Unit 9.3

Grammar Cloze

There are 10 blanks, numbered 1 to 10, in the passage below. From the list of words given, choose the most suitable word for each blank. Write its letter (A to Q) in the blank.

EACH WORD CAN BE USED ONLY ONCE.

(A)	any	(E)	from	(J)	to	(N)	when
(B)	at	(F)	in	(K)	too	(P)	where
(C)	by	(G)	on	(L)	was	(Q)	with
(D)	for	(H)	out	(M)	were

In 1995, Si Thu, a healthy 4-kg baby was born to a small family living in a picturesque hill town of Loilem in southern Myanmar. Si Thu was told that his father had died (1) _______ he was very young. But (2) _______ actual fact, his father had abandoned the family, leaving his mother, Choy as the sole breadwinner. Life was very hard. Choy had simply no way of providing (3) _______ her three children.

In search of a better life, Choy and her family moved to Yangon city in 1999, (4)_______ better job opportunities were available. Si Thu and his family settled quickly in Yangon. The young boy started attending school near his home. Choy worked (5) _______ dawn to dusk selling fruits, earning about $2 (converted to Singapore currency) a day. Her meagre income was hardly enough to support the needs of the family.

Life soon took a turn for the worse. In 2003, Si Thu noticed that something was wrong (6) _______ his legs. “I started to feel that my legs were too heavy,” recalled the soft-spoken boy. (7) _______ his dismay, he was later diagnosed with Muscle Paralysis, a disease that weakens and degenerates his body muscles. The doctors believed the disease was caused by the long term effects of poor nutrition.

In spite of the severity of the illness, Choy could not afford to send Si Thu for (8) _______ medical treatment. To make matters worse, her fruits stall business failed at the same time and the family had to move to a poorer part of the city, where medical facilities (9) _______ scarce. By and by, Si Thu lost his ability to walk. By 2005, Si Thu could no longer stand on his feet.

Si Thu’s physical disability coupled with his family’s financial difficulties almost forced the young boy to drop (10) _______ of school. Not wanting to disappoint her son, Choy decided to send Si Thu to school on her back everyday.

Adapted from: Wah Eh Htoo. (2008, April). Life’s Heavy Burden. Reader's Digest, 66-67.