CHAPTER 3 : CLOZE TEST

Exercise 1:
The Great Gatsby is F. Scott Fitzgerald's epic masterpiece about the death of the American Dream in the 1920s.
It is a tragic romance story that takes place during the summer of 1922 and is 1)_______ on Long Island in New
York City.

The book begins when the novel’s hero, Nick Carraway, moves from Minnesota to his new home on Long
Island Sound. His house is on a fictionalised island called West Egg, which is situated in between decadent
beachside homes, and 2)_______ the bay from East Egg, an even classier and richer area.

When Carraway meets the man who is the namesake of the book, Jay Gatsby, he is dazzled by the 3)_______ of
his lifestyle, completely awash with awe and envy. Nick soon finds out that even a man so popular as Gatsby
cannot break the 4)_______ ceiling when it comes to certain social barriers, because of his own questionable
past and lineage. Fitzgerald wrote this book about the 5)_______ known later as the Jazz Age, which was a time
of glitter and decadence.

A few of the more prominent themes throughout the book are that of social class, war, and of course, the
unending 6)_______ for the American Dream. Social or moral values, or the lack of them, also play a huge part
in the fabric of the book’s 7)_______. Many times Fitzgerald provides example of the decaying moral values of
the characters, and how this affects their lives and the lives of those around them.

Many themes are dealt with in this book, which are still 8)_______ to the world today. This is one of the reasons
why the book is considered to be one of the most important and influential 9)_______ of classic literature of our
time. It is a book that is certain to engross readers and give them 10)_______ for thought.

Exercise 2:
We are by 1)_______ social animals. The social bonds we establish play a vital role in defining us and
2)_______ the way we develop as individuals. They contribute to our emotional growth and help 3)_______
that emotional void which we experience when we are deprived of the company of other individuals like
ourselves. 4)_______ in social interaction is not only a practical necessity but a basic part of being human. For
instance, contact and experimentation with our social environment is what 5)_______ the learning process.
Aspects of our human nature that are attributed primarily to social factors are 6)_______ of behaviour and the
development of emotional intelligence. The latter helps us identify, assess and handle our emotions. It is thus
7)_______ makes essentially human and distinguishes us from other living beings. When nurtured, it awakens
social awareness, which is the feeling that one is not alone but 8)_______ of a whole, and it strengthens feelings
of solidarity amongst us. This acts as an emotional 9)_______ by making us feel that no matter what may
happen, we are in this together, our common goal being 10)_______ of survival.

Exercise 3:

We live in an 1)______ dominated by an increasing dependence on technological innovations. It is for this

reason that younger generations find it virtually impossible to imagine a 2)_______ without the convenience
and comfort they provide us with. Small wonder 3)_______ that when asked to forecast what life will be like in
the future, they come up with something that sounds as if it’s been 4)_______ out of a science-fiction book. But
this description is actually not the product of an unbridled 5)_______. Based on the present speed at which
breakthroughs are being made, it’s actually a fairly accurate prediction. It looks as if technology will have the
6)_______ hand, and in all likelihood, fully automated systems will substitute for people in all areas. People
will take the back 7)_______ and instead of beavering 8)_______ at work we will be able to take advantage of
the time made available to us to engage in more recreational activities. Utilising this time constructively will be
a feat in 9)_______. Perhaps a care of too much of a good thing. Things might just come to the point where,
from time to time, we will 10)_______ about the good old days.

