Chopsticks (Cloze Test)

Cloze Text: Read the text below and choose the best word for each space. For each question, choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.

We’ve discussed the story of the knife and fork, but there’s another set of utensils used by billions of people around the world—and it has a truly ancient (1)_______. From their humble beginnings as cooking utensils to paper-wrapped bamboo sets at the sushi counter, there’s more to chopsticks (2)_______ meets the eye.

Capable of reaching deep into (3) _______ pots of water or oil, early chopsticks were used mainly for cooking. It wasn’t until A.D. 400 that people began eating with the utensils. This happened when a population boom across China sapped resources and (4) _______ cooks to develop cost-saving habits. They began chopping food into smaller pieces that (5) _______ less cooking fuel—and happened to be perfect for the tweezers-like grip of chopsticks.

As food became bite-sized, knives (6) _______ more or less obsolete. Their decline—and chopsticks’ ascent—also came courtesy of Confucius. As a vegetarian, he believed that sharp utensils (7)_______ the dinner table would remind eaters of the slaughterhouse. Thanks in part to his teachings, chopstick use quickly became widespread (8) _______ Asia.

Different cultures adopted (9) _______ chopstick styles. In Japan, chopsticks were 8 inches long for men and 7 inches long for women. In 1878 the Japanese became the first to create the now-ubiquitous disposable set, typically (10) _______ of bamboo or wood.

Multiple Choice

We’ve discussed the story of the knife and fork, but there’s another set of utensils used by billions of people around the world—and it has a truly ancient (1)_______.

• pass

• past

• passed

• pasts

Multiple Choice

From their humble beginnings as cooking utensils to paper-wrapped bamboo sets at the sushi counter, there’s more to chopsticks (2)_______ meets the eye.

• before

• then

• than

• and

Multiple Choice

Capable of reaching deep into (3) _______ pots of water or oil, early chopsticks were used mainly for cooking. It wasn’t until A.D. 400 that people began eating with the utensils.

• boils

• boil

• boiled

• boiling

Multiple Choice

This happened when a population boom across China sapped resources and (4) _______ cooks to develop cost-saving habits.

• forces

• forced

• force

• forcing

Multiple Choice

They began chopping food into smaller pieces that (5) _______ less cooking fuel—and happened to be perfect for the tweezers-like grip of chopsticks.

• required

• require

• requires

• requiring

Multiple Choice

As food became bite-sized, knives (6) _______ more or less obsolete. Their decline—and chopsticks’ ascent—also came courtesy of Confucius. Their decline — and chopsticks’ ascent—also came courtesy of Confucius.

• become

• became

• becomes

• becoming

Multiple Choice

As a vegetarian, he believed that sharp utensils (7)_______ the dinner table would remind eaters of the slaughterhouse.

• on

• in

• at

• above

Multiple Choice

Thanks in part to his teachings, chopstick use quickly became widespread (8) _______ Asia.

• over

• at

• through

• throughout

Multiple Choice

Different cultures adopted (9) _______ chopstick styles. In Japan, chopsticks were 8 inches long for men and 7 inches long for women.

• difference

• differences

• different

• differ

Multiple Choice

In 1878 the Japanese became the first to create the now-ubiquitous disposable set, typically (10)_______ of bamboo or wood.

• made

• make

• makes

• making