Learning from an Unsuccessful Experiment

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

B2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Cloze (text)

How to approach this practice

Read the complete context. Check both the meaning and the grammar, including word forms, collocations and links between sentences.

1. Question 1 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use investigate and improve: A university team wanted to test a familiar claim about study habits rather than rely on students' personal impressions. Researchers set out 1___ (investigate) whether background music 2___ (improve) concentration. The trial took place last year. The question was useful precisely because people reported different experiences of working with music.

   Check answers and explanations

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   to investigate

   Blank 2

   improved / improves

   Set out takes a to-infinitive. Improved follows the past report; improves is also possible for a general claim about music and concentration.

2. Question 2 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use one word per gap: The researchers needed to make the groups as similar as possible apart from the sound they heard. Participants were divided 1___ two groups. Both groups completed the same tasks 2___ controlled conditions. Using the same tasks reduced the chance that an easier activity would be mistaken for a benefit of music.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   into

   Blank 2

   under

   Divide into identifies groups; under conditions describes the setting.

3. Question 3 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use appropriate forms of the capitalised words: When the scores were compared, the expected advantage did not appear clearly in the data. The results showed no 1___ (SIGNIFICANCE) 2___ (DIFFER) between the groups. That result required careful interpretation because failing to find a difference is not the same as proving that none exists.

   Check answers and explanations

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   significant

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   difference / differences

   Significant is the adjective before the noun. Both no significant difference and no significant differences are grammatical here.

4. Question 4 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use one word per gap: The team had hoped for a clearer outcome, but the work was not without value. The team was disappointed 1___ the lack of a clear result. They nevertheless ruled 2___ several possible explanations. Checking alternative explanations helped them identify which weaknesses the next trial needed to address.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   with / by / at / about

   Blank 2

   out

   Disappointed with identifies the cause of dissatisfaction; rule out means exclude.

5. Question 5 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use conclude and support: A dramatic headline would have been easier to write than an accurate account of the result. They avoided 1___ (conclude) that music never helps. The evidence did not 2___ (support) such a broad claim. They distinguished what this trial showed from a much stronger statement about every person and every kind of task.

   Check answers and explanations

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   concluding

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   support

   Avoid takes an ing form; did not takes a base verb.

6. Question 6 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use one word per gap: The participants came from one small class, which made the evidence less useful for claims about a wider population. The small sample limited the extent 1___ which the results could be generalised. This was acknowledged 2___ the final report. Making the limitation visible allowed readers to judge the conclusion rather than simply trust its wording.

   Check answers and explanations

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   to

   Blank 2

   in / within / by

   The extent to which is fixed; in locates the acknowledgement in the report.

7. Question 7 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use careful and repeat: Instead of abandoning the question, the researchers used the first trial to identify changes in the design. The method was reviewed 1___ (careful), and the experiment was 2___ (repeat) with a larger group. The later study could examine whether the pattern survived beyond the original class.

   Check answers and explanations

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   carefully

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   repeated

   Carefully modifies reviewed; was repeated is passive.

8. Question 8 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use one word per gap: The first result was disappointing only if success meant confirming the team's initial expectation. Failure did not bring the research to an 1___. Instead, it gave rise 2___ a better-designed study. A useful experiment can reveal the need for a better question as well as provide an immediate answer.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   end / impasse

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   to

   Bring to an end means stop; give rise to means produce.

What to review next

Explain why each answer fits the meaning and structure. Record useful phrases and write a new example using each pattern you found difficult.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.