Changing Institutional Habits

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

C1. 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 a noun formed from SCRUTINISE in the first gap and ONE word in the second: A public library reconsidered booking rules that had been copied from one staff handbook to the next for decades. The review brought long-standing practices under 1___ (SCRUTINISE). It raised the question 2___ whether those practices still served their original purpose. The point was not to condemn an old arrangement simply for being old, but to establish what work it still did.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   scrutiny

   Blank 2

   of

   Under scrutiny means subject to examination; the question of whether introduces the issue.

2. Question 2 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use an adjective from RESIST and a passive ing-form from CONSULT: Several employees welcomed simpler bookings while questioning a process that presented a completed decision as an invitation to contribute. Staff were not necessarily 1___ (resist) to change. Many objected to 2___ (consult) by management only after the decisions had been made. Distinguishing opposition to a procedure from opposition to reform changed the tone of the subsequent discussions.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   resistant

   Blank 2

   being consulted / having been consulted

   Resistant to is adjectival; staff receive consultation, so the passive ing form is needed.

3. Question 3 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use one word per gap: At the next meeting, the director separated the aim of improving access from the way the first proposal had been introduced. The director acknowledged that the process had fallen short 1___ expectations. She undertook to make greater provision 2___ staff input. That acknowledgement allowed staff to discuss the substance without first having to defend their right to be heard.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   of

   Blank 2

   for

   Fall short of and make provision for require different complements.

4. Question 4 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use revise and accommodate: The committee then invited librarians, regular users and occasional visitors to describe the difficulties they encountered. Rather than 1___ (revise) the policy in isolation, the committee sought 2___ (accommodate) a range of views. The exercise exposed differences that would have remained invisible in a policy drafted solely around an average user.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   revise / revising

   Blank 2

   to accommodate

   Rather than accepts base or ing here; seek takes a to-infinitive.

5. Question 5 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use one word per gap: A revised document could specify fairer access without necessarily changing what happened at the reception desk on a busy afternoon. Progress depended not merely 1___ new rules, but on whether everyday routines changed. The distinction had a bearing 2___ how success was measured. The committee therefore looked for observable changes in behaviour as well as evidence that the new rules had been circulated.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   on / upon

   Blank 2

   on / upon

   Depend on and have a bearing on identify dependency and relevance.

6. Question 6 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use forms of ACCOUNTABLE and IMPLEMENT: Staff needed to know who could make exceptions and who would explain those decisions when a user questioned them. A clearer system of 1___ (accountable) was proposed. Its 2___ (implement) would be reviewed after six months. A named responsibility was useful only if the review also examined how consistently it was exercised.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   accountability

   Blank 2

   implementation

   Both gaps require abstract nouns after of and its.

7. Question 7 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use ONE word in the first gap and a noun from ENDORSE in the second: The resulting compromise allowed a trial period without requiring either staff or managers to pretend that every concern had been resolved. The agreement was reached on the understanding 1___ it would remain provisional. Neither side was expected to give an unqualified 2___ (ENDORSE). Keeping that distinction explicit made the agreement more honest and left space to learn from its practical effects.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   that

   Blank 2

   endorsement

   On the understanding that states an agreed condition. An unqualified endorsement would express approval without reservations, which neither side had promised.

8. Question 8 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use embed and effective: Six months later, the library compared the written procedure with staff accounts of what actually happened during busy periods. Changing formal rules is easier than changing deeply 1___ (embed) habits. The reforms will be judged by their 2___ (effective) in practice. The review asked whether the new arrangement worked for users, rather than treating completion of the paperwork as success in itself.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   embedded

   Blank 2

   effectiveness

   Embedded describes established habits; effectiveness is the noun after their.

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.