In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank. The limbs of the flying squirrel are interlinked with a membrane. When the creature (1)________ into the air, the membrane opens and the squirrel seems to (2)_______ swiftly downwards. This movement gives the (3)_______ of flight. However, it is not flying really. It is a (4)_______ in the air from a higher level. It is also noteworthy that a squirrel cannot (5)_____ its direction while it is in flying mode.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 1.
- (a)cross
- (b)leaps
- (c)hurdle
- (d)spring
Answer
Why
Correct — B. The blank is the verb of "When the creature (1)________ into the air", and the passage runs in the present simple: the limbs are interlinked, the membrane opens, the squirrel seems.
The subject, the creature, is singular, so the verb needs its -s. Only leaps carries one — cross, hurdle and spring are all bare forms.
Meaning then confirms it: an animal leaps into the air → option (b).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)cross — Cross is a bare form after a singular subject, so it fails on agreement before meaning is even weighed. Cross into also means to pass over a boundary, as in crossing into another state.
- (c)hurdle — Hurdle fails the same -s test, and it means to jump over a barrier. The sentence puts no barrier in the squirrel's way, only open air.
- (d)spring — Spring is the near miss, because spring into the air is good English. The form is still wrong: after the creature the verb has to be springs.
Concept
A cloze blank is often decided by form rather than by meaning, and form is the faster check.
Read the sentences around the blank for tense. This passage is written in the present simple throughout, and the subject here is singular, so the verb must end in -s.
That one test removes three options before you weigh what leaping, crossing or hurdling means. Meaning then confirms rather than decides: the creature launches itself upward, which is a leap.
Each of the five blanks in this passage takes an everyday word. Nothing here needs zoological vocabulary, so treat unfamiliar-looking options as ordinary English being tested.
Key facts
- In the present simple, a third person singular subject takes a verb ending in -s.
- Leap into the air is the standard collocation for a jump upward.
- Cross into means to pass over a border or boundary.
Study next
Common traps
- Choosing spring on meaning alone and missing the absent -s.
- Reading the creature as plural because the passage describes squirrels in general.
- Treating hurdle as a general-purpose word for jump.
A cloze blank settled by verb form rather than by meaning also appears at 18 Sep 2024, 12:30, English Q.21, where the four options are were, are, is and was.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.