A "cloze passage" is a reading comprehension exercise in which words have been omitted in a systematic fashion. Students fill in the blanks, and their responses are counted correct if they are exact matches for the missing words. Cloze exercises assess comprehension and background knowledge, and they are also excellent indicators of whether the reading level and language level of the text are appropriate for a given student. Such exercises are often used in teaching English as a second language.
The word "cloze" appears to come from "closure" suggesting completion. Thus, the student completes the sentence by supplying the missing word or words.
An example may be found at
http://english.byu.edu/novelinks/reading…
Below is a very simple example of cloze passage used for teaching English as a second language:
There once was an old woman who____ (1) in a shoe. This must have been very cramped and difficult because living____ (2) a shoe is not very comfortable, I expect. One day, she went out and there____ (3) some children playing in the street nearby where she lived. They began shouting___ (4) her. "You silly old woman, why do you live in a shoe?", they shouted, and other things like that. They were very insulting____ (5) the old woman.
Answers:
lived
in
were
at
to
The sources below provide additional explication.
Source(s):
http://www.colorincolorado.org/glossary/…
http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic…
http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_ima…
http://www.edict.com.hk/vlc/cloze/frames…