Use of English: Open Cloze

Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use
only one word in each gap.

A SIGN OF THE TIMES

Wedding photographers are now asking (01).............................. payment (02)..............................

advance because so many marriages are breaking (03).............................. in the first few
weeks, often (04).............................. the honeymoon.One photographer had to sue the bride for
his money after the couple split (05).............................. on their honeymoon. His photographs
were submitted (06).............................. the court who said they were (07)..............................
sufficient standard, and she (08).............................. to pay for this souvenir of her "happiest
day".(09)............................. another case, the bride's mother saw the photographs and
(10)............................ enlargements and albums. The photographer said; "I called
(11)............................ to say they were ready, and the bride's mother said, 'Don't bring those
bloody photographs round (12)............................ - he's left (13)............................ .'"Couples are
now (14).............................. to pay a "divorce deposit" (15)............................ the photographer.

A FOLK STORY WITH MEANING

Nasrudin made a bet that he could spend a night on a mountain, despite the ice and snow. The bet
was accepted.Nasrudin took a book and candle and sat (01).................. the coldest night he
(02)................... known. (03).................... the morning, he was half-dead as he went (04)....................
to the village to claim his money."Did you have (05).................... at all to keep you warm?" The
people in the village asked him, - "Not (06).................. a candle?""Yes, I had a candle.""Then the bet
is (07)......................". Nasrudin did not argue.Some months later he invited the same people
(08)................ a feast (09)..................... his house. They sat. They waited. Hours
(10)....................... They started to mutter (11)....................... food.Nasrudin said: "Let's go and see
how it is getting (12)...................."They all went (13)....................... the kitchen. They found a
huge pot of water. (14)..................... the pot a candle was burning. The water was tepid.Nasrudin
said: "It is not ready (15)........................ I don't know why - it has been there since yesterday."
A GRAVEYARD FOR PETS

(01)................... the recession, Britain's pet owners are willing to pay for a permanent
memorial (02)......................... much-loved furred and feathered friends. The Rossendale Pets
Cemetery, near Rawtenstall in Lancashire, now stretches to over 10 acres covered by 1,600 graves
and 800 plots for small caskets of ashes.It was started 26 years (03)..................... by a local
farmer who ran his dog (04)........................ with a tractor and was (05).................... grief-
stricken that he put up a headstone. That has long since been dwarfed (06).........................
elaborate monuments, including a marble gate flanked by pillars. Dedicated to a horse called
Brandy, it cost well (07)...................... £2,000 seven years ago. Other animals commemorated
in the cemetery vary from budgies to a lioness. The owners of the cemetery, Mr and Mrs
Annable, have had some upsetting experiences:"We had a man (08)........................ tried to climb into
the incinerator to kiss his Irish wolfhound goodbye. He was an educated man (09)...................
well, an English teacher. In the end, he left half the ashes here and took half home."Every Sunday
a long-distance driver brings fresh flowers (10)................. his dog. Rain, hail, fog or snow, he
never (11)....................... And then (12).................. is Kakkoo the parrot, who spoke four languages.
His grave is marked by a simple wooden cross and a bronze plaque."(13)..................... couple
arrived carrying a cage. They had not seen their hamster for (14)............... time. Was it in
hibernation or was it dead? They couldn't bear to look. In fact, it was as stiff as a board. When I
told them, they burst into tears. I didn't (15)....................... the heart to charge them."
EURO-DISNEY

In Euro-Disney, an investment of $2 billion has created a monstrous funfair. Pirates in the

West Indies. Ghosts and graveyards and a haunted house. Simulated space travel. Railway rides and
Peter Pan and Dumbo.... There must be (01)..................... of Europe's 60 or so million children
under the age of 14 who are not nagging (02)..................... parents.When I hear (03)................
this monstrous creation is a bare 24 miles from the centre of Paris, I think it represents the death
of civilisation. One (04)................... have thought the French (05)................... more sense, better
taste, but, then, they always did have this love-hate relationship (06)...................... the USA.
(07)................... me be clear about it. Disney should stay (08)................... he belongs: in the
swamps of Florida or the suburbs of Los Angeles. People (09).................... appreciate
him.Perhaps the most perplexing response (10)................... Disney, that pap-merchant, has
been made by collectors. In the United States, a four-volume Illustrated Disneyana Catalog and
Price Guide is (11)..................... It lists 26,000 prices (12)................... $1 for a 1966 Donald Duck
book (13)....................... $14,000 for a tin wind-up walking Mickey Mouse of around 1930.In
America, there are an estimated 50,000 collectors. The highest (14)................... are paid for
cels, paintings on celluloid, a specialised market worth an annual $60 million. The most paid
(15)................... far for a cel has been $286,000.

RUBBER TREES

Los Angeles has planted 2,000 rubber trees (1)....................... the middle of one of (2)....................
main streets. These trees do not produce rubber. They are, in fact, made of rubber. Mr Joe
Dynamo, a spokesman (3)..................... Los Angeles city council, explained the reasons. He
said:"These trees are representative of our virtual society. We have polystyrene grass
(4)....................... our golf courses. We have non-milk powder to (5)................... our coffee. We
make copies (6)................ plastic of old wooden furniture. We have fibreglass tombstones.
(7)................... shouldn't we have trees made of rubber?"At 50 miles (8)................... hour, no
motorist will see any difference. And our maintenance costs will be lower. You give the trees an
annual rinse (9)...................... detergent, and dust them off twice a year. We save a lot of
money because transplanting, pruning, weeding and leaf-collection are all unnecessary. And we
have a 60-year non-fade guarantee on each plant. This is rationalisation (10)........................ its
best."