Food for Free

C1 Advanced · Open Cloze · Cambridge Ready original exercise

For questions 1–8, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap. There is an example at the beginning.

Until fairly recently, picking blackberries from a hedge was about as close (0) ___ most of us came to foraging. Now, gathering wild food has become fashionable, with courses, books and even apps devoted (1) ___ the subject. Its appeal is easy to understand. There is something deeply satisfying about a meal for (2) ___ you have paid nothing, and foraging teaches people to look at the countryside with fresh eyes. To a forager, a patch of nettles is not so (3) ___ a nuisance to be avoided as the makings of a soup. Experts urge caution, however. Some wild mushrooms are deadly, and several closely resemble edible species, so beginners should never eat anything they cannot identify (4) ___ complete certainty. Conservationists, meanwhile, worry that popular spots could be picked bare, depriving insects and birds (5) ___ food they rely on. Responsible foragers follow a simple rule: take no more (6) ___ you need, and leave the rest for the creatures (7) ___ survival depends on it. Approached in this spirit, foraging can bring people closer to the natural world than any amount of reading (8) ___ it ever could.

Food for Free

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

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