Optimise B2, Unit 1, Word formation, Open cloze

A free time activity which has

been increasing in ______ (POPULAR) in recent years

is Castellers or ‘Human

Towers’.

As the name suggests,

it consists of building towers

made out of people, with adults

and children standing one on

top of another. These

______ (IMPRESS) towers can

consist of up to nine levels of

people.

Castellers were first recorded

in the 18th century in Catalonia,

Spain, but the most famous

groups have been in

______ (EXIST) since the early

20th century. Many Catalan

towns have their own teams

which compete with other

towns in the region to build the

tallest towers.

Despite being a particularly

Catalan tradition, groups of

Castellers have made

______ (APPEAR) all over the

world, from Paris to New York.

This has raised international

awareness of this activity and

in 2010, UNESCO took the

______ (DECIDE) to recognise

the Castellers as an important

cultural event.

Calligraphy

If you are looking ______ a hobby which

is both creative and relaxing, you might like to

try calligraphy – the art of writing beautifully.

This is a hobby which requires patience, and you

get the best results if you just ______

your time.

Many years ago, calligraphy was a

popular activity, but with ______

invention of the typewriter and the word

processor, it went out of fashion.

However, with a

renewed interest in arts and crafts, calligraphy

______ started to become more

fashionable again.

______ of the main

reasons for its popularity is that it is accessible to

almost everyone – all you need is a pen, some

paper and plenty of free time.