Many archaic words only (1) .......... to light when a local archive is catalogued in detail. The editors of one such archive (2) .......... out to record not just unusual words, but the situations in which people used them. They were careful to (3) .......... a distinction between a word that had disappeared and one whose meaning had merely shifted. A change in spelling does not necessarily (4) .......... to a change in meaning.
Some differences can be (5) .......... down to migration or trade, while others reflect the influence of schools and newspapers. Earlier compilers sometimes (6) .......... a blind eye to informal speech, assuming it was by no (7) .......... reliable enough to preserve. The new archive takes the opposite view: everyday language is worth recording precisely because it is in (8) .......... with the changing lives of its speakers.
Rather than treating a dictionary as a finished authority, the editors invite contributors to explain where and from whom they learned a word. A term that seems old-fashioned in one village may still be current in another, and a phrase may carry a meaning that is absent from formal records. The archive therefore places spoken examples beside written ones whenever permission has been given. In doing so, it traces not only vocabulary but also the relationships in which words acquire their force. This prevents the collection from reducing living language to a curiosity for casual visitors.
Many archaic words only (1) .......... to light when a local archive is catalogued in detail. The editors of one such archive (2) .......... out to record not just unusual words, but the situations in which people used them. They were careful to (3) .......... a distinction between a word that had disappeared and one whose meaning had merely shifted. A change in spelling does not necessarily (4) .......... to a change in meaning.
Some differences can be (5) .......... down to migration or trade, while others reflect the influence of schools and newspapers. Earlier compilers sometimes (6) .......... a blind eye to informal speech, assuming it was by no (7) .......... reliable enough to preserve. The new archive takes the opposite view: everyday language is worth recording precisely because it is in (8) .......... with the changing lives of its speakers.
Rather than treating a dictionary as a finished authority, the editors invite contributors to explain where and from whom they learned a word. A term that seems old-fashioned in one village may still be current in another, and a phrase may carry a meaning that is absent from formal records. The archive therefore places spoken examples beside written ones whenever permission has been given. In doing so, it traces not only vocabulary but also the relationships in which words acquire their force. This prevents the collection from reducing living language to a curiosity for casual visitors.
Question 1
Exam guide & reading text▾
A record of changing words — Part 1: Multiple Choice Cloze
"A record of changing words" 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.
Many archaic words only (1) .......... to light when a local archive is catalogued in detail. The editors of one such archive (2) .......... out to record not just unusual words, but the situations in which people used them. They were careful to (3) .......... a distinction between a word that had disappeared and one whose meaning had merely shifted. A change in spelling does not necessarily (4) .......... to a change in meaning.
Some differences can be (5) .......... down to migration or trade, while others reflect the influence of schools and newspapers. Earlier compilers sometimes (6) .......... a blind eye to informal speech, assuming it was by no (7) .......... reliable enough to preserve. The new archive takes the opposite view: everyday language is worth recording precisely because it is in (8) .......... with the changing lives of its speakers.
Rather than treating a dictionary as a finished authority, the editors invite contributors to explain where and from whom they learned a word. A term that seems old-fashioned in one village may still be current in another, and a phrase may carry a meaning that is absent from formal records. The archive therefore places spoken examples beside written ones whenever permission has been given. In doing so, it traces not only vocabulary but also the relationships in which words acquire their force. This prevents the collection from reducing living language to a curiosity for casual visitors.