ANATOLIA COLLEGE

Language & Testing Office

______________________________________________________________________________

EXAMINATION
FOR
THE MICHIGAN CERTIFICATE
OF
PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH

ECPE
10 Practice CLOZE TESTS
(with ANSWER KEY)
Volume 6

Prepared by

Rodney A Coules

CLOZE TEST 1
On the morning of September 16th,
1.

1606, people living along the banks of

Portugals Tagus River near Lisbon awoke (1)

a. at

c. to

b. for

d. with

a. covering

c. many

b. after

d. for

a. between

c. among

b. were

d. containing

a. bales

c. cartons

b. loads

d. bunches

a. bank

c. tributary

b. source

d. mouth

a. since

c. ensuing

b. following

d. preceding

a. tales

c. accounts

b. stories

d. confessions

a. lapped

c. brought

b. washed

d. was

a. was

c. has

b. were

d. being

a. bed

c. coast

b. floor

d. bottom

an astonishing sight: a black tide of

peppercorns, worth a royal fortune, tainting

2.

the already dark and stormy water (2) miles.

Bobbing here and there (3) the peppercorns
were boxes of other exotic spices and (4) of

3.

expensive white cotton cloth from India,

along with the bodies of some two hundred
crewmen and passengers of the Nossa

4.

Senhora dos Martires, an enormous nau, or

cargo ship, which had wrecked at the (5) of
the Tagus the day before.

5.

Officers of the king recovered much

of the precious pepper (6) the tragedy,
although according to eyewitness (7) nothing

6.

could be done to stop the populace from

stealing whatever (8) ashore. Most of the
remaining sunken cargo, as well as the ships

7.

anchors and guns, (9) likely salvaged by the

crown, and what was left of the ship lay
covered by a thin layer of sodden pepper at

8.

the (10) of the river for another four hundred

years.
9.
From: Archaeology, March / April 2003

10.

CLOZE TEST 2
Archaeologists excavating a seventh1.

to-fifth-century B.C. temple on the (1)

Cycladic island of Kythnos have made a

a. distant

c. far

b. remote

d. beyond

once-in-a-lifetime discovery: the temples (2)

adyton, or innermost shrine. Alexander

2.

Mazarakis-Ainian and (3) team from the

a. unhindered c. unearthed
b. unblocked d. unplundered

University of Thessalia were shocked to find

over fourteen hundred precious objects in the

3.

room, (4) gold, silver, and bronze artifacts;

terra-cotta

figurines;

and

hundreds

a. the

c. one

b. his

d. that

of

complete and broken painted vases, some of

4.

(5) have been linked to known (6) painters of

a. containing c. including
b. consisting d. comprising

ancient Greece. One of the most fascinating

(7) from the temple, which was dedicated to

5.

either Hera or Aphrodite, is a small stone

a. which

c. those

b. them

d. whose

a. great

c. better

b. master

d. best

a. finds

c. foundations

b. findings

d. foundries

a. cutting

c. carving

b. paring

d. sketching

a. has

c. had

b. have

d. having

a. even

c. very

b. that

d. so

bead with a (8) of a boat. Dated to the Minoan

age (3300 1100 B.C.), the bead is the kind

6.

of family heirloom known to (9) been

offered at Greek temples.
Although an unplundered ancient

7.

treasury is the stuff of Indiana Jones,

Mazarakis-Ainian says that the importance
of the discoveries is not (10) much the

8.

valuable objectsit is the conditions of the

finds,

the

fact

that

they

were

found

untouched.

9.

From: Archaeology, March / April 2003

10.

CLOZE TEST 3
The settlement of New Zealand is the
final (1) in what is perhaps the worlds

1.

greatest story of discovery the exploration

a. postscript

c. deed

b. sequel

d. chapter

a. before

c. since

b. ago

d. prior

a. travels

c. channels

b. distances

d. straits

a. would

c. did

b. had

d. and

of the Pacific. During the Pleistocene, as early

as forty thousand years (2), modern humans

2.

settled Near Oceania, including Australia and

the islands of the Philippines. The short (3)
between islands in Near Oceania (4) not
require

sophisticated

navigation

3.

for

exploration and (5). Lower sea (6) meant that

many of these land (7) were connected.

4.

Remote Oceania, however, was a different

(8). Besides New Zealand, it includes
Polynesian islands like Fiji, Hawaii, and Rapa
Nui,

or

impossibly

Easter

Island.

far-flung

These

islands

5.

almost

a. settlement c. foundation
b. occupation d. discovery

remained

uninhabited until (9) recently, separated from

6.

