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2 (8 testees) Type of material A1(M-C cloze) B2(S cloze) A2 (M-C cloze) B1 (S cloze) Average score 7.25 3.75 5.75 2.75 3. Analysis 3.1 materials Before analyzing the experiment results, a brief review of the material itself is in order. As a matter of fact, these two passages well point to cloze as an integrative method . Just take passage 2 (M-C cloze) as an example. Blank No.1 measures the mastery of vocabulary (“range”), No.2 involves a noun (“system”) that re-appears in later lines and can be predicted according to discourse knowledge, No.5 tests preposition collocation, and so on. In brief, the twenty empties in the two passages cover a wide range of knowledge ---- vocabulary, discourse, logical, collocation, etc. In this sense we can say cloze has its validity as an overall proficiency test. 3.2 S-cloze vs. M-C cloze From the diagram we can see that students get higher marks in M-C cloze than in standard cloze. It seems to suggest that the latter is more difficult to handle. In reviewing the M-C cloze tests, several conclusions can be drawn: The most obvious advantage of M-C cloze tests, of course, lies in the economy in scoring, which needs no further explanations. M-C cloze tests are creditable also in the sense that although optional items can be clues, they can also be confusing distracters and testees have to rule out distracters before making up their own choices. Some “correct” but not the “best” items are a major source of distracters. For instance, only two out of the eight examinees get the right answer to the last blank of passage 2: At first sight item C (“periods”) seems OK, both semantically and grammatically. However, although correct, it is not the best or the most suitable: In consideration of the sentence subject “buses and trains”, “intervals” is the best word. New words may also become distracters. Still in passage 2, words like “sympathetically”, “departing” might be new for freshmen and thus become obstacles in comprehension. Of course, M-C cloze tests are in no way panacea. Its greatest drawback is that this technique tests only receptive skills rather than productive ones and thus performance on a M-C cloze test may give a quite inaccurate picture of candidates’ real ability. The person who can identify the correct items may not able to produce or use the correct forms when speaking or writing. Another problem is that guessing may have a considerate but unknowable effect on test scores. In the above experiment, 13 out of the 18 testees admit at least one answer comes out by guessing. Consequently, the scoring, although economical, has been weakened in validity since it does not make much difference between guessing or not. In addition to all this, the simple form of M-C cloze may facilitate cheating in tests. On the other hand, so far as the standard cloze tests are concerned, both advantages and disadvantages are summed up here as well. The primary strength lies in its effectiveness in measuring one’s ability to use language. Without items to give any clues, testees cannot come up with a right answer unless he has a good understanding of its usage. It is encouraging that among eight testees, three fill in the correct word “range” in the first blank of passage 2 (S cloze), an indicator that they can not only identify the word, but also freely use it. Apart from this, S cloze tests help to build up in one’s mind a notion of discourse unity: He has