"I am familiar with 300 Tang poems, and I will steal them even if I can't recite them." Through reading, you will have a good sense of language, which is very helpful for cloze. Can also have a perceptual knowledge of grammar; Hearing your own reading aloud is equivalent to doing listening exercises.
If you recite, many sentences are written in specific circumstances, which is of little help to study and exams.
In addition, don't put too much pressure on yourself, haste makes waste, and I wish you academic progress!