Time and the rotation of the Earth - Test 1

C1 Advanced · Multiple Choice Cloze · Cambridge English Advanced 3, Cambridge University Press

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

designed

targeted

framed

drafted

delaying

lessening

slowing

declining

advice

notice

information

instruction

compelling

making

causing

influencing

came

fell

ran

went

argue

disagree

dispute

question

governable

controllable

manageable

adaptable

join

link

chain

union

As all school children know, there are 60 seconds in a minute. But every so often, our planet (0) ___ a second. The addition of what's called a 'leap second' is (1) ___ to allow the Earth's rotation, which is gradually (2) ___ to catch up with atomic clocks – the world's most accurate time-keepers. This sounds simple, but according to scientists, because they only get six months' (3) ___ of the need to add a leap second, it's difficult to insert it into computers without mistakes being made, (4) ___ systems to fail temporarily. In 2012, a leap second was added on a weekend but it resulted in over 400 flights in one country being grounded as the check-in system (5) ___ down. Some countries are in favour of abolishing leap seconds while others (6) ___ that the technical challenges are (7) ___ if everyone adds the second in the same way and at the same time. They say that we have always taken the Earth's rotation as the ultimate reference for timekeeping and we shouldn't break this (8) ___ without considering the consequences.

Time and the rotation of the Earth

earns

gains

wins

obtained

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

More C1 Advanced Multiple Choice Cloze practice · All C1 Advanced practice