Cloze: Read the passage and fill in each blank with one word. Choose the correct word in one of the following two ways: according to the context, or by using some given letter(s) of the word. “ One of the reasons I find this topic very (1) in______ is because my mom was a smoker when I was younger, ” says Lindson-Hawley, who (2) s_______ tobacco and health at the University of Oxford. By studying about 700 smokers, she found out that her mom quit the right way — by stopping (3) ab______ and completely. In her study, participants were (4) r_______assigned to two groups. One had to quit abruptly on a given day, going from about a pack a day to (5)______. The other cut down gradually over the course of two weeks. People in both groups used nicotine( 尼古丁 ) patches before they quit, in addition to a second form of nicotine replacement, like gum or spray. They also had talk (6) ther______ with a nurse before and after quit day. Six months out, more people who had quit abruptly had stuck with it — more than one-fifth of them, compared to about one-sh in the other group. Although these numbers appear low, it is much higher than if people try (7)______ support. And the quit rates were particularly convincing (8) gi_____ that before the study started, most of the people had said they ’ d rather cut down gradually before quitting. “ If you ’ re training for a marathon, you wouldn ’ t expect to turn up and just be able to run it. And I think people see that for smoking as well. They think, ‘ Well, if I gradually reduce, it ’ s like practice, ’” says Lindson-Hawley. But that wasn ’ t the case. Instead of giving people practice, the gradual reduction likely gave them cravings ( 痛 )and withdrawal symptoms before they even reached quit day, (9)____ could be why fewer people in that group actually made it to that point. “ (10) Re____ of your stated preference, if you ’ re ready to quit, quitting abruptly is more effective, ” says Dr. Gabriela Ferreira. “ When you can quote a specific number like a fifth of the patients were able to quit, that ’ s compelling. It gives them the encouragement, I think, to really go for it, ” Ferreira says. People (11)______ manage to quit the first time they try. But at least, she says, they can maximize the odds of success.