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C2 Proficiency · 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.

The umbrella is now so closely associated (0) ___ grey skies that it is easy to forget that its original purpose was to keep the sun at (1) ___ . In hot climates, a canopy held over a person's head was a mark of rank, and to walk beneath one was to announce one's importance to all and (2) ___ . When the device was first adapted for rain in damp northern cities, it met with ridicule. Men who carried one were reportedly jeered at in the street, the umbrella being regarded (3) ___ fit only for women. A true gentleman, it was felt, should either brave the weather or travel by carriage, and to carry an umbrella was tantamount (4) ___ admitting that you could not afford a carriage. In time, of course, practicality carried the (5) ___ . Yet the basic design has changed remarkably little. Inventors have tried time and (6) ___ to improve on it, but none of their ideas has ever really caught (7) ___ . A canopy stretched over folding ribs, it seems, is one of those rare designs that can hardly be bettered: it is, quite simply, as good as it (8) ___ .

Under Cover

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