Exercise 4:

Mankind’s unquenchable 1)______ for knowledge, our intrepid spirit and our unbridled imagination have
helped us excel in leaps and bounds. They have been the 2)______ force behind many innovative discoveries
and inventions Our success has undoubtedly empowered us and this has made us bold enough to set our
3)______ on the ultimate goal, that of eternal youth and perhaps, even eternal life. But how do we intend to
transcend the theoretical limits placed upon us by the natural 4)______ of things? Well, we hope to harness the
inherent 5)______ of stem cells. You see, stem cells are not just ordinary cells. They are the cells that have the
capacity to develop into different cell types, and are capable of repairing as well as replenishing other cells
6)______ as long as the person or animal is alive. This 7)______ feat, if achieved, will have a profound impact
on mankind as a range of practical applications will be made available to us. We will be in a 8)______ not only
to do away with our body’s normal wear and tear, which may be likened to its natural tendency to self-destruct,
but also to combat diseases that are, to date, our arch enemies. Keep in mind that stem cell research is still in its
infancy and a daunting 9)______ lies ahead in our quest for enlightenment, for which we must exercise both
prudence and patience. Of paramount importance in this quest is the application of moral restraints, which must
act as a beacon in the 10)______.

Exericse 5:

A worrying question which requires global attention is severe overpopulation and its drastic 1)______ in the
countries of the Third World. In regions where the birth rate is extremely high, poverty and starvation are rife.
In India, there is an 2)______ of thirty five infants being born every minute, yet the most shocking 3)______
are those which indicate the enormous number of the victims of famine in certain African territories.
Communities afflicted with acute destitution are additionally 4)______ with illiteracy, life in appalling
conditions and infectious diseases decimating the indigenous populations. There is an 5)______ need for these
problems to be solved. Unless measures are taken to ease the 6)______ of the impoverished underdeveloped
nations, desperate crowds of immigrants will 7)______ in flooding the richer states in 8)______ of a brighter
future. It's the most challenging 9)______ for the international giants nowadays to help the poor populations get
out of the 10)______ snare.

Exercise 6:

Stressful situations that emerge almost every day in life seem to be unavoidable. However, we can do little
sometimes to avoid a misfortune or unpleasant occurrence which may befall us 1)______ as only it can. At such
a moment, one may hit the roof, give in to the helplessness of the situation or, ideally, put a brave face on it
trying to 2)______ the burden.

Can you envision in your 3)______ an hour spent in a traffic jam, say, this morning? Do you light one cigarette
after another? Do you sound the horn every few seconds like the other neurotics? Or do you take a different
4)______ and withstand the stressful moment; you can also do a crossword puzzle, listen to your favourite
music or even compose a menu for your Saturday dinner?

In fact, whatever 5)______ you respond to the annoying situation, you can exert no impact on it as the traffic
jam will only reduce in due course. Nevertheless, your reaction might considerably influence your 6)______ for
the rest of the day. The inability to confront a stressful occurrence like that with a deal of composure and
sensibility adds much more strain to your life and in this way puts your well-being in 7)______. Surprisingly,
it's the seemingly negligible hardships we stumble on daily that run double the risk of developing serious health
disorders rather than our isolated tragedies however 8)______ they may be

9)______ that so many of those wretched stress-inducing troubles affect us in a day, we should, at 10)______,
try to avoid them or possibly make radical alterations in the way we lead our daily lifestyles.

Exercise 7:

Sad as it is, a social misperception of the disabled is still 1)______ in many communities. It is only in a few
highly-civilised states where the problems and needs of people with physical or mental incapacities are given
the proper 2)______.

In the remaining countries, the discrimination against the disabled is still practised in many areas of social life.
As in the past, they are ignored, denounced and forced to stay away from the normal community which,
unfortunately, isn’t capable of making any 3)______ for its less fit members.

For decades, the hale and hearty 4)______ of every society has stripped the disabled of their fundamental rights
as their job applications have been turned down, their active participation in business life has on most 5)______
been disallowed and there has been little concern for their convenience in access to public transport. Equally
little effort has been made to help the disabled fully 6)______ with the able-bodied thus laying foundations for
greater community awareness of the drawbacks that the handicapped have to wrestle 7)______ daily.

There’s an urgent need to offer the disabled more adequate assistance and support in their struggle for putting
their basic rights into 8)______. The key principle is that the stereotyped approach towards the impaired
individuals ought to be 9)______ for a more considerate one. Another pressing matter is that the disabled
shouldn’t be appraised on the basis of their handicap, but society should rather focus on providing them with
complete acceptance 10)______ of any imperfections thus treating them as fully-fledged citizens.

