Catcher in the Rye - Cloze Drill - ESL worksheet by dennypackard - Free Printable

Let’s go through this step by step.

This is a “Cloze Drill” — that means some words are missing from a paragraph, and you need to fill in the blanks with words that make sense grammatically and fit the story. You don’t have to guess the *exact* word the author used — just any word that fits well in the sentence.

We’re working with a passage from *The Catcher in the Rye*, page 22. The narrator (Holden) is describing walking down Broadway on a Sunday afternoon. He’s annoyed by how crowded it is, and he’s thinking about going to see his little sister Phoebe later.

Let’s fill in each blank one at a time, using context clues and grammar.

---

Original text with blanks:

Broadway was ________ and messy. It was Sunday, and ________
about twelve o’clock, but ________ was mobbed anyway. Everybody
________ on their way to ________ movies — the Paramount or
________ Astor or the Strand ________ the Capital or one
those crazy places. Everybody ________ all dressed up, because
was Sunday, and that ________ it worse. But the ________ part was that
you ________ tell they all wanted ________ go to the movies.
________ couldn’t stand looking at ________. I can understand
somebody ________ to the movies because ________ nothing else to do,
________ when somebody really wants ________ go, and even walks
________, so as to get ________ quicker, then it depressed hell
________ of me. Especially if I ________ millions of people standing
________ one of those long, ________ lines, all the way
the block, waiting with ________ terrific patience for seats ________ all
Boy, I couldn’t ________ off that goddam Broadway ________ enough.
I was lucky. The ________ record store I went into ________ a copy of
“Little Shirley Beans.” ________ charged me five bucks ________ it,
because it was so ________ to get, but I didn’t ________. Boy, it made
me so ________ all of a sudden. I ________ hardly wait to get
________ the park to see ________ old Phoebe was around
________ that I could give ________ to her.

---

Now let’s fill them in logically:

1. Broadway was _crowded_ and messy. → Makes sense — busy street.
2. It was Sunday, and _it was_ about twelve o’clock... → Standard phrasing.
3. but _it_ was mobbed anyway. → “It” refers to Broadway.
4. Everybody _was_ on their way... → Past tense verb.
5. to _see_ movies → Common phrase: “go to see movies.”
6. the Paramount or _the_ Astor... → Article before proper noun.
7. or the Strand _or_ the Capital... → Connecting options.
8. Everybody _was_ all dressed up... → Again, past tense.
9. and that _made_ it worse. → “Made” = caused it to be worse.
10. But the _worst_ part was that... → Superlative — worst thing.
11. you _could_ tell they all wanted... → Ability to perceive.
12. wanted _to_ go to the movies. → Infinitive form.
13. _I_ couldn’t stand looking at _them_. → Narrator speaking; “them” = the people.
14. somebody _going_ to the movies... → Gerund after “somebody”.
15. because _there’s_ nothing else to do, → Casual speech contraction.
16. _but_ when somebody really wants... → Contrast.
17. wants _to_ go, → Infinitive again.
18. and even walks _fast_, → To get there quicker.
19. so as to get _there_ quicker, → Destination.
20. then it depressed hell _out_ of me. → Idiom: “depressed the hell out of me.”
21. Especially if I _saw_ millions of people... → Past tense verb.
22. standing _in_ one of those long, → Preposition for lines.
23. long, _waiting_ lines, → Describing the lines.
24. all the way _down_ the block, → Direction/extent.
25. waiting with _such_ terrific patience... → Emphasizing degree.
26. for seats _at_ all. → Fixed phrase: “at all” (used for emphasis).
27. I couldn’t _get_ off that goddam Broadway _fast_ enough. → Wanting to leave quickly.
28. The _first_ record store I went into... → First one he tried.
29. went into _had_ a copy... → Possession in past.
30. _They_ charged me five bucks... → Store staff = “they”.
31. five bucks _for_ it, → Price preposition.
32. because it was so _hard_ to get, → Rare item.
33. but I didn’t _care_. → Didn’t mind paying.
34. it made me so _happy_ all of a sudden. → Positive emotion.
35. I _could_ hardly wait to get... → Could barely wait.
36. get _to_ the park... → Preposition for destination.
37. to see _if_ old Phoebe was around → Checking whether she’s there.
38. _so_ that I could give... → Purpose clause.
39. give _it_ to her. → Refers to the record.

---

✔ All blanks filled with logical, grammatically correct words that match Holden’s voice and the scene.

Final Answer:
crowded, it was, it, was, see, the, or, was, made, worst, could, to, I, them, going, there’s, but, to, fast, there, out, saw, in, waiting, down, such, at, get, fast, first, had, They, for, hard, care, happy, could, to, if, so, it