Close the Book

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.

Ask students how they prepare (0) ___ an exam, and most will describe much the same method: reading through their notes again and again, highlighting key points in a variety (1) ___ colours. It feels productive, but research suggests that it does surprisingly little (2) ___ help us remember. Familiarity with a page is all too easily mistaken (3) ___ genuine understanding. Far more effective is the habit (4) ___ testing oneself: closing the book and trying to write down everything we can recall. This is harder work, and that is exactly the point. The harder the brain has to work to retrieve something, the (5) ___ firmly it seems to be stored. Getting answers wrong is no cause (6) ___ alarm. On the contrary, making an attempt (7) ___ a question before checking the answer appears to make the correct answer more memorable. Students who swap rereading for regular self-testing often find that they remember considerably more, and (8) ___ less time, too.

Close the Book

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

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