The Language of Cultural Change

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 (dropdown)

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 (dropdown)

   Choose the correct option for each blank.

   Choose the best option for each gap: A cultural historian examined how a town described the revival of a festival that now included new performers and unfamiliar music. Cultural change is often described as a break 1___ the past. Such accounts may 2___ the continuities that remain beneath the apparent transformation. The language of a sudden transformation could hide the older relationships that still shaped the event.

   Choices for blank 1

   1. at
   2. for
   3. with
   4. to

   Choices for blank 2

   1. obscure
   2. highlight
   3. illuminate
   4. emphasise
   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   with

   Blank 2

   obscure

   A break with is the fixed phrase. Obscure means make harder to see, matching the continuities hidden by an account of sudden transformation.

   with: A break with is the fixed phrase. Obscure means make harder to see, matching the continuities hidden by an account of sudden transformation.

   obscure: A break with is the fixed phrase. Obscure means make harder to see, matching the continuities hidden by an account of sudden transformation.

2. Question 2 · Cloze (dropdown)

   Choose the correct option for each blank.

   Choose the best option for each gap: Young organisers added an evening concert while keeping the daytime procession and the craft stalls. The new concert and the older procession remain distinct activities at different times, but they can 1___. Their relationship is not necessarily one of mutual 2___. People did not necessarily have to abandon every familiar practice in order to participate in the newer one.

   Choices for blank 1

   1. coexist
   2. coincide
   3. converge
   4. conflict

   Choices for blank 2

   1. exclusive
   2. exclusively
   3. exclude
   4. exclusion
   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   coexist

   Blank 2

   exclusion

   Coexist means exist alongside each other; coincide would imply the same time, and converge would suggest becoming alike. Mutual takes the noun exclusion.

   coexist: Coexist means exist alongside each other; coincide would imply the same time, and converge would suggest becoming alike. Mutual takes the noun exclusion.

   exclusion: Coexist means exist alongside each other; coincide would imply the same time, and converge would suggest becoming alike. Mutual takes the noun exclusion.

3. Question 3 · Cloze (dropdown)

   Choose the correct option for each blank.

   Choose the best option for each gap: One gesture of welcome felt informal to some visitors but carried a more ceremonial meaning for older residents. The same gesture can carry different cultural 1___ in different communities. Ignoring that context risks 2___ a misleading generalisation. Understanding the difference required attention to the community in which the gesture was used, rather than an isolated description of it.

   Choices for blank 1

   1. regulations
   2. incentives
   3. obligations
   4. connotations

   Choices for blank 2

   1. producing
   2. produced
   3. to produce
   4. produce
   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   connotations

   Blank 2

   producing

   Connotations are associated meanings, the distinction illustrated by the gesture. Risk takes an ing-clause for the possible unwanted result.

   connotations: Connotations are associated meanings, the distinction illustrated by the gesture. Risk takes an ing-clause for the possible unwanted result.

   producing: Connotations are associated meanings, the distinction illustrated by the gesture. Risk takes an ing-clause for the possible unwanted result.

4. Question 4 · Cloze (dropdown)

   Choose the correct option for each blank.

   Choose the best option for each gap: The historian questioned an account that treated every change as a straightforward improvement for everyone involved. The author takes issue 1___ the claim that change is invariably progress. Her concern is with the experiences that this claim leaves 2___. Her criticism concerned experiences missing from that account, including those of people who found the new event harder to attend.

   Choices for blank 1

   1. to
   2. for
   3. with
   4. at

   Choices for blank 2

   1. down
   2. out
   3. through
   4. away from
   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   with

   Blank 2

   out

   Take issue with means challenge a claim. Leave out means omit, referring to experiences absent from the account.

   with: Take issue with means challenge a claim. Leave out means omit, referring to experiences absent from the account.

   out: Take issue with means challenge a claim. Leave out means omit, referring to experiences absent from the account.

5. Question 5 · Cloze (dropdown)

   Choose the correct option for each blank.

   Choose the best option for each gap: The larger concert brought opportunities for performers and local businesses, while changing the atmosphere of the town centre. 1___ acknowledging the benefits, she draws attention to costs that might otherwise be 2___. Recognising the advantages did not require pretending that the less visible effects were unimportant.

   Choices for blank 1

   1. Because
   2. Because of
   3. While
   4. During

   Choices for blank 2

   1. celebrated
   2. advertised
   3. overlooked
   4. prominent
   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   While

   Blank 2

   overlooked

   While introduces the concession. Overlooked means missed or ignored, matching the less visible costs contrasted with the acknowledged benefits.

   While: While introduces the concession. Overlooked means missed or ignored, matching the less visible costs contrasted with the acknowledged benefits.

   overlooked: While introduces the concession. Overlooked means missed or ignored, matching the less visible costs contrasted with the acknowledged benefits.

6. Question 6 · Cloze (dropdown)

   Choose the correct option for each blank.

   Choose the best option for each gap: The historian's account drew on interviews with people who had organised and attended several versions of the festival. The argument is persuasive insofar 1___ it accounts for the interviews. It becomes less convincing when extended 2___ the scope of that evidence. Those interviews supported conclusions about this event, but could not settle every question about cultural change in other places.

   Choices for blank 1

   1. as
   2. to
   3. that
   4. than

   Choices for blank 2

   1. within
   2. beyond
   3. inside
   4. between
   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   as

   Blank 2

   beyond

   Insofar as limits validity to the support available. Beyond exceeds that scope; within and inside would keep the claim inside it.

   as: Insofar as limits validity to the support available. Beyond exceeds that scope; within and inside would keep the claim inside it.

   beyond: Insofar as limits validity to the support available. Beyond exceeds that scope; within and inside would keep the claim inside it.

7. Question 7 · Cloze (dropdown)

   Choose the correct option for each blank.

   Choose the best option for each gap: Whether the event was described as a replacement or an extension affected who was invited to help organise it. The distinction affects which groups receive access; it is 1___, not merely semantic. It has a direct bearing 2___ how institutions respond. A difference in wording could therefore influence practical decisions about participation, resources and ownership.

   Choices for blank 1

   1. decorative
   2. inconsequential
   3. substantive
   4. superficial

   Choices for blank 2

   1. at
   2. to
   3. on
   4. with
   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   substantive

   Blank 2

   on

   Substantive concerns practical effects rather than words alone. Have a bearing on means influence the response.

   substantive: Substantive concerns practical effects rather than words alone. Have a bearing on means influence the response.

   on: Substantive concerns practical effects rather than words alone. Have a bearing on means influence the response.

8. Question 8 · Cloze (dropdown)

   Choose the correct option for each blank.

   Choose the best option for each gap: The final chapter included memories that were not identical, while asking how well each account was supported. A balanced account must 1___ competing experiences without 2___ that all interpretations are equally well supported. Respecting different experiences did not mean giving the same evidential weight to every claim about what had happened.

   Choices for blank 1

   1. disregard
   2. suppress
   3. exclude
   4. accommodate

   Choices for blank 2

   1. assume
   2. assumed
   3. assuming
   4. to assume
   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   accommodate

   Blank 2

   assuming

   Accommodate means make room for different experiences. Without takes the ing-form assuming; inclusion does not establish equal evidential support.

   accommodate: Accommodate means make room for different experiences. Without takes the ing-form assuming; inclusion does not establish equal evidential support.

   assuming: Accommodate means make room for different experiences. Without takes the ing-form assuming; inclusion does not establish equal evidential support.

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.