import re


def remove_punctuation(text, exceptions=None):
    """
    Return a string with punctuation removed.

    Parameters:
        text (str): The text to remove punctuation from.
        exceptions (list): List of symbols to keep in the given text.

    Return:
        str: The input text without the punctuation.
    """

    all_but = [
        r'\w',
        r'\s'
    ]

    if exceptions is not None:
        all_but.extend(exceptions)

    pattern = '[^{}]'.format(''.join(all_but))

    return re.sub(pattern, '', text)