Signed and Sealed

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.

For most of us, the handwritten letter has been all (0) ___ replaced by email and instant messaging. Few would wish to go back to waiting days for a reply, yet something has been lost (1) ___ the process. A letter takes time to write, and that effort is precisely (2) ___ makes it so precious. Unlike a message dashed (3) ___ on a phone, it is something the recipient can hold, reread and keep for years (4) ___ come. Many people have a box of old letters tucked away somewhere that they would not part (5) ___ for anything. Letters also reveal far more about the writer (6) ___ a typed message ever could: the handwriting, the crossings-out and even the choice of paper all tell a story. Historians, too, have reason for concern. Our understanding of ordinary lives in the past owes a great deal (7) ___ letters, and it is by no (8) ___ certain that today's emails will survive long enough to tell future generations how we lived.

Signed and Sealed

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

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