Directions:(1-5) Read the following passage and fill in the blanks with the most appropriate choices.

1.The most illustrious monarch of the Middle Ages was doubtless Charlemagne. Certainly he was the first great statesman, hero, and organizer that looms up to view after the __(1)__ of the Roman Empire. To him we date the first memorable step which Europe __(2)__ out of the anarchies of the Merovingian age. His dream was to __(3)__ the Empire that had fallen. He was the first to labor, with giant strength, to restore what vice and violence had destroyed. He did not __(4)__ in realizing the great ends to which he aspired, but his aspirations were lofty. It was not in the power of any man to civilize semi-barbarians in a single reign; but if he attempted impossibilities he did not live in vain, since he bequeathed some permanent conquests and some great traditions. He left a great __(5)__ to civilization.

Ans:3
From reading the line which follows the blank, it is evident that author is discussing the things in the context in which the European empire had fallen. ‘strengthening’ implies completely opposite meaning and hence can be ruled out. ‘greatness’ and ‘debt’ are unrelated to the context and hence can be ruled out. Only ‘dissolution’ conveys the intended meaning. Hence the correct answer is option C.

2.The most illustrious monarch of the Middle Ages was doubtless Charlemagne. Certainly he was the first great statesman, hero, and organizer that looms up to view after the __(1)__ of the Roman Empire. To him we date the first memorable step which Europe __(2)__ out of the anarchies of the Merovingian age. His dream was to __(3)__ the Empire that had fallen. He was the first to labor, with giant strength, to restore what vice and violence had destroyed. He did not __(4)__ in realizing the great ends to which he aspired, but his aspirations were lofty. It was not in the power of any man to civilize semi-barbarians in a single reign; but if he attempted impossibilities he did not live in vain, since he bequeathed some permanent conquests and some great traditions. He left a great __(5)__ to civilization.

Ans:2
‘made a step’ and ‘opted a step’ are meaningless phrases. Hence options C and A can be ruled out. From the given context, it is clear that he took the initiative to bring Europe out from the anarchies of the Merovingian age. Thus ‘caught’ and ‘pushed’ also do not make sense in the given context. Hence, the correct choice is option B.

3.The most illustrious monarch of the Middle Ages was doubtless Charlemagne. Certainly he was the first great statesman, hero, and organizer that looms up to view after the __(1)__ of the Roman Empire. To him we date the first memorable step which Europe __(2)__ out of the anarchies of the Merovingian age. His dream was to __(3)__ the Empire that had fallen. He was the first to labor, with giant strength, to restore what vice and violence had destroyed. He did not __(4)__ in realizing the great ends to which he aspired, but his aspirations were lofty. It was not in the power of any man to civilize semi-barbarians in a single reign; but if he attempted impossibilities he did not live in vain, since he bequeathed some permanent conquests and some great traditions. He left a great __(5)__ to civilization.

Ans:4
From the given context it can be inferred that he wanted to rebuild the empire that had fallen. You don’t ‘destroy’ a thing which is already fallen. Hence ‘c’ is incorrect.
E is completely unrelated to the given context. Hence we can rule that out as well. ‘rise’ is grammatically incorrect. It should be ‘raise’ in the given context. Hence ‘rise’ is incorrect. Expanding the empire which is already destroyed doesn’t make sense. You expand an empire when it is stable. For an empire which is fallen, you have to rebuild it. Hence ‘revive’ is the best choice in the given context.

4.The most illustrious monarch of the Middle Ages was doubtless Charlemagne. Certainly he was the first great statesman, hero, and organizer that looms up to view after the __(1)__ of the Roman Empire. To him we date the first memorable step which Europe __(2)__ out of the anarchies of the Merovingian age. His dream was to __(3)__ the Empire that had fallen. He was the first to labor, with giant strength, to restore what vice and violence had destroyed. He did not __(4)__ in realizing the great ends to which he aspired, but his aspirations were lofty. It was not in the power of any man to civilize semi-barbarians in a single reign; but if he attempted impossibilities he did not live in vain, since he bequeathed some permanent conquests and some great traditions. He left a great __(5)__ to civilization.

Ans:5
The usage of ‘but’ in the second part of the sentence suggests that he could not achieve what he aspired for. ‘not’ is already present before the blank so the usage of ‘fail’ would convey the meaning that he succeeded in achieving his goals but this would be contradictory to what is suggested in the subsequent lines. Hence ‘fail’ can be ruled out. ‘enjoy’ and ‘achieve’ do not convey any logical meaning to the sentence. Hence both these can be ruled out as well. Among ‘pass’ and ;succeed’ the latter one is a better choice as we use ‘pass’ mostly in academic contexts. For example, we don’t say, I passed in ‘getting a job’. Hence pass is incorrect. Hence option E is correct.

5.The most illustrious monarch of the Middle Ages was doubtless Charlemagne. Certainly he was the first great statesman, hero, and organizer that looms up to view after the __(1)__ of the Roman Empire. To him we date the first memorable step which Europe __(2)__ out of the anarchies of the Merovingian age. His dream was to __(3)__ the Empire that had fallen. He was the first to labor, with giant strength, to restore what vice and violence had destroyed. He did not __(4)__ in realizing the great ends to which he aspired, but his aspirations were lofty. It was not in the power of any man to civilize semi-barbarians in a single reign; but if he attempted impossibilities he did not live in vain, since he bequeathed some permanent conquests and some great traditions. He left a great __(5)__ to civilization.