Near Oceania by vast stretches of ocean.

a. levels

c. depths

b. grades

d. positions

a. blocks

c. continents

b. mounds

d. masses

a. narration

c. story

By 1000 B.C., an accomplished (10)

group known to archaeologists as the Lapita

7.

people had settled the coasts of the island

chains just east of New Guinea, now called
Melanesia.

8.

b. experience d. thing
From: Archaeology, March / April 2003
9.

10.

a. definitely

c. positively

b. nearly

d. relatively

a. seaworthy c. seascape
b. seafaring

d. seaside

CLOZE TEST 4
Two hundred and fifty million years
ago, the Permian extinction wiped out (1) all

1.

marine species and most life on land, clearing

a. namely

c. closely

b. virtually

d. simply

a. setting

c. turning

b. leaving

d. returning

a. down

c. through

b. up

d. out

a. so

c. as

b. more

d. even

a. they

c. that

b. which

d. who

a. traps

c. trapped

b. trap

d. trapping

a. reason

c. instance

b. certain

d. sure

a. plied

c. chilled

b. swamped

d. churned

a. igniting

c. kindling

b. forcing

d. triggering

a. and

c. either

b. both

d. neither

the path for the dinosaurs and (2) back the rise
of mammals by 50 million years. Gregory

2.

Ryskin of Northwestern University thinks he

has tracked (3) the cause of this mysterious
die-off, the worst in history: an underwater

3.

explosion, 10,000 times (4) powerful as the

detonation of every nuclear weapon in the
world today.

4.

Ryskin proposes that huge deposits of

methane and other gases, (5) are naturally
produced in deep-sea waters, became (6)

5.

under the pressure of a then-stagnant global

ocean.

Any

forceful

disturbance

an

earthquake or a volcanic eruption, for (7)

6.

could have disrupted the pressurized gas.

Rising methane could have (8) the oceans,
suffocating aquatic organisms, and flooded

7.

into the atmosphere, (9) a worldwide hot

spell. A single lightning strike could even
have set the whole planet aflame. This

8.

explanation fits (10) the observed pattern of

extinction and the evidence of a sudden influx
of carbon dioxide (produced when methane

9.

burns or breaks down) in the atmosphere,

Ryskin says.
10.
From: Discover, Vol.24, No. 12

CLOZE TEST 5
Marine biologist Amy Wright of
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in

1.

Fort Pierce, Florida, has tracked down a long-

a. mighty

c. sturdy

b. cogent

d. potent

a. also

c. first

b. have

d. then

a. cancel

c. defer

b. arrest

d. detect

a. sample

c. portion

b. helping

d. hope

a. likeable

c. likeness

b. likely

d. likelihood

a. only

c. quite

b. very

d. rather

a. so

c. but

b. and

d. just

a. deterred

c. eluded

b. fooled

d. obscured

a. every

c. some

b. one

d. the

lost sponge, believed to contain a (1)

anticancer compound. She and her colleagues

2.

(2) found marble-size chunks of the creature

in 1984. Tests on mice and on human cells
showed that the sponge could (3) cancer, but

3.

scientists did not have a large enough (4) to

do further research. Using clues from the
original find, Wright deduced the sponges (5)

4.

habitat and found it on her (6) first submarine

dive using this new information. The subs
robotic arm located the sponge (7) collected

5.

enough to resume the search for a cancer cure.

The sponge had (8) scientists for 20
years because it lives in what researchers refer
to

as

the

dead

zone,

6.

relatively

unpopulated depth of the Caribbean. We

dont usually study this zone because (9) time

7.

weve done so, we havent found much,

Wright says. Her team is now (10) to isolate
an anticancer drug from the gray, rock-hard

8.

sea creature.

From: Discover, Vol. 25, No.3

9.

10.

a. scratching c. scooping
b. scraping

d. scrambling

CLOZE TEST 6
The onset of cold weather used to
bring the serenity of easy wind and downy

1.

flake, but these days its just as likely to (1)

a. welcome

c. herald

b. announce

d. beckon

a. create

c. cause

b. instigate

d. have

a. serenity

c. silence

b. quiet

d. tranquility

a. fly

c. flee

b. fret

d. frown

a. rhythms

c. scales

b. pulses

d. rates

a. takes

c. passes

b. needs

d. elapses

a. range

c. position

b. sound

d. place

a. that

c. they

b. which

d. and

a. in

c. of

b. with

d. to

a. able

c. plausible

b. likely

d. possible

the sights and sounds of snowmobiles roaring

through the countryside. The agitation the

2.

vehicles (2) to deer, moose, and bighorn

sheep would be familiar to human lovers of
peace and (3), and investigators have known

3.

for some time that the animals not only (4)

from snowmobiles but that their heart (5) rise
when one goes by.

