A small research group has begun to explore how residents interpret the sounds of their own neighbourhoods. Instead of simply measuring decibels, the group uses guided walks to (1) .......... attention to sounds that are easily ignored: delivery carts at dawn, ventilation systems above shops and birdsong in narrow streets. The proposal initially (2) .......... with suspicion, partly because some residents assumed that the project would result in fresh restrictions. Participants are asked to (3) .......... note of the places where a sound changes their sense of safety, privacy or belonging.
The researchers have not (4) .......... away from uncomfortable findings. In one area, for example, late-night noise was associated less with traffic than with a lack of places where young people could meet indoors. The project has (5) .......... itself to a broader investigation of how public space is shared. Yet the team refuses to (6) .......... judgment on what a neighbourhood ought to sound like. Rather, the walks have (7) .......... into focus assumptions that are rarely discussed openly. The experience is likely to (8) .......... with anyone who has ever noticed that a familiar street can sound entirely different after dark.
To avoid treating the city as a single acoustic problem, the team compares observations made by shopkeepers, school pupils and night workers. Their accounts often differ, not because any is unreliable, but because each person notices sounds connected with a particular routine.
A small research group has begun to explore how residents interpret the sounds of their own neighbourhoods. Instead of simply measuring decibels, the group uses guided walks to (1) .......... attention to sounds that are easily ignored: delivery carts at dawn, ventilation systems above shops and birdsong in narrow streets. The proposal initially (2) .......... with suspicion, partly because some residents assumed that the project would result in fresh restrictions. Participants are asked to (3) .......... note of the places where a sound changes their sense of safety, privacy or belonging.
The researchers have not (4) .......... away from uncomfortable findings. In one area, for example, late-night noise was associated less with traffic than with a lack of places where young people could meet indoors. The project has (5) .......... itself to a broader investigation of how public space is shared. Yet the team refuses to (6) .......... judgment on what a neighbourhood ought to sound like. Rather, the walks have (7) .......... into focus assumptions that are rarely discussed openly. The experience is likely to (8) .......... with anyone who has ever noticed that a familiar street can sound entirely different after dark.
To avoid treating the city as a single acoustic problem, the team compares observations made by shopkeepers, school pupils and night workers. Their accounts often differ, not because any is unreliable, but because each person notices sounds connected with a particular routine.
Question 1
Exam guide & reading text▾
Listening to the city — Part 1: Multiple Choice Cloze
"Listening to the city" 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.
A small research group has begun to explore how residents interpret the sounds of their own neighbourhoods. Instead of simply measuring decibels, the group uses guided walks to (1) .......... attention to sounds that are easily ignored: delivery carts at dawn, ventilation systems above shops and birdsong in narrow streets. The proposal initially (2) .......... with suspicion, partly because some residents assumed that the project would result in fresh restrictions. Participants are asked to (3) .......... note of the places where a sound changes their sense of safety, privacy or belonging.
The researchers have not (4) .......... away from uncomfortable findings. In one area, for example, late-night noise was associated less with traffic than with a lack of places where young people could meet indoors. The project has (5) .......... itself to a broader investigation of how public space is shared. Yet the team refuses to (6) .......... judgment on what a neighbourhood ought to sound like. Rather, the walks have (7) .......... into focus assumptions that are rarely discussed openly. The experience is likely to (8) .......... with anyone who has ever noticed that a familiar street can sound entirely different after dark.
To avoid treating the city as a single acoustic problem, the team compares observations made by shopkeepers, school pupils and night workers. Their accounts often differ, not because any is unreliable, but because each person notices sounds connected with a particular routine.