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Multiple Choice Cloze Worksheet 1

You are given a piece of text with six questions. You are also given a set 4 choices for each question. Choose the
best option A, B, C or D.

Arctic ice management

Physicist Steven Desch has come up with a novel solution to the problems that now beset the Arctic. He and a
team of colleagues from Arizona State University want to replenish the region's shrinking sea ice by building 10
million wind-powered pumps over the Arctic ice cap. In winter, these would be used to pump water to the surface
of the ice where it would freeze, thickening the cap.

The pumps could add an extra metre of sea ice to the Arctic's current layer, Desch argues. The current cap rarely
exceeds 2-3 metres in thickness and is being eroded constantly as the planet succumbs to climate change.
Thicker ice would mean longer-lasting ice. In turn, that would mean the danger of all sea ice disappearing from
the Arctic in summer would be reduced significantly.

Hence Desch's scheme to use wind pumps to bring water which is insulated from the bitter Arctic cold by its icy
surface, where it will freeze and thicken the ice cap. Nor is the physicist alone in his Arctic scheming. Other
projects to halt sea-ice loss include one to artificially whiten the Arctic by scattering light-coloured aerosol
particles over it to reflect solar radiation back into space, and another to spray sea water into the atmosphere
above the region to create clouds that would also reflect sunlight away from the surface.

Last November, when sea ice should have begun thickening and spreading over the Arctic as winter set in, the
region warmed up. Temperatures should have plummeted to -25C but reached several degrees above freezing
instead. It's been about 20C warmer than normal over most of the Arctic Ocean. This is unprecedented.

In fact, sea ice growth stalled during the second week of January - in the heart of the Arctic winter - while the ice
cap actually retreated within the Kara and Barents seas, and within the Sea of Okhotsk. Similarly, the Svalbard
archipelago, normally shrouded in ice, has remained relatively free because of the inflow of warm Atlantic water
along the western part of the island chain. Consequently, although there has been some recovery, sea ice
remains well below all previous record lows.

1) What is the writer's intention in the first paragraph?

A) To criticise an existing way of doing things.

B) To predict problems a project could face.

C) To inform the reader about an innovative concept.

D) To persuade influential bodies to undertake a course of action.

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2) What outcome does the writer suggest in the second paragraph?

A) The thinning of the sea ice could be halted.

B) The risk of there being no sea ice in the future would be dramatically lowered.

C) 2-3 metres of additional sea ice could be deposited.

D) The constant erosion of the sea ice could be stopped.

3) What does the writer mean when he describes the water as being insulated in the third paragraph?

A) The ice cap protects the water underneath from freezing.

B) The effect of the sun prevents the water from getting too cold.

C) Artic water is colder.

D) Pollution in the water makes it difficult for it to freeze.

4) What objective is the writer describing at the end of the third paragraph?

A) Cleaning the ice that has been discoloured.

B) Increasing the amount of snow that falls on the ice.

C) Making the thickness of the ice uniform.

D) Preventing the sun from impacting the ice.

5) What is the writer referring to with the word This at the end of paragraph 4?

A) Conditions that have never happened before.

B) Conditions that happen very rarely.

C) Normal winter conditions.

D) Conditions that were predictable.

6) What reason does the writer give in the final paragraph for the sea ice not getting thicker?

A) The winds from the north are too warm.

B) The ice cap is not thick enough.

C) Seismic activity under the ice had an effect.

D) Warm water currents affected the formation of the ice.

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Multiple Choice Cloze Worksheet 2

You are given a piece of text with six questions. You are also given a set 4 choices for each question. Choose the
best option A, B, C or D.

Nobel prize of conservation

A Welsh biologist once criticised for stealing eggs from the nests of the rarest bird in the world has been awarded
the 'Nobel prize' of conservation after his controversial methods saved nine species from extinction. Professor
Carl Jones won the 2016 Indianapolis Prize - the highest accolade in the field of animal conservation - for his 40
years of work in Mauritius, where he saved an endangered kestrel from becoming the next Dodo.

When the 61-year-old first travelled to the east African island in the 1970s he was told to close down a project to
save the Mauritius kestrel. At the time there were just four left in the wild, making it the rarest bird on Earth.
However he stayed, implementing the controversial techniques of captive breeding and a strategy known as
double-clutching, which involved snatching eggs from the birds' nests and hatching them under incubators,
prompting the mothers to lay another set of eggs in the wild.

A decade later, the number of Mauritius kestrels had soared to over 300 and today there are around 400 in the
wild. The biologist has also been integral in efforts to bring other rare species back from the brink of extinction,
including the pink pigeon, echo parakeet and Rodrigues warbler.

He is credited with championing the idea of ecological replacement, which is a conservation tactic in which other
species fill in important ecological roles once held by extinct species. Prof. Jones, originally from St Clears, near
Carmarthen, was awarded the $250,000 prize at a ceremony at the Natural History Museum in London.

Reflecting on the start of his career, he said the Mauritius kestrel project had been seen as a dead loss at the time.
He had originally gone out there for one or possible two years only to be told to pull out of the project and hand
it over to the locals. At the time they didn't have the money or expertise to do it so that would essentially have
meant closing it down.

