Good Losers

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.

gracefully

gratefully

gratuitously

graphically

hails

storms

rains

snows

debating

rebating

abating

berating

time

hour

day

moment

paid

payable

overdue

due

refusing

resisting

rejecting

repelling

jaw

nose

chin

cheek

bounce

bob

hop

bound

Every contest, (0) ___ definition, produces at least as many losers as winners, yet we pay far more attention to the art of winning than to the art of losing (1) ___ . Most of us have seen the alternative: the player who (2) ___ off without shaking hands, or the parent on the touchline (3) ___ the referee for decisions that were perfectly fair. Losing well does not mean pretending that defeat is unimportant. It means accepting that the better side won on the (4) ___ , giving credit where it is (5) ___ and (6) ___ the temptation to blame the pitch, the weather or the officials. Paradoxically, those who can take defeat on the (7) ___ tend to (8) ___ back more quickly than those who cannot, since they waste less energy on grievance and more on working out what went wrong. Children who learn this lesson early may find it serves them well long after they have stopped playing games, in classrooms, offices and anywhere else where things do not always go their way.

Good Losers

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

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