CPE Reading and Use of English Part 2
For questions 9-16, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).
Example: WHEN
When the Map Runs Out
There is a particular anxiety that sets in 0 WHEN a smartphone battery dies in an unfamiliar place. This modern dread highlights a deeper truth: we have largely lost our capacity to navigate physical space without digital guidance. The instinct to wander, to tolerate uncertainty, and to find our way 9 trial and error has atrophied.
Before GPS, reaching a destination often 10 a series of small negotiations with the environment – landmarks, the sun’s position, the advice of strangers. This process was not 11 inefficient; it was a form of low-stakes problem-solving that honed observation and resilience. 12 , turn-by-turn navigation systems externalise this process, relocating the burden of decision-making from the traveller to the device. We trade the small pride of discovery for the cold certainty of efficiency.
13 is more, the very concept of ‘being lost’ has changed. It once described a temporary, often fruitful, state of disorientation that could lead to unexpected discoveries. Now, it is synonymous 14 helplessness, a problem to be solved in seconds with a swipe. We have engineered the serendipity and the mild discomfort 15 of our journeys, perhaps forgetting that not knowing 16 you are can sometimes be the quickest way to learn about a place, and about yourself.
For this task: Answers with explanations :: Vocabulary
