When a theatre company began performing in vacant warehouses, its aim was not simply to find cheaper premises. The idea (1) .......... shape after the group had been invited to stage a short scene in an empty railway office. What had (2) .......... out to be a one-off experiment soon began to (3) .......... rise to more ambitious productions. Some residents objected on the (4) .......... that temporary events would make the area less peaceful.
Yet the performances were a far (5) .......... from a conventional evening at the theatre. Audiences moved through the building, following actors from one room to another, and local history became part of the script. One production (6) .......... off a public debate about who had the right to use neglected buildings. As the project developed, practical planning had to keep (7) .......... with the imagination of the directors. That tension is precisely what set the company (8) .......... from more predictable arts organisations.
Choosing a building also meant negotiating with owners, insurers and local councils, none of whom had originally imagined the spaces being used in this way. The company soon learned that an empty building can carry memories for people who live nearby, so each production began with conversations rather than a ready-made script. Sometimes those discussions changed the planned route completely. This made each venue feel less like a backdrop and more like a collaborator.
When a theatre company began performing in vacant warehouses, its aim was not simply to find cheaper premises. The idea (1) .......... shape after the group had been invited to stage a short scene in an empty railway office. What had (2) .......... out to be a one-off experiment soon began to (3) .......... rise to more ambitious productions. Some residents objected on the (4) .......... that temporary events would make the area less peaceful.
Yet the performances were a far (5) .......... from a conventional evening at the theatre. Audiences moved through the building, following actors from one room to another, and local history became part of the script. One production (6) .......... off a public debate about who had the right to use neglected buildings. As the project developed, practical planning had to keep (7) .......... with the imagination of the directors. That tension is precisely what set the company (8) .......... from more predictable arts organisations.
Choosing a building also meant negotiating with owners, insurers and local councils, none of whom had originally imagined the spaces being used in this way. The company soon learned that an empty building can carry memories for people who live nearby, so each production began with conversations rather than a ready-made script. Sometimes those discussions changed the planned route completely. This made each venue feel less like a backdrop and more like a collaborator.
Question 1
Exam guide & reading text▾
Performing in unexpected places — Part 1: Multiple Choice Cloze
"Performing in unexpected places" 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.
When a theatre company began performing in vacant warehouses, its aim was not simply to find cheaper premises. The idea (1) .......... shape after the group had been invited to stage a short scene in an empty railway office. What had (2) .......... out to be a one-off experiment soon began to (3) .......... rise to more ambitious productions. Some residents objected on the (4) .......... that temporary events would make the area less peaceful.
Yet the performances were a far (5) .......... from a conventional evening at the theatre. Audiences moved through the building, following actors from one room to another, and local history became part of the script. One production (6) .......... off a public debate about who had the right to use neglected buildings. As the project developed, practical planning had to keep (7) .......... with the imagination of the directors. That tension is precisely what set the company (8) .......... from more predictable arts organisations.
Choosing a building also meant negotiating with owners, insurers and local councils, none of whom had originally imagined the spaces being used in this way. The company soon learned that an empty building can carry memories for people who live nearby, so each production began with conversations rather than a ready-made script. Sometimes those discussions changed the planned route completely. This made each venue feel less like a backdrop and more like a collaborator.