C1 Multiple-choice Cloze Practice (Free)

Answer: B — shed

B — shed: “shed light on an argument” means make it easier to understand. A bring would need something such as bring information to light, a different construction. C give light normally concerns illumination and does not form give light on an argument. D spread goes with light over an area, not this explanatory expression.

Answer: C — under

C — under: “kept his private correspondence under lock and key” means kept it securely locked away. Beneath and below can describe a lower physical position, but neither forms this fixed expression. Within would mean inside and also fails to complete the idiom. The following sentence contrasts the previous restriction with the records now being publicly available.

Answer: A — issue

A — issue: “took issue with the popular claim” means disagreed with it. B take trouble would need to do something or over something; it does not mean challenge a claim here. C take exception requires to, not with. D objection goes with raise an objection to, not take objection with.

Answer: B — draw

B — draw: “draw conclusions” means infer what the evidence shows. The researchers wait until sources have been compared. A make conclusions is not the standard collocation; C take and D put do not express making an inference with conclusions as their object. Contrast make a decision with draw a conclusion.

Answer: D — odds

D — odds: “at odds with newspaper reports” means in disagreement with them. A would require in conflict with, B in contrast with, and C a different construction such as show a difference from. The preposition at is decisive, and the differing accounts explain the meaning.

Answer: C — question

C — question: “called several familiar assumptions into question” means gave reasons to doubt them. A query can name a question but does not form this expression. B debate would require put up for debate; D argument does not fit call into argument. The text challenges assumptions without claiming every earlier account is false.

Answer: C — context

C — context: “read in their wider context” means interpret the documents alongside circumstances, purposes and other evidence. A extent measures how much or how far, but does not name an interpretive frame. B distance describes separation and cannot fit this meaning. D surroundings normally refers to the environment around a person or thing. The example after the colon concerns a writer’s purpose and audience, which are part of a document’s context.

Answer: D — resist

D — resist: “resist the temptation to treat a single ... quotation as the complete explanation” means avoid giving in to that attractive but misleading response. A refuse takes an offered thing or to + verb; B deny would mean say the temptation does not exist; C oppose describes taking a position against something, rather than controlling an urge. Resist temptation is the established collocation.