Exercise 8:

Peoples’ personalities 1)______ considerably from one another as there are no two alike. Our ingrained
characteristics which 2)______ the patterns of our behaviour, our reactions and temperaments are unparalleled
on 3)______ of the diversified processes that mould our personality in the earliest stages of human
development.

Some traits of character may to some extent be 4)______ simulating the attributes that identify our parents.
Others may stem from the conditions 5)______ during pregnancy and infancy in this way reflecting the parents’
approach towards rearing their offspring. Consequently, the environmental 6)______ plays a crucial role in
strengthening or eliminating certain behavioural systems making an individual more 7)______ to comfort to the
patterns that deserve a prize.

Undoubtedly, human personality 8)______ the most profound and irreversible formation during the first period
of its development, 9)______, certain characteristics may still be 10)______ to considerable changes
conditioned by different circumstances and situations.

Exercise 9:

For many people doing physical exercise may entail a 1)______ torturing of the body. Unless we are forced to
go in for a physical training, we are inclined to treat it as something of a lower 2)______ than staying in front of
the TV set, spending time in a pub sipping alcoholic beverages or consuming excessive quantities of fattening
confectionery in a cafe. What usually repels individuals from committing 3)______ to strenuous exercise is the
fear of fatigue, discomfort or even the inhibitions of being 4)______ by true fitness zealots.

However, getting fit is fully a 5)______ of common sense. Different forms of exercise may be of great benefit to
the human body, increasing its strength, flexibility and endurance. When supported by a nutritious 6)______,
much better performance of the heart and the lungs improves the blood circulation making an individual more
7)______ to stressful situations as well as more 8)______ to infections and diseases.

In the first place, self-discipline that is requisite for proceeding with 9)______ physical effort ought to be
attained to ensure that the intention of becoming healthier and more vigorous isn’t 10)______ by any trivial
impediments.

Exercise 10.

The elementary means of communicating with other people is 1)______ messages by voice. This fact is widely
acknowledged and we recognize the voice as a feature characterizing the 2)______ of a person. The array of
voices is immeasurable as no two are exactly similar. They can be nasal, resonant or shrill produced in
accordance with the individual physical 3)_____ of the throat.

One possible implementation of the art of voice recognition is voice profiling used by police analysts as a
method of substantiating court 4)______ in trials. Every year thousands of audiotapes with recorded interviews
or casual utterances are 5)______ to the purpose to help identify the probable culprit. Specialists dealing with
the voice investigation claim that people can 6)______ themselves away by their accents, infections or other
voice attributes like pitch, intensity and loudness. A recorded sample is usually converted into electric impulses
and later transformed into a pictorial recording which is 7)______ by a computer program. Very frequently
voice analysts have a stab at deciphering the relevant information which may be 8)______ with background
noise or other interfering sounds until they attain the desired results.

Thankfully, these efforts help the police 9)______ individuals who threaten their victim by phone or inform
about bomb planting or those who make offensive calls 10)______ the peace of decent citizens.

Exercise 11:

Dreams are a sequence of ideas, emotions, sensations and images, which arise during certain stages of sleep.
The purpose of dreams as part of the biological 1)______ is not yet fully understood.

Dreams are known to be connected to the 2)______ mind and the stage of sleep at which they occur is 3)______
by rapid-eye-movement (REM), when an observer might see a sleeper’s eyelids ‘fluttering’. Although our
dreams may last for up to half an hour, we can rarely 4)______ them clearly and usually, within moments of
waking, find it difficult to bring them to mind at all.

The significance of dreams can be 5)______ in many different ways. Freud, renowned as the father of
psychoanalysis, believed that dreams are manifestations of our most profound desires and anxieties. He claimed
to be able to 6)______ an individual’s subconscious through dreams and demonstrated a connection between
dreams and repressed childhood 7)______.

