The dangers of miscommunication - Module 4

C1 Advanced · Multiple Choice Cloze · Advanced Expert Student's Resource Book, Pearson Education

For questions 1–8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. There is an example at the beginning.

honesty

reality

actuality

validity

Give

Regard

Take

View

regardless

nonetheless

irrespective

whatever

ending

totalling

finalising

summing

abruptly

shortly

roughly

sharply

issue

fact

point

truth

adopt

resume

deliver

enact

remembering

recalling

reminding

reviewing

As the world becomes more global, it is easy to (0) ___ prey to the illusion that you can communicate easily across cultures simply by using the English language. In (1) ___ , miscommunications abound, especially in a business context. (2) ___ the English expression with all due respect, for example. If you're British, this is a polite way of signalling that you're about to disagree with somebody, but this signal could easily be missed or misinterpreted in an international business meeting. What's more, cultural conventions tend to persist (3) ___ language is being spoken. For example, in the USA it is important to finish a meeting by (4) ___ up the key points, whereas in Europe meetings often end (5) ___ without this level of clarification. In some cultures, managers giving negative feedback to staff will come straight to the (6) ___ , but use reassuring language; in others it may be impolite to (7) ___ such a direct approach. Clearly, the best way to avoid such breakdowns in communication is to keep (8) ___ ourselves that these differences exist.

The dangers of miscommunication

fall

get

come

have

Available as a free printable PDF worksheet with an optional answer key.

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