12.2 Cloze Practice Passages with Blank-by-Blank Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Read the entire paragraph before choosing any completion, exactly as the official Part B directions instruct.
- Establish the passage's temporal anchor first; it settles most verb blanks before the options are read.
- Connector blanks are decided by whether the next sentence agrees with or opposes the previous one.
- Pronoun and article blanks are settled by tracing the antecedent across sentence boundaries.
- Part B is roughly 24 items at 20%, so a systematic protocol is worth more here than raw vocabulary.
12.2 Cloze Practice Passages with Blank-by-Blank Analysis
The official Part B directions are a strategy in themselves: "First, read through the entire paragraph. Then, for each blank, choose the completion that is the most appropriate, given the context of the entire paragraph." Candidates who answer blank by blank without the initial read make predictable errors, because Spanish cloze blanks are chosen precisely where local information is insufficient.
Protocol: (1) read the whole paragraph, skipping blanks; (2) write down the temporal anchor in one word — pasado, presente, futuro, hipotético; (3) work each blank against that anchor.
Passage 1 — Narrative, Past Anchor
Cuando Marta [1]________ a la ciudad por primera vez, no conocía a nadie. Alquiló una habitación pequeña cerca de la universidad y [2]________ buscar trabajo al día siguiente. Durante las primeras semanas [3]________ sola casi todas las noches, [4]________ poco a poco fue haciendo amigos en el barrio. Hoy dice que no [5]________ aquella época por nada del mundo.
Anchor: pasado (narrative).
[1] (A) llega (B) llegaba (C) llegó (D) llegue
(C). Por primera vez bounds the event as a single completed arrival — preterite. The imperfect would suggest a repeated arrival, which contradicts por primera vez.
[2] (A) empezó a (B) empezaba a (C) empiece a (D) empezara a
(A). A specific next-day action in a sequence of completed events. Note the regime: empezar a + infinitive.
[3] (A) cenó (B) cenaba (C) cene (D) ha cenado
(B). Durante las primeras semanas ... casi todas las noches describes a repeated habitual action across an unbounded interval — imperfect.
[4] (A) porque (B) pero (C) sino (D) así que
(B). The clause opposes the loneliness that preceded it, so contrast. Sino is impossible because the previous clause is not negated.
[5] (A) cambiaría (B) cambiara (C) cambia (D) habría cambiado
(A). Hoy dice que... introduces a present-frame report of a hypothetical willingness — the conditional.
Passage 2 — Expository, Present Anchor
El consumo de agua embotellada [6]________ aumentando en todo el mundo, a pesar de que en muchos países el agua del grifo es perfectamente potable. Los especialistas advierten de que cada botella tarda siglos en degradarse, [7]________ es fundamental que los consumidores [8]________ alternativas reutilizables. Algunos ayuntamientos ya han instalado fuentes públicas [9]________ los ciudadanos puedan rellenar sus propios recipientes.
Anchor: presente (expository, with recommendations).
[6] (A) está (B) es (C) ha (D) tiene
(A). Estar + gerund is the progressive; ser never forms it.
[7] (A) sin embargo (B) por lo tanto (C) aunque (D) a pesar de
(B). The recommendation follows from the degradation problem — consequence, not contrast.
[8] (A) buscan (B) busquen (C) buscaran (D) buscarán
(B). Es fundamental que is an impersonal expression of necessity in a present frame, so present subjunctive.
[9] (A) para que (B) porque (C) aunque (D) ya que
(A). The fountains were installed with the purpose that citizens be able to refill — and puedan is already subjunctive, which confirms a purpose conjunction. Porque and ya que take the indicative.
Passage 3 — Hypothetical Frame
Si el gobierno [10]________ las ayudas al transporte público hace una década, hoy la congestión en el centro [11]________ mucho menor. Los estudios demuestran que las ciudades que [12]________ en infraestructura ciclista han reducido sus emisiones de forma notable. [13]________, no basta con construir carriles: hace falta que la población [14]________ el hábito de usarlos.
Anchor: hipotético shifting to presente.
[10] (A) aumentara (B) hubiera aumentado (C) aumentaría (D) habría aumentado
(B). Hace una década places the unrealized condition firmly in the past, and the result clause refers to hoy — a mixed conditional requiring the pluperfect subjunctive in the si clause.
[11] (A) sería (B) fuera (C) habría sido (D) es
(A). The result is present (hoy), so the simple conditional, not the conditional perfect.
[12] (A) inviertan (B) han invertido (C) invirtieran (D) invertirían
(B). The antecedent las ciudades is definite and real — these are actual cities studied — so the adjective clause takes the indicative, and the present perfect matches han reducido.
[13] (A) Por consiguiente (B) Sin embargo (C) Además (D) Es decir
(B). The sentence qualifies the previous positive finding with a limitation, signalled by no basta con.
[14] (A) adquiere (B) adquiera (C) adquiriera (D) adquirirá
(B). Hace falta que is an impersonal expression of necessity in a present frame.
Passage 4 — Formal Notice
Se comunica a [15]________ los residentes que las obras de la fachada comenzarán el próximo lunes. Durante ese periodo, el acceso al portal principal [16]________ restringido, por lo que se ruega utilizar la entrada lateral. Quienes [17]________ dificultades de movilidad deben comunicarlo en portería [18]________ del miércoles, para que la comunidad [19]________ organizar un acceso alternativo.
Anchor: futuro administrativo.
[15] (A) todo (B) todos (C) toda (D) cada
(B). Agreement with masculine plural los residentes; cada is invariable but would need a singular noun.
[16] (A) será (B) estará (C) habrá (D) sería
(B). Restringido here names the resulting state of the entrance, so estar + participle.
[17] (A) tienen (B) tengan (C) tuvieran (D) tendrán
(B). Quienes introduces an unidentified group whose existence is not asserted — an indefinite antecedent, hence subjunctive.
[18] (A) antes (B) después (C) hasta (D) desde
(A). A deadline before an event; antes del miércoles.
[19] (A) puede (B) pueda (C) podría (D) podrá
(B). Para que always takes the subjunctive.
What the Four Passages Have in Common
| Blank type | Count | What settled it |
|---|---|---|
| Grammatical trigger | 9 | es fundamental que, para que, hace falta que, si + past, indefinite antecedent |
| Discourse connector | 4 | the with-or-against test between adjacent sentences |
| Aspect / tense choice | 3 | the paragraph's temporal anchor |
| Vocabulary or agreement | 3 | head-noun agreement, ser vs. estar, lexical fit |
Read that distribution carefully: nine of nineteen blanks were decided by a trigger that requires no understanding of the topic at all. Four more fell to a two-way logical test. Only three genuinely depended on knowing a word.
That is the practical argument for the protocol:
- Establish the anchor first — it settles the aspect blanks before you read a single option.
- Scan for triggers second — que after an impersonal expression, a purpose conjunction, a si clause.
- Apply the with-or-against test to connector blanks third.
- Reason from vocabulary only for what is left.
That distribution is the practical argument for the protocol: identify the anchor and the triggers, and most of Part B answers itself.
Read the excerpt: "Las autoridades instalaron cámaras en el cruce ________ los conductores respeten los límites de velocidad." Which completion fits?
Read the excerpt: "Si la empresa hubiera modernizado sus equipos hace cinco años, hoy ________ más competitiva en el mercado europeo." Which completion fits?
In a narrative cloze passage anchored in the past, which clue most reliably selects the preterite over the imperfect?