The ancient Egyptians noted their dreams on papyrus as people who experienced vivid dreams were considered
to have a kind of 8)______ sense. They believed that dreams 9)______ oracles, bringing messages from the
gods; thus they would attempt to deliberately evoke dreams, going to sanctuaries to sleep on special dream beds.
This is not something which modern scientists would hold with, but perhaps we should keep an 10)______
mind!

Exercise 12:

Today, there is much talk about ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. ADHD is not a learning
1)______, however it can cause difficulties in an academic setting.

Usually, this disorder is noticed in children around the age of six and in order for a proper 2)______ to be made,
they need to be observed for around six months. What are the 3)______? First and foremost, children who suffer
from disorder are often unable to 4)______ information easily or to focus on a task for any 5)______ of time.
Therefore they have difficulties in completing it. They have a very 6)______ attention span and as a result, they
get bored easily. Their 7)______ is also affected and in a classroom setting, the student may be 8)______ and
unable to sit down and take in information. Students are also 9)______ and unable to wait; they often do things
impulsively.

Unfortunately, the 10)______ of ADHD is still unknown, but as it is becoming more and more common in
students today, constant research is being carried out.

Exercise 13:

June 8th is World Oceans Day – an idea instituted by the United Nations to celebrate and protect our natural
heritage. Just as our own central nervous 1)______ controls every part of our body, so the oceans control every
part of our planet. They regulate climate, weather and ecosystems.

Unfortunately, human activities have led to pollution and the destruction of marine habitats. Another result of
human 2)______ in the natural environment is climate change with its accompanying extreme weather
3)______. A rise in greenhouse gas emissions has led to an increase in global temperatures and as a
consequence sea levels have risen. Plastic pollution is also a big issue.

In 2016, as 4)______ of World Oceans Day, thousands of people took part in ‘the better bag challenge’ and
promised to use reusable bags instead of plastic ones. 80 per cent of plastic rubbish 5)______ on land ends up in
the sea, usually washed there via 6)______ – where rivers empty into the sea. You may have seen such debris
washed up onto your local beach at low 7)______. Most plastic bags are made of polyethene – a 8)______
compound which is not biodegradable. Plastic bags break down into tiny visible 9)______, which are ingested
by fish and marine mammals. ‘The better bag challenge’ aims to halt this devastating process and give new
10)______ to our oceans.

Exercisse 14

We are familiar (0) with the saying “a picture paints a thousand words” and in the global village the world has
become, information in pictorial form is (1)_____we turn. Much communication takes place through symbols
rather than words, a case in point (2) ______ airports, where you can see the majority of the thirty-four symbols
devised (3) ______ the American Institute of Graphic Arts in the 1970s. Such signs as a knife and fork for a
restaurant or a telephone for a phone booth are a boon for (4) _______ a traveller who does not speak English or
use the Latin alphabet. (5) _______ worldwide "languages" of this kind are musical and mathematical notation,
circuit diagrams, road signs and computer icons, (6)______, again, bypass the need for words. Even a label on a
garment will carry, in symbols, washing and ironing instructions. All these (7) ______ to be sufficient to their
(8)______ restricted worlds but would it really be possible to devise a universal symbolic system of
communication independent of any spoken language, culture-free and value-free, as dreamt of by the
seventeenth-century philosopher Leibniz? It would seem (9) ______. Chinese and Japanese pictograms and
ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics are sometimes cited as examples of such a system, yet both Japanese script and
Egyptian hieroglyphics include sound-based elements and Chinese is often transliterated (10)______ romanised
sound-based "pinyin" script. In a word, words are inescapable.

Exericse 15.

