Where Lost Things Go

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.

close

stop

end

cease

heap

pile

bulk

stack

outlandish

outright

outspoken

outlying

declare

require

demand

claim

deal

sum

amount

number

set

write

lay

put

rival

vie

contest

oppose

misses

lacks

fails

omits

Every year, millions of items are (0) ___ behind on trains, buses and trams, and a great many of them (1) ___ up at the lost property office of a large city. Umbrellas, gloves and phones make up the (2) ___ of the haul, but staff have grown used to rather more (3) ___ finds: a stuffed owl, a set of false teeth, a wedding dress still in its bag. Each item is logged and stored for a set period in the hope that its owner will come forward to (4) ___ it. The rate of return, however, leaves a great (5) ___ to be desired; fewer than one item in five is ever collected. Some owners, presumably, (6) ___ the loss down to experience and simply buy a replacement; others may not even realise where they mislaid it. Unclaimed goods are eventually donated to charity or sold at auction, where bargain hunters (7) ___ for everything from bicycles to cellos. For the staff, the job has its rewards. Reuniting a distraught traveller with a cherished heirloom, one employee remarked, never (8) ___ to lift the spirits.

Where Lost Things Go

forgotten

lost

left

missed

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

More C2 Proficiency Multiple Choice Cloze practice · All C2 Proficiency practice