CLOZE TEST-TEST 29

The system of "local welfare" schemes set up less than five years ago to provide emergency help to England's poorest families, often to help them cope with delays and sanctions to their benefits, is on the (A) of collapse, say poverty campaigners. (B) A survey of more than 150 council-run schemes by Church Action on Poverty found that nearly a quarter had been shutted down since 2013, while a further quarter have reduced spending by 85% or more. More are expected to close in the next few months. (C) The destitution (1) of local welfare would put tens of thousands of vulnerable
(2) people at increased risk (3) of hunger, debt and demise (4), the charity said. The system was designed to help people on low incomes deal with unexpected hardship, (D) ------------ -------, or domestic crises such as broken boilers, house fires and flooding. Huge cuts to council budgets have left the system, which replaced the old social fund, struggling to survive. Provision is so uneven that thousands of people cannot access emergency help from the state, Church Action on Poverty said. "Local authority welfare schemes are increasingly (E), leaving families in many areas with nowhere to turn for help," said the bishop of Manchester, David Walker. "It cannot be right for central and local government to (F) abdicate responsibility for people in  crisis when they need our help most." In many areas, the most common reason for an application for crisis support is delays or sanctions to benefits, with some councils noting that the five-week minimum wait for a first universal credit payment is an emerging factor in rising demand. Universal credit claimants facing hardship who contact Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) help lines for help are routinely directed to local welfare schemes in their areas if they do not qualify for official advance loans or hardship funds. Church leaders and anti-poverty charities called on ministers to make local welfare provision a legal duty for top-tier councils, and to provide ring fenced funding to protect crisis services. 

Which of the following word given in the options should come at the place marked as (A) in the above paragraph to make it grammatically correct and meaningful Also, the word should fill in the two sentences given below to make them contextually correct and meaningful.
(i) She stood out of his way, barely able to care for a child and at a loss as to what to do with a boy on the …………………. of becoming a teenager.
(ii) He found the country on the …………………. of revolution; but the wisdom of the new monarch saved the situation and won back the Magyars 

The system of "local welfare" schemes set up less than five years ago to provide emergency help to England's poorest families, often to help them cope with delays and sanctions to their benefits, is on the (A) of collapse, say poverty campaigners. (B) A survey of more than 150 council-run schemes by Church Action on Poverty found that nearly a quarter had been shutted down since 2013, while a further quarter have reduced spending by 85% or more. More are expected to close in the next few months. (C) The destitution (1) of local welfare would put tens of thousands of vulnerable
(2) people at increased risk (3) of hunger, debt and demise (4), the charity said. The system was designed to help people on low incomes deal with unexpected hardship, (D) ------------ -------, or domestic crises such as broken boilers, house fires and flooding. Huge cuts to council budgets have left the system, which replaced the old social fund, struggling to survive. Provision is so uneven that thousands of people cannot access emergency help from the state, Church Action on Poverty said. "Local authority welfare schemes are increasingly (E), leaving families in many areas with nowhere to turn for help," said the bishop of Manchester, David Walker. "It cannot be right for central and local government to (F) abdicate responsibility for people in  crisis when they need our help most." In many areas, the most common reason for an application for crisis support is delays or sanctions to benefits, with some councils noting that the five-week minimum wait for a first universal credit payment is an emerging factor in rising demand. Universal credit claimants facing hardship who contact Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) help lines for help are routinely directed to local welfare schemes in their areas if they do not qualify for official advance loans or hardship funds. Church leaders and anti-poverty charities called on ministers to make local welfare provision a legal duty for top-tier councils, and to provide ring fenced funding to protect crisis services. 

In the passage given, a sentence (B) is given in italics.
There may or may not be an error in one part of the sentence. Choose the part which has an error in it as your answer. If there is no error then choose option (e) as your answer.