A few decades ago, entry to university meant studying a strictly academic subject -a science, or perhaps
literature, a foreign language or the classics. These days, (1) ________ education establishments offer every
conceivable subject from Chinese medicine to crime scene science. In Britain, this trend coincided with a
dramatic increase in the (2) ________ of universities and more relaxed entry requirements, (3) ________ more
students to experience tertiary education. Many feared these measures would result in a (4) ________ down of
degree-level courses and the press seized every opportunity to ridicule such courses. The creation in 1999 of a
bachelor’s degree in surfing studies was taken as the ultimate proof that universities were prepared to give
(5)_______ in anything in an attempt to attract young people, thereby (6)_______Britain’s academic reputation.
In reality, the course, run by Plymouth University in South-West England, is highly scientific, and the
curriculum is (7)_______ including oceanography, meteorology, materials technology and business
management. Students on this course and other seemingly more practical courses have (8) ________ performed
better in tests than those doing straight science degrees. Far from having an adverse effect on higher education,
these new disciplines (9)_______ students and aid learning by offering the opportunity to
(10)_______theoretical knowledge directly. Many of today’s graduates have a broad base of knowledge and are
well placed to enter the job market.

Exercise 16.

The prehistoric of today's crocodiles go back over 240 million years. They lived through the break-up of the
continents, they were 1)______ when the dinosaurs disappeared, and they witnessed the evolution of mammals
and birds. Their distinctive 2)______, such as long jaws, protective armour, streamlined body and long tail have
hardly changed for millions of years, which indicates that they are perfectly adapted to their 3)______.

Crocodiles sometimes hunt in an active way, but they are better known for ambush hunting, also called the “sit
and wait” 4)______. Once a crocodile detects the 5)______ of prey, on the bank of the river, for example, it will
sleep silently under the water and swim until it is very close to its target. Its head then emerges and it lunges
with jaws wide 6)______. The jaws then slam shut. Small creatures are usually crushed and swallowed straight
down; larger prey is 7)______ tight until it stops moving. If the crocodile has caught a very large animal, it will
roll to throw the prey off 8)______, then drag it into deeper water and hold it there until it drowns.

Crocodiles help to keep the balance both in freshwater and saltwater 9)______ but, unfortunately, seventeen of
the twenty-three species that are 10)______worldwide are now endangered.

Exercise 17.

Quite often a plant or animal may resemble another to which it is not closely related. The resemblance is often
1)______ to a feature that offers some form of advantage, such as protection from a predator. In most 2)_____
cases, one species, called the mimic, gain an advantage from its similarity to another, which may be 3)______ to
as the model. For example, the harmless milk snake has stripes of the same colour as the coral snake, which is
extremely poisonous. Accordingly, the mimic can avoid any predators that are 4)______ of coral snakes.
Though colours are often used as visual warning systems, some species use a supplementary ploy to 5)______
the message. For example, skunks, which are quite clearly 6)______due to their prominent black and white
markings, use a highly stylized display dance as a backup system. Their dance draws the attention of 7)______
attackers to this pattern. 8)______ of which ingenious defence mechanism a species might use, it must be
remembered that there is no such thing as complete protection. A case in 9)______ is the genius Amanita. These
mushrooms are exceedingly poisonous, yet they can be consumed by rabbits without ill 10)______.

Exercise 18.

There are techniques that exist which can improve memory, the most popular of which must be mnemonics, or
ways to 1)______ information into a form that aids retention in the brain. Those who have difficulty
memorising facts, for example can 2)______ the information by using a memorable phrase. A famous example
is “Richard of York gave battle in vain”, 3)______ each word replaces a colour of the rainbow starting with the
same colour. Mnemonics 4)______ because our brains find it easier to retain information that is surprising,
personal or humorous, than that 5)______ is abstract and impersonal. Association also plays an important part in
helping us recall information. This technique involves creating something memorable to 6)______ the
information you want. For instance, by 7)______ a picture or word in your language to a word in the foreign
language that you are trying to learn, the visual or verbal 8)______ can help you remember the word.
Recollection of facts is obviously easier if you know your particular learning style so that you can 9)______
your clues. As anyone who has had to create a password knows, easily-remembered information is information
that is personally meaningful. The best passwords are those that have a 10)______ significance for their users,
but whose meaning would baffle anyone else. There are lots of tricks to try; the most important thing is to
remember to use them.

