You need the overall meaning to spot gaps that turn a sentence negative or introduce a contrast.
- 02
For each gap, decide what kind of word is missing. A noun with no article after the gap suggests a determiner or preposition; a bare verb after it suggests a modal or to; a full clause after it suggests a conjunction or relative pronoun.
- 03
Look beyond the neighbouring words to the shape of the whole sentence. Inversions at the start (Not only, Rarely, Little), paired structures (the more … the more, so … that, whether … or) and comparisons (less … than) are the C1 favourites.
- 04
Check the meaning of the paragraph, not just the grammar. Few and a few, or hardly and hard, are both grammatical in many gaps but say opposite things.
- 05
Write one word, no contractions, spelled correctly. Then read the completed text from beginning to end: a wrong answer usually sounds wrong once the sentence is whole.
Mistakes that cost marks
Writing two words or a contraction. Didn't and won't are not accepted, and neither is in spite. One gap, one word.
Hedging with two answers. Writing which/that scores zero if either word is wrong. Choose one and move on.
Filling in a content word. Most Part 2 gaps are grammar words. If your answer is an unusual noun or adjective, check the sentence again: you have probably missed a structure.
Forgetting the second half of a structure. Less … than, such a … that, not only … but also: if the sentence already contains one half, the gap is often the other.
Grammar words the C1 open cloze tests again and again
Use this list for open cloze exercises at C1: when you finish a practice text, check which group each answer belonged to. After a few tasks you will see which groups cost you marks.
- Linkers and conjunctions: whereas, unless, provided, whether, otherwise, although, even (as in even though), as (as in as long as).
- Words that start an inversion: not (only), seldom, rarely, hardly (… when), no (sooner … than), only (when / after), little, nor.
- Relatives and determiners: whose, whom, whichever, whatever, whereby, each, neither, either, much, few, little, such.
- Fixed phrases: as a result, by no means, in spite of, as far as, on the whole, for the sake of, in the event of, to some extent, at least.
- Comparison: than, as, the (as in the sooner the better), far, much, even, all (as in all the more).
- Prepositions and particles: account for, come up with, regardless of, in favour of, at odds with, on behalf of.
Practise Part 2 in full CAE Reading and Use of English tests
Each CAE Reading and Use of English test on this site has its own Part 2, timed with the whole paper and marked as soon as you submit, with an explanation for every answer.
C1 open cloze: questions
How many words can I write in the CAE open cloze?
Exactly one word per gap. Answers of more than one word do not earn the mark, and contracted forms such as n't and 'd are not accepted.
Does spelling count in CAE Use of English Part 2?
Yes. A misspelled word loses the mark, even if it is clearly the right word. Punctuation mistakes are ignored.
Can there be more than one correct answer in a C1 open cloze?
Sometimes, and the mark scheme accepts every correct option. But write only one: if you give two answers and one is wrong, you score nothing for that gap.
Where can I find open cloze exercises for C1?
This page has a short example and two full eight-gap practice texts with answers and explanations. Each of our six CAE Reading and Use of English tests also contains a full open cloze, marked as soon as you submit and with an explanation for every answer.
Sources
- C1 Advanced Handbook for Teachers (Cambridge University Press & Assessment), pages 7–8, 11
- C1 Advanced exam format (cambridgeenglish.org)
- C1 Advanced preparation materials: Cambridge's own sample tests
CambridgeMock is independent and not affiliated with Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Facts on this page are checked against the official documents above; the practice items and advice are our own.
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