Use of English

Level C1

Part 1 - Multiple Choice

Exercises Feed

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For Questions 1-8, read the text below and decide which answer best fits each gap.

Working Across Borders

In an increasingly interconnected world, the ability to work effectively with people from other countries is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Cross-border collaboration allows organisations to (0) DRAW on a wider range of skills, perspectives and experience than would ever be available within a single market. When companies, researchers and public institutions cooperate internationally, they are often better (1) .......... to solve complex problems that do not respect national boundaries. Climate change, public health and digital security, for example, all require solutions that are based (2) .......... shared knowledge and coordinated action. However, successful collaboration does not happen by chance. It depends (3) .......... clear communication, mutual trust and a willingness to understand different working cultures. Teams that fail to establish these foundations may struggle to carry projects (4) .........., even when the original idea is strong. By contrast, those that invest time in building relationships are more likely to come (5) .......... innovative responses and avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. In the long term, cross-border partnerships can also strengthen economic resilience. They enable countries and organisations to learn from one another, spread risk and open (6) .......... new opportunities for growth. For that reason, governments and businesses alike should regard international cooperation not as an optional extra, but as a strategic asset worth (7) .......... in. Without it, progress may be slower, narrower in scope and far less capable of bringing (8) .......... lasting change.

What to do

In this part, you read a text with eight gaps and choose the best word from four options to fit each gap.

Nothing prepares you for this test better than reading.

Read a lot. Candidates who often read in English (for work, for fun) find this part of the test manageable, while those who never read tend to find it very hard.

If you are 100% sure that two of the 4 choices are completely identical, then neither can be the answer. There is always only one word that fits grammatically and has the right meaning.

Usually the correct option will be part of a fixed phrase or collocation, a phrasal verb, a connector or the only word that fits grammatically in the gap.

Strategy

  1. Read the title and the whole text quickly to understand its general meaning before you attempt the task.
  2. Check the words before and after the gap.
  3. Choose the best option.
  4. When you have finished, read the text again with the words inserted to check that it makes sense.

Instructions

For Questions 1-8, read the text below and decide which answer best fits each gap.

Exercise Details

Author

Pablo Otero

@pablo-otero

User Prompt

"Create an exercise about the importance of cross-border collaboration"

Tone: Standard
Level: C1

Created on:

May 2, 2026

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