Exercise 19.

We’ve all been there and come back with a T-shirt bearing a slogan about it – The Failed Holiday. The kids are
bored 1)______, you can’t find a decent restaurant for love or 2)______, the cafes are all full and you are fed
up. Tempers 3)______ and you are left wondering why you went away in the first place – hardly a good way to
spend precious holiday time. But there is a way of escaping the stresses of being away from home. Staying in an
all-inclusive hotel 4)______ you don’t have to plan meals, activities or night life, as everything is catered for,
leaving you to 5)______ back, relax and enjoy your holiday. Most importantly, all-inclusive holidays 6)______
at all-inclusive prices, so you pay for everything before you go away. And don’t think you’ll be 7)______ to one
or two resorts. These days, holiday companies offer all-inclusive deals in every main resort around the
Mediterranean, as well as more exotic locations such as the Caribbean or the Maldives. If you think this is the
sort of holiday you are after, there are a few things to keep in 8)______. Firstly, remember that you’ll be
spending most of your time in the hotel, so make sure you choose one which has the facilities you require. If
you’ re travelling as a family 9)______, many hotels offer excellent children’s facilities such as kid’s clubs,
playgrounds and crèches. For older children, there are a number of hotels offering supervised activities for teens
while others offer 10)______ sport facilities including team games, water sports and gym facilities.

Exercise 20.

Imagine you are walking to school listening to music on your MP3 player. All of a sudden, it stops working and
you 1. _______ that the batteries have run out. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could simply 2. ______ the
batteries wherever you are? This might be possible in a few years’ 3._____as scientists are now working on a
bag that make electricity. They say that all someone needs to do is put the bag their back and start walking. The
4.______ of the body makes electricity in a special part of the bag. This new 5._____ sounds like a brilliant
idea, doesn’t it? Scientists developed the “electric backpack” in order to help soldiers, who often carry around
with them torches, radios and other equipment. All these things 6_______ on batteries and at the moment, the
soldiers 7._____ on these batteries to 8_______ the power this equipment needs. With the “electric backpack”,
the soldiers won’t need to 9.______ extra batteries around with them. Rescue workers and mountain climbers
will also find the bag 10._______, as will students who don’t want their MP3 players to run out by chance on
their way to school.

Exercise 21.

The human memory is an extremely 1._______ processing system that is not easily explained to lay persons.
However, there are some simple 2._______ that can give anyone an idea of just how fascinating memory is.
First of all, most people have heard of long-term and short-term memory. The former has the potential to last as
long as the person lives and there is no known 3._______ to its capacity. The latter, however, only really lasts
for a few seconds. Long-term memory is divided into explicit and implicit memory. An implicit memory would
be 4._______ like knowing how to drive a car or bake a cake or any other thing we have learned to do through
5._______. Explicit memory is also subdivided into episodic and semantic memory. Episodic is all the different
events or episodes of your life such as your first day at school or any other life experience. Semantic memory is
about 6._______ not related to experience such as knowing that Einstein wrote the theory of relativity. We don't
all remember events in the same way and memory is not a true 7._______ of events. How we remember
something can be affected by such things as egocentric bias, 8._______ we remember in a way that makes us
look better or gives us the starring 9._______ in an event. Also there are many things that can go wrong with
memory in the encoding, storage or retrieval 10._______ of memory.

