Open cloze
For questions 1-8, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap.
The first time I saw the Milky Way with my own eyes, I was thirty-four years old. Having grown up in a city where the night sky glowed orange, I had simply never been anywhere dark 1. to see it. Light pollution is so much a part of modern life that most of us barely notice it, 2. less think of it as a problem. Yet astronomers estimate that most people in Europe now live under skies too bright for the Milky Way to be visible at 3.. The good news is that, unlike many environmental problems, this one could be solved almost overnight. A lamp, after all, leaves no trace once it has been switched off. A growing number of towns and villages have taken steps to reduce glare, fitting streetlamps with shields that direct light downwards 4. than allowing it to spill into the sky. In places 5. such measures have been introduced, residents are often surprised by how little they miss the extra brightness. Some communities have gone 6. far as to apply for official recognition as 'dark sky' areas, hoping to attract visitors who will travel a long way for a clear view of the stars. Having 7. so myself, I can understand why. There is something humbling about standing beneath that great river of light, 8. is perhaps why so many people find the experience hard to put into words.