Test 1 / 30

Read the text. Think of the word which best fits each gap. Write the correct word in each gap

Gymnorhina tibicen

The three-week campaign to select Australia’s bird of the year has come to an end. It was bitterly fought out on social media. Monday’s result, understandably has provoked another round of celebration and recriminations. The winner swooped in with an incredible 19,926 votes, of a total of almost 150,000. The Australian magpie, or Gymnorhina tibicen, took the title. It had quietly gained ground over the white ibis, which had a commanding early lead. The campaign was notable for fierce opinions both for and against the ibis, and many illustrations of its controversial urban habits. Complaints were levelled at the competition, of which attempted vote rigging, drama and political intrigue were just a few. On the morning of 21 November hundreds of suspicious votes were recorded for the powerful owl. Further investigation identified automated voting, forcing a large number of votes to be removed.

Test 2 / 30

Read the text. Think of the word which best fits each gap. Write the correct word in each gap

The Cove

Over eight years have passed since the Oscar-winning film, The Cove, brought Taiji, an isolated corner of Japan’s Pacific coast, into the spotlight. It found itself at the centre of a bitter debate over the pursuit of dolphins for human consumption and entertainment. The film showed graphic footage of dolphins being slaughtered with knives and turning the sea around it a crimson red. This shocked audiences all over the world. Being unaccustomed to international attention, the town’s residents were wrong footed by their social media-savvy opponents. Consequently, they simply chose to clam up and go to ground. Requests for interviews with town officials went unanswered; the fishermen preferring instead to take a vow of silence. Taiji’s fishermen kept their counsel for years, for which there was much criticism. Now they have finally spoken out|up, agreeing to talk about their work, their whaling heritage, and their determination to continue hunting dolphins.

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Time: 6 minutes

What to do?

This part consists of a short text with eight gaps. A single word is needed to fill each gap – never a phrase or contraction.

Pay particular attention to the words before and after the gap, as they may form part of an expression that is completed by the missing word.

A single word is needed to fill each gap – never
a phrase or contraction.

Sometimes, there is more than one correct answer. Cambridge will always account for this and all options will be accepted. However, you should not write more than one answer.

Always read the complete sentence that contains the gap before deciding on their answer, and always check for the possibility of negatives, conditionals or other structures that might put forward the opposite point of view.

You may need to look for a referent, a name, place, pronoun, (he/they, etc.) in another part of the sentence and, in this case, make sure that the word you write in the gap agrees with that subject.

The spelling must be correct to get a mark in the exam.

Read the whole text for gist before you attempt the task. It is important to notice if negative ideas are expressed, or where there is antithesis or contrast.
Think about the type of word that is missing. Most gapped words form part of the grammatical structure of a sentence, but some may form part of a phrasal verb or a fixed phrase.
You are never required to write a contraction. If you think the answer is a contraction, it must be wrong, so think again.
Check the words before and after the gap carefully. Remember, the gapped word must fit into the meaning of the text as a whole. Sometimes a gapped word will affect the development of the text, so be careful.
When the gapped word is a quantifier, think about whether it is positive or negative. When it is a connector, does it introduce a supporting point or a contrasting one?
Once you have completed the task, read through the text again to make sure it makes sense. Check your spelling: marks are not awarded for misspelt words.

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