Exercise 22:

Is cooking becoming a lost art? On the 1._______ of it, the question may seem slightly ridiculous. 2._______
all, food and cookery programmes have, in recent years, become one of most popular broadcasts on television.
Celebrity chef cookbooks regularly top best-seller lists, and the 3._______ division of cookery seems to be
disappearing - nowadays, it’s not at all, unusual to find men in the kitchen cooking 4._______ a storm. Yet, is it
all as it really seems? Apparently not. According to food industry analysts, while seeking out good food has
become the 5._______, preparing and cooking it certainly hasn't. The home-cooked meal is fast becoming a lost
art. Today, many people view the daily preparation of meals as an impossible aspiration. Ready meals and other
heavily processed products have become the order of the 6._______. Both young and old cite lack of time as the
primary reason for opting for pre-packaged convenience foods. The trend for ready meals began in the 1990's.
Today Americans spend on 7._______ 50 cents out of every food dollar on ready-prepared, ready-to-eat foods.
A recent survey on the eating habits of Americans revealed that, in 1984, Americans made 72% of their dinners
from scratch but by 2008 that figure had dropped to just 57%. Americans don't eat out as often as they used to,
but eating more at home has not 8._______ preparing more meals from scratch. The trend is mirrored in the UK.
Like Americans, Britons are finding someone else to do the cooking - their supermarket. Aisle after aisle of
British supermarket shelves are now 9._______ to ready meals. It's high time we took back the kitchen. It’s time
to 10._______ free from the shackles of ready-made, industrial food. It’s time to cook.

Exercise 23:

Human rights, that set of privileges that we all possess by 1._______ of being born, is a far more recent term
than one might think. The idea of inalienable rights originated in antiquity, but it 2._______ the horrors of the
Second World War to get the idea enshrined in an internationally-accepted document, the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights of 1948.
The document itself is 3._______ of thirty articles that cover, amongst other things, the right to life, liberty and
security of person, the freedom of speech, and the freedom of slavery, arbitrary arrest, detention of torture. To
ensure its universality, one of the first 4._______ of the declaration is that these rights are extra-territorial, that
is, they take 5._______ over the laws of any individual country.

Founded in 1978, Human Rights Watch is an organisation 6._______ to highlighting human rights abuses.
Originally called Helsinki Watch, it changed its name in 1988 to 7._______ its changing role on the world stage.
Using investigative teams that provide annual reports on individual countries, Human Rights Watch uses its
media profile to put countries that 8._______ the declaration under the harsh spotlight of global 9._______.

Human Rights Watch may be a 10._______ in the side of abusive nations around the world, but it has plenty of
grassroots supports and even some high-flying devotees. George Soros, the renowned investor and
philanthropist, pledged $100 million to Human Rights Watch – its biggest ever private contribution – declaring,
“Human Rights Watch is one of the most effective organisations I support. Human rights underpin our greatest
aspirations; they are at the 11._______ of open societies.”

Exercise 24.

It is difficult to comprehend the sheer scale and reach of the illegal worldwide trade in wild animals. It affects
every country on the planet and involves the cross-border movement of millions of animals annually, the
majority of which die in 1._______. In Brazil 2._______, some 38 million animals are stolen from rainforests
each year, 90% dying in the process of being caught or during transportation. Next to the illegal drug trade and
possibly human trafficking and arms trafficking, the illegal trade in wildlife is the most 3._______ illicit market
in the world. It is worth an 4._______ US $10-20 billion annually.

Sadly, the consequences of the illegal trade in exotic animals 5._______ far beyond the tragic depletion or
outright extinction of given species. When a species disappears from its habitat, the entire food chain can be
thrown off balance leading to population booms and 6._______ among other species. Moreover, for people
living in close 7._______ to these exotic animals, loss of biodiversity increases the downward pressure on their
already impoverished condition. Organised crime is also strengthened by the profits from the illegal wildlife
trade. Indeed, 8._______ are now being detected between wildlife crime, drug trafficking and human
trafficking.

But perhaps the most potentially serious and far-reaching consequence of the wildlife trade is the spread of
infectious diseases. Today, most emerging diseases are zoonotic, i.e. they are transferred from animals to
humans. Unfortunately, wildlife trade provides excellent opportunities for disease 9._______. New diseases
threaten not only humans but livestock, international trade, rural livelihoods, native wildlife populations and the
health of entire ecosystems. The threat is very real and brings with it a complex net of problems that we
10._______ a planet are under-prepared for.