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Use of English

Level B2

Part 2 - Open Cloze

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1
1

For questions 1-8, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap.

Privacy or Protection

Modern societies rely (0) ON digital systems for almost everything, from banking to travel. As a result, the debate about privacy and security has become more urgent (1) .......... ever before. Many people accept that some personal data must be collected in order for online services to function properly, but they still worry (2) .......... how that information is stored and used. Governments argue that stronger monitoring can help prevent crime and protect citizens, while critics point (3) .......... that excessive surveillance may weaken individual freedom. The problem becomes even more complex when companies share user data (4) .......... third parties, sometimes without making the risks fully clear. People may click 'agree' without reading the terms, not because they trust the system, but because they feel they have no alternative. It is difficult to know (5) .......... the line should be drawn between public safety and private rights. In addition, rules that seem reasonable in one situation may be unfair in another. For this reason, experts often insist (6) .......... the need for clear laws and independent oversight. Without these, citizens may lose confidence, and security measures may end up doing more harm (7) .......... good. Finding a balance is not easy, (8) .......... it remains essential in a democratic society.

What to do

This part consists of a short text with a series of gaps. There are no words from which to choose the answers, candidates have to think of a word which fits the gap correctly.

Errors in punctuation are ignored, although spelling must be correct.

Contractions (e.g. don’t, we’ve, won’t) count as two words. However, can’t is a contraction of cannot, which is one word.

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.

Don't spend time in a word you don't know. Wasting time on this activity might cost you points later in the exam because you won’t have enough time to do other tasks well.

Strategy

  1. Read the title and the whole text so that you understand what it is about.
  2. Read the whole sentence in which the gap occurs, to look for clues as to what kind of word you need.
  3. Check the words before and after each gap and look for grammatical collocations.
  4. Remember you must write only one word.
  5. You are never required to write a contraction. If you think the answer is a contraction, it must be wrong, so think again.
  6. Read the whole text through once you have completed it to make sure you have not missed any connectors, plurals or negatives.

Instructions

For questions 1-8, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap.

Exercise Details

Author

James Ford

@james-ford

User Prompt

"Create an exercise about the challenges of balancing privacy and security"

Tone: Standard
Level: B2

Created on:

Jun 15, 2026

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