On a small coastal estate, residents have opened a workshop where damaged household items can be repaired instead of thrown away. The organisers did not expect the idea to (1) .......... off so quickly. Within weeks, people were bringing in lamps, chairs and kitchen appliances that they had assumed were beyond repair.
Volunteers are careful not to (2) .......... promises they cannot keep. Some objects require specialist parts, while others are not safe enough to be returned to use. Even so, the workshop has helped many visitors (3) .......... a more practical approach to buying things. It has also made them (4) .......... aware of how often small faults lead to unnecessary waste.
The project relies on people who are willing to (5) .......... in their spare time. At busy periods, the queue can (6) .......... up outside the door, but staff explain that each item needs to be examined properly. They say that taking shortcuts would (7) .......... the purpose of encouraging people to value repair. The workshop has now begun to (8) .......... in with local schools, offering short sessions on basic maintenance.
The workshop also holds short demonstrations in the nearby community hall. These focus on recognising when a simple repair is sensible and when an appliance should be taken to a qualified professional instead.
Visitors are also encouraged to watch rather than simply hand over an object. Seeing a fault traced step by step can make the repair process less mysterious and help people make better decisions at home.
On a small coastal estate, residents have opened a workshop where damaged household items can be repaired instead of thrown away. The organisers did not expect the idea to (1) .......... off so quickly. Within weeks, people were bringing in lamps, chairs and kitchen appliances that they had assumed were beyond repair.
Volunteers are careful not to (2) .......... promises they cannot keep. Some objects require specialist parts, while others are not safe enough to be returned to use. Even so, the workshop has helped many visitors (3) .......... a more practical approach to buying things. It has also made them (4) .......... aware of how often small faults lead to unnecessary waste.
The project relies on people who are willing to (5) .......... in their spare time. At busy periods, the queue can (6) .......... up outside the door, but staff explain that each item needs to be examined properly. They say that taking shortcuts would (7) .......... the purpose of encouraging people to value repair. The workshop has now begun to (8) .......... in with local schools, offering short sessions on basic maintenance.
The workshop also holds short demonstrations in the nearby community hall. These focus on recognising when a simple repair is sensible and when an appliance should be taken to a qualified professional instead.
Visitors are also encouraged to watch rather than simply hand over an object. Seeing a fault traced step by step can make the repair process less mysterious and help people make better decisions at home.
Question 1
Exam guide & reading text▾
Coastal repair workshop — Part 1: Multiple Choice Cloze
"Coastal repair workshop" 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.
On a small coastal estate, residents have opened a workshop where damaged household items can be repaired instead of thrown away. The organisers did not expect the idea to (1) .......... off so quickly. Within weeks, people were bringing in lamps, chairs and kitchen appliances that they had assumed were beyond repair.
Volunteers are careful not to (2) .......... promises they cannot keep. Some objects require specialist parts, while others are not safe enough to be returned to use. Even so, the workshop has helped many visitors (3) .......... a more practical approach to buying things. It has also made them (4) .......... aware of how often small faults lead to unnecessary waste.
The project relies on people who are willing to (5) .......... in their spare time. At busy periods, the queue can (6) .......... up outside the door, but staff explain that each item needs to be examined properly. They say that taking shortcuts would (7) .......... the purpose of encouraging people to value repair. The workshop has now begun to (8) .......... in with local schools, offering short sessions on basic maintenance.
The workshop also holds short demonstrations in the nearby community hall. These focus on recognising when a simple repair is sensible and when an appliance should be taken to a qualified professional instead.
Visitors are also encouraged to watch rather than simply hand over an object. Seeing a fault traced step by step can make the repair process less mysterious and help people make better decisions at home.