Ans:4
The author has praised his work in the paragraph. Thus, he must have done something positive. So the word in the blank should have positive connotation. In the line preceding the blank the author talks about he set some great traditions. ‘leaving an achievement to the civilization’ is a meaningless phrase. Similarly ‘success’ also does not convey the desired meaning. Hence we can rule out options C and E. You leave your kingdom or empire to some successor not the civilization, hence A and B can also be ruled out. Thus, option D is the correct answer as it fits the blank logically and conveys the desired meaning.

Directions:(6-10) Instructions-In the given passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. Against each, five words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case.
6.In the old legend of Rip Van Winkle with which the American writer Washington Irving has made us so ___(6)___, the ne’er-do-weel Rip wanders off into the Kaatskill Mountains with his dog and gun in order to escape from his wife’s scolding tongue. Here he meets the spectre crew of Captain Hudson, and, after partaking of their ___(7)___, falls into a deep sleep which lasts for twenty years. The latter part of the story describes the changes which he finds on his return to his native village: nearly all the old, familiar faces are gone; manners, dress, and speech are all (8). He feels like a in a strange land.
Now, it is a good thing sometimes to take a look back, to try to ___(9)___ over the changes for good or for evil which have taken place in this country of ours; to try to understand clearly why the reign of a great Queen should have ___(10)___ its mark upon our history in such a way that men speak of the Victorian Age as one of the greatest ages that have ever been.

Ans:4
From the context of the passage we can infer that the blank requires a word similar to “acquainted”. The only option similar to this is option D.

7.In the old legend of Rip Van Winkle with which the American writer Washington Irving has made us so ___(6)___, the ne’er-do-weel Rip wanders off into the Kaatskill Mountains with his dog and gun in order to escape from his wife’s scolding tongue. Here he meets the spectre crew of Captain Hudson, and, after partaking of their ___(7)___, falls into a deep sleep which lasts for twenty years. The latter part of the story describes the changes which he finds on his return to his native village: nearly all the old, familiar faces are gone; manners, dress, and speech are all (8). He feels like a in a strange land.
Now, it is a good thing sometimes to take a look back, to try to ___(9)___ over the changes for good or for evil which have taken place in this country of ours; to try to understand clearly why the reign of a great Queen should have ___(10)___ its mark upon our history in such a way that men speak of the Victorian Age as one of the greatest ages that have ever been.

Ans:2
From the context we can infer that the blank requires a word that means similar to “ friendly reception”. Only option B has meaning similar to this and is the right choice.

8.In the old legend of Rip Van Winkle with which the American writer Washington Irving has made us so ___(6)___, the ne’er-do-weel Rip wanders off into the Kaatskill Mountains with his dog and gun in order to escape from his wife’s scolding tongue. Here he meets the spectre crew of Captain Hudson, and, after partaking of their ___(7)___, falls into a deep sleep which lasts for twenty years. The latter part of the story describes the changes which he finds on his return to his native village: nearly all the old, familiar faces are gone; manners, dress, and speech are all (8). He feels like a in a strange land.
Now, it is a good thing sometimes to take a look back, to try to ___(9)___ over the changes for good or for evil which have taken place in this country of ours; to try to understand clearly why the reign of a great Queen should have ___(10)___ its mark upon our history in such a way that men speak of the Victorian Age as one of the greatest ages that have ever been.

Ans:5
From the context of the passage we can infer that the blank requires a word similar to “different”. Only option E has the correct meaning and the correct tense suitable for this and is the correct choice.

9.In the old legend of Rip Van Winkle with which the American writer Washington Irving has made us so ___(6)___, the ne’er-do-weel Rip wanders off into the Kaatskill Mountains with his dog and gun in order to escape from his wife’s scolding tongue. Here he meets the spectre crew of Captain Hudson, and, after partaking of their ___(7)___, falls into a deep sleep which lasts for twenty years. The latter part of the story describes the changes which he finds on his return to his native village: nearly all the old, familiar faces are gone; manners, dress, and speech are all (8). He feels like a in a strange land.
Now, it is a good thing sometimes to take a look back, to try to ___(9)___ over the changes for good or for evil which have taken place in this country of ours; to try to understand clearly why the reign of a great Queen should have ___(10)___ its mark upon our history in such a way that men speak of the Victorian Age as one of the greatest ages that have ever been.

Ans:2
From the context we can infer that the blank requires a word that means similar to “calculate”. Only option B satisfies this and thus B is the right choice.

10.In the old legend of Rip Van Winkle with which the American writer Washington Irving has made us so ___(6)___, the ne’er-do-weel Rip wanders off into the Kaatskill Mountains with his dog and gun in order to escape from his wife’s scolding tongue. Here he meets the spectre crew of Captain Hudson, and, after partaking of their ___(7)___, falls into a deep sleep which lasts for twenty years. The latter part of the story describes the changes which he finds on his return to his native village: nearly all the old, familiar faces are gone; manners, dress, and speech are all (8). He feels like a in a strange land.
Now, it is a good thing sometimes to take a look back, to try to ___(9)___ over the changes for good or for evil which have taken place in this country of ours; to try to understand clearly why the reign of a great Queen should have ___(10)___ its mark upon our history in such a way that men speak of the Victorian Age as one of the greatest ages that have ever been.

Ans:3
From the options the best word that fits the context in the blank is “left”. Thus, option C is the right choice.

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1 thought on “Cloze Test in English For Competitive Exams”

  1. Mac Ferrera

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