4.

A new study now shows that the

stressful effects last longer than the short time
it (6) for a snowmobile to move out of (7).
Chronically

stressed

mammals

5.

produce

hormones called glucocorticoids, (8) can

suppress certain immune-system and gonadal
functions

when

the

hormones

6.

remain

elevated. Traces (9) the substances can be

detected in feces, and that makes it (10) to

7.

estimate stress levels in wild animals without

having to capture them.
8.
From: Natural History, 11/02

9.

10.

CLOZE TEST 7
They may be tiny, but yellow crazy
ants are turning the ecosystem of Christmas

1.

Island, Australia, upside (1). Ecologist Dennis

a. out

c. outside

b. over

d. down

a. how

c. whether

b. when

d. after

a. settle

c. unearth

b. unravel

d. undo

a. bloomed

c. spread

ODowd of Monash University in Australia is

now analyzing (2) this minuscule creature

2.

caused so much havoc, and he is racing to

find a way to (3) the damage.
Crazy

ants

from

India

were

3.

accidentally introduced to Christmas Island

early last century. For decades the ants (4)
slowly; then about eight years ago the crazy

4.

population (5), for reasons unknown, and the

b. flourished d. expanded

troubles began. Massive (6) of ants decimated

the islands (7) red land crabs, killing them

5.

with formic acid and eating them. (8) the

a. exploded

c. ignited

b. burst

d. surged

a. herds

c. schools

b. swarms

d. flocks

a. local

c. natural

b. native

d. ethnic

a. Since

c. While

b. When

d. Although

a. planting

c. plant

b. plants

d. plants

a. inset

c. outset

b. upset

d. offset

crabs ordinarily consume (9) matter on the

rain forest floor, a crucial ecological balance

6.

was (10). Leaf litter accumulated and

seedlings began sprouting uncontrollably.
7.
From: Discover, Vol.25, No.1

8.

9.

10.

CLOZE TEST 8
There

are

no

obvious

From: Discover, Vol.25, No.1

structural

1.

reasons why terrestrial mammals could not be

as large as the giant dinosaurs, so other

a. blame

c. large

b. work

d. least

a. plenty

c. enough

b. such

d. of

a. its

c. the

b. their

d. these

a. on

c. from

b. with

d. at

a. worth

c. value

b. strength

d. effect

a. departure

c. disappearance

b. recovery

d. loss

factors must be at (1). Some scientists have

suggested that plants were more productive in

2.

the Mesozoic, providing (2) food to sustain

huge herbivores. More likely, mammals are
limited to smaller sizes because they gestate

3.

(3) young internally. Large mammals tend to

have long gestation times nearly two years
for elephants in part because most feed (4)

4.

plants that have relatively low nutritional (5).

A lengthy gestation period has two important
side effects: The mothers almost always have

5.

single births, and the (6) of an individual baby

is tremendously costly. It is especially
difficult for the largest mammals to recover

6.

from population disturbances such as disease

or drought, so they may be (7) to extinction.
As egg layers, dinosaurs most likely faced no

7.

such problems. They could probably lay a

a. susceptible c. contagious
b. threatened d. driven

large clutch several times (8) year if necessary

and (9) recover more quickly from major

8.

disturbances.

a. a

c. every

b. the

d. one

a. after

c. alternatively

b. thereby

d. when

a. face

c. survive

b. swim

d. deal

Of course, there is one group of living

animals that rival the dinosaurs in size:

9.

whales. Whales do not have to (10) with

gravity, so they can avoid the structural limits
imposed

on

terrestrial

mammals

and

10.

dinosaurs alike.

CLOZE TEST 9
From: Discover, Vol.24, No.12

Body lice need human clothing to

1.

survive. That relationship has proved a (1) for

Mark Stoneking, an anthropologist at the Max
Planck

Institute

for

a. discovery

c. reward

b. milestone

d. boon

a. determine

c. make

b. solve

d. figure

a. that

c. which

b. and

d. it

a. recent

c. soon

b. lately

d. new

a. if

c. how

b. when

d. which

a. position

c. place

b. conclude

d. deduce

a. Refuting

c. Suggesting

b. Proving

d. Supporting

a. that

c. also

b. which

d. and

a. trooped

c. strolled

b. trekked

d. sauntered

a. so

c. very

b. only

d. quite

Evolutionary

Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, who has

2.

used it to (2) out when humans started

wearing garments. He and his colleagues
performed a genetic analysis to determine

3.

when body lice evolved, (3) reveals when

their clothing habitat appeared: 72,000 years
ago, give or take 42,000 years. That is
surprisingly

(4)

considering

that

4.

