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New Pattern Cloze Test from the Economist:Part 4

Published on Saturday, July 08, 2017
Directions (1-10): In the passage given below, there are 10 blanks, each followed by a word given in bold and has four alternative words given in options (a), (b), (c) and (d). You have to tell which word will best suit in the given blank. Mark (e) as your answer if the word given in bold after the blank is your answer.

The battle-line are drawn. When the world’s big trading nations -------- (1) adjourn-----------this week at a G20 summit in Hamburg, the stage is set for a clash between a protectionist America and a free – trading Germany.
President Donald Trump has already --------(2) pulled down -------- of one trade pact, the Trans-pacific partnership, and demanded the renegotiation of another, the North American Free- Trade agreement. He is weighing whether to impose tariffs on steel imports into America, a move that would almost certainly -------- (3) provoke--------- ---------- (4) castigation -------------. The threat of a trade war has ---------- (5) hung over --------the Trump presidency since January. In contrast,
Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor and the summit’s host, will bang the drum for free trade. In a thinly veiled attack on Mr Trump, she believed a speech on June 29th ---------- (6) approving ----------the forces of protectionism and isolationism. An imminent free-trade deal between japan and the European Union will add substance to her --------- (7) rhetoric ----------.
There is no question who has the better of this argument. Mr Trump’s doctrine that trade must be balanced to be fair is economically illiterate. His belief that tariffs will level the playing field is naïve and -------- (8) beneficial: ----------- they would shrink prosperity for all. But in one respect, at least Mr Trump has grasped an inconvenient truth. He has --------- (9) approved---------Germany for its trade surplus, which stood at almost $300bn last year, the world’s largest (China’s hoard was a mere $ 200bn). His threatened solution – to put a stop to sales of German cars – may be self – defeating, but the fact is that Germany saves too much and spends too little. And the size and persistence of Germany’s savings -------- (10) hoard ---------makes it an awkward defender of free trade.

1. Find out the appropriate word:

a) Convoked
b) Mustering
c) Convene
d) Disperse
e) No change

2. Find out the appropriate word:
a) Pulled off
b) Pull through
c) Pull with
d) Pulled out
e) No change

3. Find out the appropriate word:
a) Soothe
b) Mollify
c) Placate
d) Appease
e) No change

4. Find out the appropriate word:
a) Retaliation
b) Remission
c) Leniency
d) Sympathy
e) No change

5. Find out the appropriate word:
a) Hang on
b) Hang with
c) Hang around 
d) Hung onto
e) No change

6. Find out the appropriate word:
a) Denounce
b) Reprehend
c) Glorify
d) Condemning
e) No change

7. Find out the appropriate word:
a) Quiet
b) Conciseness
c) Pithy
d) Terse
e) No change

8. Find out the appropriate word:
a) Dangerous
b) Benignant
c) Palliative
d) Advantageous
e) No change

9. Find out the appropriate word:
a) Upbraiding
b) Admonished
c) Denounce
d) Praise
e) No change

10. Find out the appropriate word:
a) jettison,
b) throw away
c) scatter
d) accumulate
e) no change

Answers with Explanation

1. Answer: c 

Explanation: convene means to come together into one body or place. It fits perfectly. Option a, b are synonyms but are not grammatically correct. Option d is the antonym.

2. Answer: d 

Explanation: pull out means withdraw, pull off means succeed, pull with means get on with, pull through means recover from illness. So option d fits correctly in the context.

3. Answer: e 

Explanation: provoke means to rouse to strong feeling or action. This fits best. Option a, b, c, d all are antonyms.

4. Answer: a 

Explanation: Retaliation means to repay in kind.
However, option b, c, d are antonyms. Castigation fits loosely in the context.

5. Answer: e 

Explanation: hung over means worry or trouble. Hang on means wait. Hang with means spend with time. Hang around means stay in a place. Hang onto means keep.

6. Answer: d 

Explanation: condemn means to indicate strong disapproval of. This fits perfectly. Option a, b are synonyms but not grammatically correct. Option c antonym.

7. Answer: e 

Explanation: rhetoric means language that is impressive-sounding but not meaningful or sincere. This fits best. Option a, b are antonyms. Option c, d out of the context.

8. Answer: a 

Explanation: option b, c, d are not fit in the context.

9. Answer: b 

Explanation: admonish means to criticise. This fits best in the context. Option a, c are synonyms but grammatically incorrect. Option d is antonyms.

10. Answer: e

Explanation: hoard means a supply stored up and often hidden away. This is the correct option. Option a, b c are antonyms. Option d is grammatically incorrect.
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