Compléter les motsquestion

In a Complete-the-Words question, you are given a paragraph with gaps. A gap is a word that is missing half its letters. Your job is to fill in all 10 gaps.

Strategy:

1. Start with the first sentence.
   The beginning of the paragraph has no missing words. Read it carefully to understand the topic and context of the passage.
2. Use grammatical knowledge.
   Look at the words before and after each incomplete word. Determine what part of speech is needed (noun, verb, adjective, etc.) and what grammatical form is required (plural, verb tense, comparative, etc.).
3. Look for context clues.
   Consider the meaning of the sentence and the surrounding ideas. Pay attention to logical connections between sentences. Ask yourself: “What word would make sense here?”
4. Use visible letters and word patterns.
   Look at the given letters, common prefixes, suffixes, and word roots to identify possible words. Check that your answer fits both the grammar and meaning of the sentence.

Tip: Skip the words you don't know. Filling in the words you know can help you figure out the words you don't know.

Academic Example:

Farmers u__ a m__ of o__ and n__ methods to raise cr___ like wheat, ri__, and co__.

Explanation:

1. Start with the first sentence:
   The paragraph is about agriculture, so expect words about farming, methods, and food.
2. Use grammatical knowledge:
   After the subject Farmers, we need a verb → use.
   a ___ of needs a noun → mix.
   ___ and ___ methods needs two adjectives before the noun → old, new.
   raise ___ like needs a plural noun as the object → crops.
3. Look for context clues:
   The list wheat, ___, and ___ names crops, so the last two gaps are crop nouns → rice, corn.
4. Use visible letters and word patterns:
   Each answer starts with the letters shown: u-se, m-ix, o-ld, n-ew, cr-ops, ri-ce, co-rn. The plural -s in crops matches like wheat, rice, and corn.

Full sentence with answers:

Farmers use a mix of old and new methods to raise crops like wheat, rice, and corn.

The first sentence establishes the topic and context for the entire paragraph. Read it carefully to understand what the passage will discuss. Every gap that follows belongs to that same topic.

Example:

Honeybees share the location of food through a movement called the waggle dance. When a forager ret____ to the hive, it mo___ in a figure-eight pat____. The an___ of the dance sh___ the direction of the food.

Explanation:

1. Start with the first sentence:
   The topic is the waggle dance, a movement bees use to share where food is. Expect words about bees coming back, moving, and pointing toward food.
2. Use grammatical knowledge:
   a forager ___ to the hive needs a verb that agrees with a singular subject → returns.
   it ___ in needs a singular verb → moves.
   a figure-eight ___ needs a noun → pattern.
   The ___ of the dance needs a noun as the subject → angle; its verb sh___ → shows.
3. Look for context clues:
   The first sentence said the dance shares a location, so the last sentence explains how: the angle shows the direction.

Full paragraph with answers:

Honeybees share the location of food through a movement called the waggle dance. When a forager returns to the hive, it moves in a figure-eight pattern. The angle of the dance shows the direction of the food.

Every gap belongs to one of eight grammar categories. Decide the category first, then fill in the letters.

This task removes letters from regularly spaced words, so small grammar words are frequent gaps. Determiners, prepositions, and words inside transition phrases appear as often as long academic words. Simple words can be correct answers.

1. Noun (subject or object)
   A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea. It is often the subject doing the action or the object receiving it.
   Clue: a, an, the, this, or that before the gap; an adjective directly before it; or a verb or preposition that needs an object.
   Example: The discov___ changed medicine. → discovery (subject noun)
2. Noun (part of a transition phrase)
   Some nouns live inside fixed transition phrases that connect ideas. Learn the whole phrase as one unit: for example, in fact, as a result.
   Clue: commas, or the beginning of a familiar connector.
   Example: As a res___, the trial was repeated. → result
3. Verb
   A verb expresses an action or state. It must fit its subject and the sentence time. It may also appear as a participle ending in -ing or -ed.
   Clue: find the subject, then ask what it does. Check nearby helping verbs such as is, was, has, or can.
   Example: Plants req____ sunlight. → require
4. Modal verb
   A modal expresses possibility, ability, permission, advice, prediction, or necessity: can, could, may, might, must, should, will, would.
   Clue: a modal is followed by the base form of a verb, without to.
   Example: The change mi___ affect the climate. → might
5. Adjective
   An adjective describes a noun. It appears right before that noun or after a linking verb such as be, seem, or become.
   Clue: a noun right after the gap, or a linking verb before it. More, most, -er, and -est also point toward an adjective.
   Example: a relia___ source → reliable
6. Adverb
   An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. It tells how, when, where, or to what degree.
   Clue: the gap changes the strength or manner of another word. The -ly ending is a strong clue; confirm the word's job in the sentence.
   Example: The result was high__ significant. → highly
7. Preposition
   A preposition is a short word that shows a relationship of place, time, direction, source, or means: in, on, at, by, with, through, between.
   Clue: a noun phrase follows the gap. Check which relationship the sentence needs.
   Example: Water passed thr____ the membrane. → through
8. Determiner
   A determiner introduces a noun phrase. It tells which one, how many, or whose: a, an, the, this, these, each, every, several, many.
   Clue: an adjective or noun follows right away, and the phrase needs an introducer.
   Example: Sev____ experiments reached the same conclusion. → Several

Tip: Trust an easy answer when the grammar points to it. A difficult passage still uses simple words such as each, with, and fact.

Consider the meaning of the sentence and the surrounding ideas. Connecting words such as as a result, however, and for example show how one sentence relates to the next.

Ask yourself: “What word would make sense here?”

Example:

After the new rules were announced, many residents stopped believing official reports. As a result, the policy had a str___ impact on public trust.

Explanation:

1. Use grammatical knowledge:
   The gap comes after a and before the noun impact, so it is an adjective.
2. Look for context clues:
   The first sentence says residents stopped believing official reports. As a result links that change to the policy, so the impact was large.
3. Use visible letters:
   str + three letters that describe a large impact → strong.

Full sentence with answer:

As a result, the policy had a strong impact on public trust.

Look at the given letters, common prefixes, suffixes, and word roots to identify possible words. The number of blanks tells you how many letters are missing.

Useful word patterns:

• -ed after was, were, has, or have: a past participle (was conducted)
• -ing after is, are, or was: a verb in progress (is flowing)
• -s or -es: a plural noun or a verb with a singular subject
• -er and -est: comparative and superlative adjectives (the oldest known fossil)
• -ly: often an adverb (carefully)
• -tion, -ment, -ity: noun endings; -able, -ful, -ous: adjective endings

Example:

The experiment was cond_____ carefully to avoid errors.

Explanation:

1. Use grammatical knowledge:
   The gap follows was, so it is a past participle in a passive verb (was + past participle).
2. Look for context clues:
   Experiments are carried out carefully to avoid errors.
3. Use visible letters and word patterns:
   cond + five letters ending in the past participle -ed → cond-ucted.

Full sentence with answer:

The experiment was conducted carefully to avoid errors.