Voices from the Brink

C2 Proficiency · Multiple Choice Cloze · Cambridge Ready original exercise

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.

prospect

aspect

perspective

retrospect

unanimously

unitedly

unilaterally

uniformly

foot

hand

way

course

prescribed

transcribed

subscribed

ascribed

submerged

drowned

immersed

dipped

for

to

with

against

make

take

set

lay

legs

feet

knees

arms

Of the seven thousand or so languages spoken today, around half are (0) ___ to disappear by the end of the century. When the last fluent speaker of a language dies, a unique (1) ___ on the world is lost with them. Yet the picture is not (2) ___ bleak. In a number of communities, determined efforts are under (3) ___ to bring endangered languages back from the brink. Elders who grew up speaking a language at home are recorded telling stories and singing songs, and their words are painstakingly (4) ___ into dictionaries and teaching materials. Some communities have set up 'language nests', nurseries in which young children are (5) ___ in the language from infancy. Such projects are up (6) ___ considerable odds. A language cannot be revived by enthusiasts alone; it must (7) ___ root in everyday life, used at the dinner table and in the playground rather than only in the classroom. Nevertheless, there are encouraging precedents, and linguists insist that, given sufficient commitment, even a language on its last (8) ___ can be nursed back to health.

Voices from the Brink

expected

awaited

looked

waited

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

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