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Exam guide & reading text

Why a Kettle Sounds DifferentPart 1: Multiple Choice Cloze

"Why a Kettle Sounds Different" is a Cambridge C1 Proficiency Multiple Choice Cloze (Part 1) practice exam. This task tests your command of collocations, idiomatic expressions, phrasal verbs and fixed phrases in context. Read the full text carefully before choosing each option — the correct answer often depends on what naturally follows the surrounding words, not grammar alone. Eliminate distractors that are grammatically possible but semantically wrong, and watch for subtle register shifts between formal and informal usage.

Read the full Part 1: Multiple Choice Cloze strategy guide →

Reading text

Most people (1) .......... little attention to the changing sound of a kettle, without noticing how much information it carries. As the water warms, tiny bubbles form on the metal base, but the noise is not (2) .......... from the start. Its character (3) .......... on the temperature, the shape of the container and even the amount of water inside. Early bubbles collapse before reaching the surface; later, they rise intact. The sound becomes (4) .......... smoother as boiling approaches. A listener may hear the kettle (5) .......... off a rough, uneven hiss before it settles into a steadier rush. This everyday process has provided useful (6) .......... for science teachers because it turns a familiar household sound into a question that can be tested. Students are (7) .......... to compare what they hear with thermometer readings, (8) .......... connecting an observation to a measurable change.