PSLE Comprehension Cloze Practice 1: The School Fair (with answers)
How to use this page: fill in every blank first (read the whole sentence before deciding), and keep the reveals closed. Then check each answer, and for each one notice the clue that decided it.
This is a shorter seven-blank warm-up. The real PSLE passage has fifteen blanks, but the skill it tests is identical.
The passage
Every year, our school holds a fun fair to raise money for charity. This year, the fair was even more exciting (1) _______ the weather was perfect. Stalls lined the field, each one selling something different, (2) _______ food, games, and handmade crafts.
My friends and I ran a drinks stall. At first, business was slow, (3) _______ we did not lose hope. We made a colourful sign and called out to passers-by, and soon a long queue (4) _______ formed in front of us. By noon, we (5) _______ sold almost everything.
When the fair finally ended, we were exhausted (6) _______ happy. We had raised more money than any other stall, and best of all, every cent would go to (7) _______ who needed it. It was a day none of us would forget.
Check your answers
Blank 1: reveal answer
Answer: because. Cause-and-effect: the fair was exciting as a result of the perfect weather, so a reason word fits.
Blank 2: reveal answer
Answer: including (or such as). The words after it (food, games, crafts) are examples of "something different", so an example-signal is needed.
Blank 3: reveal answer
Answer: but (or yet). Contrast: slow business versus not losing hope. The two ideas oppose each other, so a contrast word fits.
Blank 4: reveal answer
Answer: had. Tense clue: paired with "formed", the passage needs "had formed" (past perfect) to show it happened over the morning.
Blank 5: reveal answer
Answer: had. Same tense pattern: "had… sold almost everything" by noon shows a completed action before that point.
Blank 6: reveal answer
Answer: but (or yet). Contrast again: "exhausted" and "happy" pull in opposite directions, so a contrast word links them.
Blank 7: reveal answer
Answer: those (or people). The sentence needs a word meaning the people the charity helps; "those who needed it" is the natural fit.
Self-check on the tricky blanks
Blank (2): choose the word that fits: '...selling something different, ___ food, games, and handmade crafts.'
Show answer & explanation
Answer: (B) including
The correct answer is (B) 'including'. Food, games and crafts are examples of the 'something different', so you need an example-signal word. (A) 'although' signals contrast, which there isn't. (C) 'because' signals a reason, but this is not cause-and-effect. (D) 'instead' signals replacement, which contradicts a list of items being sold.
Blank (4): choose the word that fits: '...soon a long queue ___ formed in front of us.'
Show answer & explanation
Answer: (C) had
The correct answer is (C) 'had'. The whole passage is in the past tense, and 'had formed' (past perfect) shows the queue built up over the morning before noon. (A) 'has' and (B) 'have' are present perfect, which clashes with the past-tense story. (D) 'having' cannot act as the finite verb here.
Blank (7): choose the word that fits: '...every cent would go to ___ who needed it.'
Show answer & explanation
Answer: (B) those
The correct answer is (B) 'those', meaning the people who needed help, as in 'those who needed it'. (A) 'them' cannot be followed by the relative clause 'who needed it' in this structure. (C) 'whom' is an object pronoun and cannot start this noun phrase. (D) 'which' refers to things, not people.
The habit to take away
Notice how many blanks (1, 3, 6) were decided by a single relationship, reason or contrast, between two halves of a sentence. Train your child to ask: "do these two ideas agree or clash?" Agreement points to and, so, because; a clash points to but, yet, although. That one question solves a huge share of cloze blanks.
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