In the 1970s there was fierce opposition to the captive breeding techniques, with critics arguing that they were
too risky and took the emphasis off breeding in the wild. But the biologist, now chief scientist of the Durrell
Wildlife Conservation Trust and scientific director of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, said the method of
taking eggs from the nests had worked exceedingly well.

Prof. Jones has dedicated his whole life to his work, only becoming a father for the first time eight years ago, at
53. He said receiving the prize was particularly important to him because it vindicated his work to save birds,
whereas previous winners have tended to concentrate on more high profile species, like polar bears or elephants.

1) In the first paragraph, the writer's intention is to draw a contrast between

A) how different parts of society see conservation.

B) how geographical perspectives affect conservation.

C) the way different species are treated.

D) past and present circumstances.

2) How does the writer describe the plight of the Mauritius kestrel in the second paragraph?
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A) Desperate.

B) Promising.

C) Predictable.

D) Surprising.

3) How does the writer feel about Professor Jones' influence on other endangered species?

A) He was the source of unnecessary conflict.

B) His participation was indispensable.

C) His ideas were considered unorthodox.

D) He was thought to be too selective.

4) What does the writer mean with the word championing in paragraph 4?

A) Choosing one species over another.

B) Projecting a 'win at any cost' mentality.

C) Being the driving force.

D) Having an inclusive attitude.

5) In what way does the writer feel the professor was let down in the fifth paragraph?

A) He wasn't give his due respect.

B) The money he was promised never materialised.

C) His living conditions were not acceptable.

D) The duration of the project was altered abruptly.

6) What conclusions does the professor draw from winning the prize in the seventh paragraph?

A) He felt justified in saving a less publicised group.

B) The pride his family felt made the suffering worthwhile.

C) He appreciated finally being considered important.

D) He understood how fortunate he was.

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Multiple Choice Cloze Worksheet 3

You are given a piece of text with six questions. You are also given a set 4 choices for each question. Choose the
best option A, B, C or D.

Allergy Map

Scientists have produced detailed maps showing where plants known to trigger allergies grow. Sufferers could
have relief from runny noses, sneezing and itchy eyes as scientists have developed the first ever hay fever map
of Britain. The new, highly-detailed maps of the UK contain the location of key plants and trees known to produce
pollen that triggers allergies and asthma.

The maps, produced at the University of Exeter in collaboration with the Met Office, may help acute hay fever or
asthma sufferers decide where to live or which areas to avoid at peak times when pollen is released. The study
records areas where plants which hay fever sufferers are most likely to be sensitive to are most prevalent,
including grasses, trees and plants such as birch, alder, oak and nettle.

The plant maps, which include cities throughout the UK, with a detailed plan of London, will help medics further
study the impact of air pollution on asthma. About 80% of people with asthma also have a pollen allergy and in
the UK about 10% of the adult population is affected by asthma. In 2001, 13% of people in the UK were diagnosed
with hay fever and most people with the condition are allergic to grass pollen. This is most common in late spring
and early summer.

Air pollution, for example from car exhaust fumes, is understood to exacerbate hospital admissions for asthma
caused by allergies. The maps have been published as new research carried out at the University of Exeter shows
exposure to pollen can increase hospital admissions for asthma within days. The scientists believe their maps of
allergenic pollen-producing plants, in combination with pollen forecasts and calendars, could help sufferers
manage their condition by reducing their exposure.

Pollen can have a serious impact on the well-being of those with hay fever or asthma. By working towards a
localised, species-level forecast, vulnerable people can better plan their activities and manage their condition.
These new maps could also provide local authorities and healthcare practitioners with information to assist
patients with pollen allergies. While these allergenic plant and tree maps do not provide a forecast of pollen
levels, they do provide the most likely locations of grass and of tree species which are the source of most
allergenic pollen.

1. What is the writer suggesting in the first paragraph?

A) The creation of a document giving the highest concentration of allergy sufferers.

B) A document could alleviate the effects of allergies on sufferers.

C) A document could explain how to relieve the symptoms of hay fever.

D) A document on the complications that can arise from an allergy attack.

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2. How does the writer feel this research would help allergy sufferers?

A) By explaining how hay fever works.

B) By advising which areas to keep away from.

C) By detailing what foods to avoid.

D) By identifying which cosmetic products to avoid.

3. What does the word This in paragraph 3 refer to?

A) The occurrence of a specific event in nature.

B) An increase in the number of sufferers.

C) The release of a document.

D) The presentation of a remedy.

4. For what time of the year does the writer emphasise the need for people to exercise more care?

A) When autumn changes to winter.

B) The end of August.

C) When winter changes to spring.

D) When spring changes to summer.

5. What other factors which can affect allergy sufferers, apart from plant activity, does the writer mention in
paragraph 4?

A) The contamination of the air by fungi.

B) Exposure to insects.

C) The contamination of the air by automobiles.

D) The effect of radiation from the sun.

6. In the fifth paragraph, the writer indicates that this research could benefit not only the medical establishment,
but also

A) the pharmaceutical industry.

B) the city councils.

C) family members of people with allergies.

D) the chemists who stock hay fever medicine.