B2 First · Use of English · Module 1, Lesson 2

Part 2: Open Cloze

Eight gaps, no options this time — you write the word yourself. Every gap is a grammar word, and there is exactly one correct answer (plus, sometimes, a couple of accepted variants).

8 gaps 1 mark each 8–10 min target one word per gap
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What this part really tests

Part 2 checks whether you control the small "grammar words" that hold an English sentence together — articles, prepositions, relative pronouns, auxiliaries, comparatives, linkers, pronouns, and quantifiers. There are no options to choose from, so you need to recognize the pattern and produce the exact word yourself.

The examiner's method

  1. Read the whole text first to understand the topic and tone before filling anything in.
  2. At each gap, decide the word class you need from its position: article? preposition? pronoun? linker?
  3. Check both sides of the gap. Grammar words are usually fixed by a pattern elsewhere in the sentence — a relative clause, a comparative "than", a fixed preposition after a verb.
  4. Write exactly one word. Never two words, and never leave a gap empty.
  5. Re-read the completed sentence to check it sounds natural and grammatically whole.

The eight gap categories

Articles / determiners
a, an, the, this, these
Prepositions
of, in, on, at, to, for, with
Relatives
who, which, that, whose, where
Auxiliaries / modals
is, has, would, should, could, been
Comparatives
than, as, more, less
Linkers
but, so, although, because, however
Pronouns
it, they, them, his, her, one
Quantifiers
some, any, many, much, most, every

Worked example

Teenagers who spend too much time indoors are often less aware ___ how their mood changes with daylight.
  1. Look at the word right before the gap: "aware ___".
  2. "Aware" is always followed by a fixed preposition when it links to what someone is conscious of.
  3. That fixed preposition is "of" — no other preposition ever follows "aware" in this sense.
  4. Answer: of.
Try

Micro-trainer — one gap per category

Eight short sentences, each testing one of the eight categories above. Type your answer and press Check.

Try score: 0 / 8
Ready for the real thing? Scroll down to Apply — a brand new 8-gap passage in full exam format, against the clock.
Apply

Exam-format practice

A new 8-gap passage, official Part 2 format. Aim to finish before the timer runs out — then check your answers below.

10:00

Looking for Life on Mars

For decades, scientists (1) wondered whether Mars once supported any form of life. Recent rover missions have found traces of organic molecules in ancient rock, (2) does not prove life existed but does show the right chemical building blocks were present. Researchers are now comparing these findings (3) similar molecules found on Earth in extremely dry environments; (4) helps them judge how the Martian samples might have formed.

The next major step will come from (5) new space telescope, expected to launch within the decade, which will study planets around other stars for signs of oxygen or methane. If astronomers find (6) of these gases in the right combination, it could point to a living planet far beyond our solar system.

Even so, most scientists agree that proving life exists elsewhere will take (7) longer than any single mission, and that the search depends on international teams sharing data openly rather (8) working alone.

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