Not until the final rehearsal (9) .......... the performers realise how much the building would shape the audience’s experience. Had the venue (10) .......... equipped with a conventional stage, the directors might never have considered (11) .......... audiences could move through the action. The company deliberately encouraged people to explore the rooms rather (12) .......... remaining seated in a single space.
Some spectators attended out of curiosity; others returned precisely (13) .......... they had been surprised by the intimacy of the performances. The company took no booking fee, (14) .......... did it guarantee that every event would be comfortable. (15) .......... the project has grown in popularity, it still depends on the goodwill of building owners. It has also attracted people (16) .......... would rarely consider themselves regular theatre-goers.
Because there was no fixed seating plan, ushers had to judge when a group was becoming too crowded and when it was safe to move people on. The directors also asked visitors to arrive early, since late entry could interrupt a scene taking place in a narrow corridor. These practical decisions mattered as much as the artistic idea. They were discussed with volunteers before every performance. That process kept expectations realistic for everyone involved.
Not until the final rehearsal (9) .......... the performers realise how much the building would shape the audience’s experience. Had the venue (10) .......... equipped with a conventional stage, the directors might never have considered (11) .......... audiences could move through the action. The company deliberately encouraged people to explore the rooms rather (12) .......... remaining seated in a single space.
Some spectators attended out of curiosity; others returned precisely (13) .......... they had been surprised by the intimacy of the performances. The company took no booking fee, (14) .......... did it guarantee that every event would be comfortable. (15) .......... the project has grown in popularity, it still depends on the goodwill of building owners. It has also attracted people (16) .......... would rarely consider themselves regular theatre-goers.
Because there was no fixed seating plan, ushers had to judge when a group was becoming too crowded and when it was safe to move people on. The directors also asked visitors to arrive early, since late entry could interrupt a scene taking place in a narrow corridor. These practical decisions mattered as much as the artistic idea. They were discussed with volunteers before every performance. That process kept expectations realistic for everyone involved.
Question 9
Exam guide & reading text▾
Why the venue matters — Part 2: Open Cloze
"Why the venue matters" targets the Open Cloze (Part 2) of the Cambridge C1 Proficiency exam. Unlike Part 1, no options are provided — you must supply single words (articles, prepositions, auxiliaries, pronouns, conjunctions or discourse markers) that complete the text grammatically and logically. Scan each gap for the grammatical slot it occupies: is it linking clauses, marking reference, or completing a fixed structure? Small words carry heavy weight at C2 level.
Not until the final rehearsal (9) .......... the performers realise how much the building would shape the audience’s experience. Had the venue (10) .......... equipped with a conventional stage, the directors might never have considered (11) .......... audiences could move through the action. The company deliberately encouraged people to explore the rooms rather (12) .......... remaining seated in a single space.
Some spectators attended out of curiosity; others returned precisely (13) .......... they had been surprised by the intimacy of the performances. The company took no booking fee, (14) .......... did it guarantee that every event would be comfortable. (15) .......... the project has grown in popularity, it still depends on the goodwill of building owners. It has also attracted people (16) .......... would rarely consider themselves regular theatre-goers.
Because there was no fixed seating plan, ushers had to judge when a group was becoming too crowded and when it was safe to move people on. The directors also asked visitors to arrive early, since late entry could interrupt a scene taking place in a narrow corridor. These practical decisions mattered as much as the artistic idea. They were discussed with volunteers before every performance. That process kept expectations realistic for everyone involved.