The Value of Uncertainty

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 one word per gap: An exhibition catalogue described the research behind restoring a painting whose earliest history was incomplete. Uncertainty need not be a sign 1___ weakness. In research, it can reflect due allowance 2___ the limits of what is known. The catalogue treated the remaining gaps as part of the account, rather than hiding them behind an apparently definite attribution.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   of

   Blank 2

   for

   A sign of identifies what something indicates; allowance for marks a factor considered.

2. Question 2 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use distinguish and know: The conservator could explain which pigments were present while remaining unsure exactly when a later layer had been added. The challenge is 1___ (distinguish) uncertainty from confusion. A researcher may understand precisely where the boundaries of current 2___ (know) lie. That precise account of what was and was not established differed from a general inability to understand the evidence.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   to distinguish / distinguishing

   Blank 2

   knowledge

   Both the infinitive to distinguish and the ing-clause distinguishing can identify the challenge after is.

3. Question 3 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use one word per gap: A footnote identified two possible dates instead of presenting a convenient year as if it had been proved. Acknowledging an unresolved question does not detract 1___ a study's value. It may lend greater credibility 2___ the account. Readers could follow the reasoning because the catalogue made the unresolved part of the argument visible.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   from

   Blank 2

   to

   Detract from reduces value; lend credibility to increases trust in an account.

4. Question 4 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use appropriate forms of the capitalised words: The author resisted pressure to turn a probable interpretation into an exact statement for a short museum label. Absolute 1___ (CERTAIN) is not always attainable. Claims should therefore be no stronger than the evidence can 2___ (JUSTIFICATION). A concise public explanation still needed to distinguish strong evidence from an attractive but unverified story.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   certainty

   Blank 2

   justify

   Certainty is a noun; can requires base-form justify.

5. Question 5 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use one word per gap: A neat account of a single artist working at a single moment would have been easier to present to visitors. The temptation to present a neat answer can come 1___ the expense of accuracy. The result may be clarity in appearance 2___ than substance. The less tidy explanation was more useful because it did not erase traces that pointed towards several stages of work.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   at

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   rather

   At the expense of describes a cost; rather than contrasts appearance and substance.

6. Question 6 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use forms of REVISE and RESPONSIVE: The conservator expected later research on comparable paintings to improve the interpretation of this one. A provisional explanation remains open to 1___ (revise). Its strength lies partly in its 2___ (responsive) to new evidence. Remaining willing to revise the account did not mean that every possible story was equally persuasive.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   revision / being revised / revising

   Blank 2

   responsiveness

   Open to takes a noun or ing-clause: revision, revising and being revised are possible here. Responsiveness names the capacity to respond to new evidence.

7. Question 7 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use ONE word in the first gap and an adjective from CAUTION in the second: Deciding how to conserve the painting could not wait until every question about its history had a final answer. Not every unknown can be eliminated, nor can every risk be quantified. These limits place a premium 1___ explicit reasoning and call for 2___ (CAUTION) judgement. The team therefore recorded its reasons and chose actions that would leave future researchers as many options as possible.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   on

   Blank 2

   cautious

   Place a premium on means attach particular importance to. Cautious describes judgement that recognises the limits of the evidence.

8. Question 8 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use appropriate forms of the capitalised words: The catalogue concluded that acknowledging limits should support responsible decisions rather than become a reason never to decide. The authors argue for 1___ (CAUTION) judgement, not endless hesitation. Uncertainty should inform a 2___ (CONCLUDE), rather than make one impossible. Visitors were invited to understand a reasoned interpretation as something more useful than either unsupported certainty or complete silence.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   cautious

   Blank 2

   conclusion

   Cautious is an adjective modifying judgement; conclusion is a count noun.

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.