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Use of English

Level B2

Part 2 - Open Cloze

Exercises Feed

17
1

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

City Lights

Artificial lighting has transformed modern cities, making streets safer and public spaces more attractive at night. However, it has also brought problems that were not always obvious at first. Many animals depend (0) ON darkness to hunt, rest or reproduce, and bright urban lights can interfere (1) .......... these natural patterns. Birds, for example, may become confused by illuminated buildings and fly (2) .......... them instead of continuing their journey. Humans are affected too. Researchers have found that people who are exposed (3) .......... strong artificial light late at night may sleep less well. This is because the body is less able to recognise when it is time to rest. In addition, city residents often complain that there is too (4) .......... light coming through their windows, especially in areas where advertising screens stay on all night. For this reason, some councils are beginning to think more carefully about how lighting is used. Rather (5) .......... simply installing brighter lamps everywhere, they are testing smarter systems that direct light only where it is needed. Such measures can result (6) .......... lower energy use and a healthier environment. They may also help people appreciate the night sky, which is hardly visible in places (7) .......... artificial lighting is excessive. If cities plan well, they can benefit from lighting without losing the advantages (8) .......... darkness.

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

Aimar Garcia

@aimar-garcia

User Prompt

"Create an exercise about the impact of artificial lighting on cities"

Tone: Standard
Level: B2

Created on:

Jun 17, 2026

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