The system of "local welfare" schemes set up less than five years ago to provide emergency help to England's poorest families, often to help them cope with delays and sanctions to their benefits, is on the (A) of collapse, say poverty campaigners. (B) A survey of more than 150 council-run schemes by Church Action on Poverty found that nearly a quarter had been shutted down since 2013, while a further quarter have reduced spending by 85% or more. More are expected to close in the next few months. (C) The destitution (1) of local welfare would put tens of thousands of vulnerable
(2) people at increased risk (3) of hunger, debt and demise (4), the charity said. The system was designed to help people on low incomes deal with unexpected hardship, (D) ------------ -------, or domestic crises such as broken boilers, house fires and flooding. Huge cuts to council budgets have left the system, which replaced the old social fund, struggling to survive. Provision is so uneven that thousands of people cannot access emergency help from the state, Church Action on Poverty said. "Local authority welfare schemes are increasingly (E), leaving families in many areas with nowhere to turn for help," said the bishop of Manchester, David Walker. "It cannot be right for central and local government to (F) abdicate responsibility for people in  crisis when they need our help most." In many areas, the most common reason for an application for crisis support is delays or sanctions to benefits, with some councils noting that the five-week minimum wait for a first universal credit payment is an emerging factor in rising demand. Universal credit claimants facing hardship who contact Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) help lines for help are routinely directed to local welfare schemes in their areas if they do not qualify for official advance loans or hardship funds. Church leaders and anti-poverty charities called on ministers to make local welfare provision a legal duty for top-tier councils, and to provide ring fenced funding to protect crisis services. 

The sentence given in (C) has four words given in bold. Amongst the given bold words which of the following must replace each other to make the sentence contextually correct and meaningful.

The system of "local welfare" schemes set up less than five years ago to provide emergency help to England's poorest families, often to help them cope with delays and sanctions to their benefits, is on the (A) of collapse, say poverty campaigners. (B) A survey of more than 150 council-run schemes by Church Action on Poverty found that nearly a quarter had been shutted down since 2013, while a further quarter have reduced spending by 85% or more. More are expected to close in the next few months. (C) The destitution (1) of local welfare would put tens of thousands of vulnerable
(2) people at increased risk (3) of hunger, debt and demise (4), the charity said. The system was designed to help people on low incomes deal with unexpected hardship, (D) ------------ -------, or domestic crises such as broken boilers, house fires and flooding. Huge cuts to council budgets have left the system, which replaced the old social fund, struggling to survive. Provision is so uneven that thousands of people cannot access emergency help from the state, Church Action on Poverty said. "Local authority welfare schemes are increasingly (E), leaving families in many areas with nowhere to turn for help," said the bishop of Manchester, David Walker. "It cannot be right for central and local government to (F) abdicate responsibility for people in  crisis when they need our help most." In many areas, the most common reason for an application for crisis support is delays or sanctions to benefits, with some councils noting that the five-week minimum wait for a first universal credit payment is an emerging factor in rising demand. Universal credit claimants facing hardship who contact Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) help lines for help are routinely directed to local welfare schemes in their areas if they do not qualify for official advance loans or hardship funds. Church leaders and anti-poverty charities called on ministers to make local welfare provision a legal duty for top-tier councils, and to provide ring fenced funding to protect crisis services. 

Which of the following phrases should fill the blank in (D) to make it contextually correct and meaningful?

The system of "local welfare" schemes set up less than five years ago to provide emergency help to England's poorest families, often to help them cope with delays and sanctions to their benefits, is on the (A) of collapse, say poverty campaigners. (B) A survey of more than 150 council-run schemes by Church Action on Poverty found that nearly a quarter had been shutted down since 2013, while a further quarter have reduced spending by 85% or more. More are expected to close in the next few months. (C) The destitution (1) of local welfare would put tens of thousands of vulnerable
(2) people at increased risk (3) of hunger, debt and demise (4), the charity said. The system was designed to help people on low incomes deal with unexpected hardship, (D) ------------ -------, or domestic crises such as broken boilers, house fires and flooding. Huge cuts to council budgets have left the system, which replaced the old social fund, struggling to survive. Provision is so uneven that thousands of people cannot access emergency help from the state, Church Action on Poverty said. "Local authority welfare schemes are increasingly (E), leaving families in many areas with nowhere to turn for help," said the bishop of Manchester, David Walker. "It cannot be right for central and local government to (F) abdicate responsibility for people in  crisis when they need our help most." In many areas, the most common reason for an application for crisis support is delays or sanctions to benefits, with some councils noting that the five-week minimum wait for a first universal credit payment is an emerging factor in rising demand. Universal credit claimants facing hardship who contact Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) help lines for help are routinely directed to local welfare schemes in their areas if they do not qualify for official advance loans or hardship funds. Church leaders and anti-poverty charities called on ministers to make local welfare provision a legal duty for top-tier councils, and to provide ring fenced funding to protect crisis services. 

Which of the following word given in the options should come at the place marked as (E) in the above paragraph to make it grammatically correct and meaningful Also, the word should fill in the two sentences given below to make them contextually correct and meaningful.
(i) After living in the woods for a week without supplies, my ……………….. clothing was not protecting me from the elements.
(ii) The Defence Department generally defended its existing programs, though the rationale for them was growing ……………………….