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Use of English

Level C1

Part 2 - Open Cloze

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

Critical Journalism

Critical journalism plays (0) AN essential role in democratic societies, not only by informing the public but also by holding those in power to account. In an age (1) .......... information spreads instantly and opinions are often presented as facts, the work of careful reporters matters more than ever. Journalists are expected to investigate claims thoroughly, rather than simply pass (2) .......... official statements without question. By doing so, they help citizens distinguish truth from manipulation. This function becomes even more important when governments or corporations attempt to act (3) .......... scrutiny. A free press can reveal misconduct, expose conflicts of interest and draw attention to issues that might otherwise remain hidden. It is precisely (4) .......... this reason that independent journalism is sometimes attacked by those who would prefer not to be challenged. At the same time, critical journalism must be exercised responsibly. Reporters need to base their work (5) .......... evidence, verify sources and avoid sensationalism. If they fail to do so, public trust may be damaged, and that trust is difficult to win (6) .......... once it has been lost. Ultimately, journalism serves the public best when it asks difficult questions, insists (7) .......... transparency and refuses to accept easy answers. Without it, citizens would be far less able to judge whether leaders are acting (8) .......... the public interest.

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

Adrian Nicolae

@adrian-nicolae

User Prompt

"Create an exercise about the role of critical journalism"

Tone: Standard
Level: C1

Created on:

May 15, 2026

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