Dear Aspirants,
Cloze test is one portion in English which can fetch maximum marks in minimum time. 10 questions can be attempted in 3-4 minutes provided one has mastered the following points. While attempting cloze test, following are the main things that need to be kept in mind
Read thoroughly – Since all the blanks are chained to each other, it is important to understand the passage. If one comprehends the passage, it becomes easy to get to the correct option. This point is of immense importance and is repeatedly emphasized in the solutions.Refer – exercise – close test 200, blank 7 is the perfect example to highlight this point.
Vocabulary – One needs to have a strong vocabulary to get to the right answer. Tips to improve vocab will be discussed in the upcoming sections. If one has weak vocabulary, then also cloze test can be cracked provided one is strong in point 3 (given below)
Usage of words – This is the portion that is most important and where most of the students get confused inspite of having good vocab.
Let’s understand it by attempting the three blanks given below,
(i). Federer’s nerve in big matches against his greatest rival has been questioned before, but on Sunday he displayed a calm ……….. .
1.resolve
2.objective
3.intention
4.boldness
5.composure
(ii). Roark …………………… his livelihood by working in the mining industry.
1.earned
2.deserved
3.procured
4.obtained
5.achieved
(iii). ……………. question
1.appropriate
2.apt
3.germane
4.pertinent
5.suitable
Answers for the three are ‘resolve’ , ‘earned’ and ‘pertinent’. All the options in question (i) are synonyms of each other, similarly in (ii) question , all the options are synonyms and the same in (iii), but only ‘calm resolve’ , ‘earn livelihood’ and ‘pertinent question’ are right collocations.
We need to learn how a particular word is used and what is the right collocation. There is no shortcut method to learning it but only reading, and that too on a daily basis. How to read newspaper and finding the collocations while reading will be separately covered in upcoming sections. For the time being, read newspaper editorial to master cloze test.
Now attempt the exercise on Cloze Test
