The following text is adapted from an advertisement on The Guardians.
Read the following job advertisement and choose the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 1 to 6.
Are you ready to kick-start your career in finance while making a real difference in education? As an Apprentice Finance Assistant at Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST), you’ll play a key role
1.
the financial wellbeing of our schools – helping ensure that staff and pupils have the resources
2.
need to thrive.
This is more than just an apprenticeship – it’s a launchpad for your future. You’ll gain hands-on experience working within our friendly and inclusive central finance team, 3.
at Worsley Bridge Primary School. From day one, you’ll be involved in maintaining accurate and
4.
financial processes, supporting both the central Trust and our partner schools. Your attention to detail and commitment will help maintain a reliable financial system that lies behind the success of our
5.
community. You will be line managed and supported by our experienced Accounts Payable Manager,
6.
you receive the guidance and mentorship needed to grow.
Explanation
Correct Answer: in supporting
The phrase play a key role in doing something is a structure to describe someone’s contribution to an activity.
Why others don’t fit: By being supported and to be supported are passive and change the meaning. For support does not collocate correctly with play a role in this context.
Explanation
Correct Answer: they
We need a subject pronoun they to refer back to staff and pupils as the subject of the verb need.
Why others don’t fit: That and which are relative pronouns that would replace the object resources, but the sentence already implies the object; it lacks the subject they. Them is an object pronoun.
This is more than just an apprenticeship – it’s a launchpad for your future. You’ll gain hands-on experience working within our friendly and inclusive central finance team, 3.
Explanation
Correct Answer: based
The past participle based (short for which is based) is used to specify the physical location of the office or team.
Why others don’t fit: Focused, aimed, and directed refer to goals or targets rather than a physical working location.
Explanation
Correct Answer: efficient
In finance, efficient is used to describe processes that run smoothly without wasting time or resources.
Why others don’t fit: Effective means successful, but efficient is more commonly used for processes. Affective relates to emotions. Affecting is a participle meaning moving or touching.
Explanation
Correct Answer: educational
We need an adjective to modify the noun community. Educational describes a community related to schools and learning.
Why others don’t fit: Educating is a verb form. Education is a noun. Educator is a noun referring to a person (teacher).
Explanation
Correct Answer: ensuring
The present participle ensuring is used here to show the result or purpose of being supported by the manager.
Why others don’t fit: To ensure is possible but less natural for describing a continuous state of support. Ensured is past tense/passive. Be ensured is grammatically incorrect in this position.