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How To Score Full Marks In The Cloze Test?
Cloze test is an important part of the English Language section especially when it comes to government job examinations. In the SSC CGL Tier 2 exam, 200 questions will be asked from the English Language with 1 mark each to be attempted in 2 hours. SSC CGL Tier 2 exam dates can be out soon. Cloze test comprises of 25 marks in Paper 2. How can you excel in this section and gain full marks in cloze test? What are the tips and strategy that needs to be adopted while appearing for the exam? Check out the article below.
SSC CGL Cut Off Out for Tier 1, Check Post-wise Cut Off Marks
What is Cloze Test?
How to Score 170+ in English for SSC CGL Tier 2 Exam?
How to solve cloze test questions in the exam?
What must be your approach to solve the cloze test questions asked in the exam? Check out the approach that must be adopted by you to attempt questions based on the Cloze test:
1. Read
The first thing that you must do is read the passage thoroughly. You must scan the passage and know the context of the paragraph. After reading, it becomes easy to understand what the passage wants to convey.
2. Understand the tone of the passage
The tone of the passage must be understood. Is the passage in past tense or present? The passage asked can be a story based on simple sentences or criticising an ideology with complex sentences. It can be an opinion of a writer or an extract from a book, newspaper etc. Understand the theme of the passage and how the sentences are connected to each other.
3. Link the sentences together
Try to link a sentence from the previous sentence of the paragraph. Make sure that the contextual meaning of the word fits in the sentence as per the tone of the paragraph. The word that you choose as your answer must fit grammatically and contextually.
4. Eliminate Options
If you are having difficulty with choosing the correct answer, then you must opt for the elimination method. More than one option may have a similar meaning but you must eliminate the word that doesn’t fit contextually in the sentence.
5. Use the correct form and never guess the answers
Make sure you use the correct form of verb, tense, adjective etc in the sentence. Learn the difference between tense and their usage. You must know where to use V1, V2, V3, V4 and V5 form of verbs. Also, never do guesswork while answering your questions.
How to prepare for Cloze test?
- Reading skills
Improvize your reading speed as that is a key factor while solving questions based on cloze test. You must have the ability to read quickly and understand what the cloze test is all about. To improve reading skills, start reading on a regular basis whether its novels, newspapers, magazines or e-books. - Stronghold on General English
In order to ace the cloze test, your General English must be strong. You must know if the word is grammatically correct and fits in the sentence. Memorize all the rules of General English including adjectives, forms of verb, adverbs, connectors, conjunctions, prepositions, etc. - Build your vocabulary
You must build your vocabulary for cloze test as some words given in the options can be difficult to understand. Learn new words every day including their synonyms and antonyms. Make sure to learn the usage of words as well. - Practice Enough
Practice enough before appearing for the ultimate exam. Practising cloze test daily will help you improve your speed and accuracy. Make it a habit to practice regularly to score full marks in the cloze test.
Cloze Test Examples:
Directions (1 to 10): In the following passage some words have been deleted. Fill in the blanks with the help of the alternatives given. Select the most appropriate option for each blank.
Unsafe working conditions and improper handling of (1) ___________ raw materials continue to endanger lives in the fireworks industry. Last week, 11 workers were (2)__________ at a fireworks unit in Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar district. Police data (3) _________ that in the past decade, at least 239 people have perished and over 265 injured in 142 accidents in fireworks units. Such tragedies have not been confined to Sivakasi, (4)_________ the fireworks capital of the world, where most such units are concentrated. In and around Sivakasi, the manufacturing of firecrackers in makeshift unlicensed units, rough handling of chemicals by untrained and unskilled workers, spillage or overloading of chemicals during the filling process, and working outside permitted areas (5)___________ identified as major causes for past accidents. In the recent tragedy too, the workers were engaged in manufacturing ‘fancy aerial crackers’ for which the unit did not have a licence. Preliminary investigations suggest that mishandling of chemicals could have triggered an (6)___________
Occasional accidents in an industry (7) _________ explosive materials may seem inevitable. But the probability of such mishaps can certainly be (8) _______by adopting safe work practices, complying (9)________ rules and through cohesive monitoring by Central and State licensing and enforcement authorities. Crackdowns against violators have been (10)____________ despite illegal sub-leasing of works to unlicensed cottage units becoming a widely acknowledged practice in the industry.