Homo

sapiens was around 200,000 years ago or

even earlier.

5.

Body lice, and hence clothing, may

have appeared around the time (5) modern
humans started to explore the world beyond

6.

Africa, which many researchers now (6) at

50,000 to 100,000 years ago. Clothing may
have been important in the spread of modern

7.

humans into colder climates, Stoneking says.

(7)

that

idea,

the

oldest

unambiguous

evidence of clothing-making tools (8) appears

8.

around this era. Groups related to modern

humans including Homo erectus and the
Neanderthals (9) out of Africa considerably
earlier, but the

9.

new analysis suggests that

they did (10) naked. Neither got as far as

modern humans, and of course, neither still

10.

lives. Perhaps clothes really did make the

man.
10

CLOZE TEST 10
From: Discover, Vol. 24, No. 12

The music of Stevie Wonder and Ray

1.

Charles supports the common belief that

losing one sense can enhance another. Italian

a. breed

c. utilize

b. inculcate

d. develop

a. to

c. with

b. in

d. on

a. develop

c. developmental

researchers have better evidence. They have

found that after only 90 minutes, blindfolded

2.

people can (1) a keener sense of touch a

sign that the portion of the brain dedicated (2)
vision

can

help

process

other

senses.

3.

Although such neurological flexibility used to

b. developing d. developer

be considered a feature of a (3) brain, we

now know that even in adults, it is (4) to find

4.

plastic interactions. If you change the input,

a. possible

c. liable

b. tangible

d. probable

a. form

c. part

b. unit

d. arc

a. with

c. by

b. having

d. indicating

a. same

c. equivalent

b. equal

d. measured

a. and

c. making

b. so

d. that

a. prove

c. discern

b. find

d. encounter

a. power

c. idea

b. sense

d. concept

you can recruit a (5) of the brain for a

different function, says Salvatore Aglioti, a

5.

neurologist at the University of Rome.

Aglioti and a colleague asked 28 test
subjects to place their fingers on a series of

6.

plates marked (6) grooves of varying sizes,

with the width of the grooves (7) to the
distance between them. Some of the grooves

7.

were so fine (8) the surface of the plate felt

smooth. After being blindfolded, however,
subjects were able to feel grooves that were

8.

more subtle than the smallest ones they could

(9) in a previous test. Repeating the test 130
minutes after the blindfolds were removed,

9.

the subjects (10) of touch had reset to

normal. Forgetting is as important as
learning, Aglioti says. If we dont forget

10.

quickly, we dont have room enough for other

functions.
11

ANSWER KEY
CLOSE TEST 1
1.c

2.d

3.c

4.a

5.d

6.b

7.c

8.b

9.a 10.d

CLOSE TEST 6
1. c

2.c 3.b

4.c

6.a

7.a

9.c 10.d

8.b

5.d

CLOSE TEST 2
1.b

2.d

3.b

4.c

5.a

6.b

7.a

8.c

9.b 10.d

CLOSE TEST 7
1.d

2.a

3.d

4.c

5.a

6.b

7.b

8.a

9.c 10.b

CLOSE TEST 3
1.d

2.b

3.b

4.c

5.a

6.a

7.d

8.c

9.d 10.b

CLOSE TEST 8
1.b

2.c

3.b

4.a

5.c

6.d

7.a

8.a

9.b 10.d

CLOSE TEST 4
1.b

2.a

3.a

4.c

5.b

6.c

7.c

8.d

9.d 10.b

CLOSE TEST 9
1.d

2.d

3.c

4.a

5.b

6.c

7.d

8.c

9.b 10.a

CLOSE TEST 5
1.d

2.c

3.b

4.a

5.b

6.b

7.b

8.c

9.a 10.d

CLOSE TEST 10
1.d

2.a

3.b

4.a

5.c

6.a

7.b

8.d

9.c 10.b

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank Dr. Philip Holland, Chair,
English Department, Anatolia College, for his
valuable editorial assistance and suggestions.
Rodney Coules,
Director, Language & Testing Office
Anatolia College

12

Email: racoules@ac.anatolia.edu.gr

13