Q1. Select the most appropriate option for blank No.1.
(a) incombustible
(b) inflammable
(c) asbestos
(d) non-flammable
Q2. Select the most appropriate option for blank No.2.
(a) cheered
(b) charade
(c) charred
(d) chopped
Q3. Select the most appropriate option for blank No.3.
(a) infers
(b) argue
(c) concludes
(d) show
Q4. Select the most appropriate option for blank No.4.
(a) designed
(b) dreamt
(c) diluted
(d) deemed
Q5. Select the most appropriate option for blank No.5.
(a) has been
(b) had been
(c) have been
(d) is
Q6. Select the most appropriate option for blank No.6.
(a) expulsion
(b) explosion
(c) excursion
(d) extension
Q7. Select the most appropriate option for blank No.7.
(a) dealing with
(b) dealing for
(c) dealing to
(d) dealing in
Q8. Select the most appropriate option for blank No.8.
(a) reduced
(b) elevated
(c) raised
(d) spread
Q9. Select the most appropriate option for blank No.9.
(a) to
(b) with
(c) of
(d) None of the above
Q10. Select the most appropriate option for blank No.10.
(a) a few or far between
(b) few and the far between
(c) the few and far between
(d) few and far between
Solutions
S1. Ans. (b)
Sol. In subsequent part of the passage, we can see that ‘the fireworks industry’ is being talked about. Hence ‘inflammable’ is the correct word to fill the blank 1 as inflammable means easily set on fire.
While Incombustible means consisting or made of material that does not burn if exposed to fire and Asbestos means a soft, gray-white material that does not burn.
S2. Ans.(c)
Sol. Charade: an act or event that is obviously false, although represented as true.
Charred: burnt and blackened.
Chop: cut (something) into pieces with repeated sharp blows of an axe or knife.
Hence option C is the correct choice.
S3. Ans.(d)
Sol. Data is a plural noun which bags for a plural verb. Hence ‘show’ is the correct choice as it also adds a meaning to the sentence.
S4. Ans.(d)
Sol. The passage says ‘such tragedies have not been confined to Sivakasi only but also consider the fireworks capital of the world, where most such units are concentrated’. Hence ‘deem’ is the correct choice as deem means to consider or judge something in a particular way.
S5. Ans.(c)
Sol. Following the subject-verb agreement rule, when two or more than two nouns are connected with ‘and’ take plural verb as long as they don’t imply a single idea or subject. Now in the passage, ‘the manufacturing of firecrackers in makeshift unlicensed units, rough handling of chemicals by untrained and unskilled workers, spillage or overloading of chemicals during the filling process, and working outside permitted areas’ will take plural verb. Hence ‘have been’ is the correct choice as it also justifies the tense of the passage.
S6. Ans.(b)
Sol. Expulsion: the action of forcing someone to leave an organization.
Explosion: a violent shattering or blowing apart of something, as is caused by a bomb.
Excursion: a short journey or trip, especially one taken as a leisure activity.
Extension: a part that is added to something to enlarge or prolong it.
S7. Ans.(d)
Sol. Deal in: to buy or sell something , to trade.
For e.g. She deals in share market.
Deal with: to handle something, to approach something.
For e.g. She patiently deals with his arrogant nature.
S8. Ans.(a)
Sol. Reduce: make smaller or less in amount, degree, or size.
Hence option (a) is the correct choice.
S9. Ans.(b)
Sol. The standard form for the phrasal verb of ‘comply’ is “comply with,” which means “to act or be in accordance with a wish, request, demand, requirement, or condition.
S10. Ans.(d)
Sol. ‘Few and far between’ is an idiom which means not frequent; not happening often.
