Question

gii 107b

ii the following passage retells and explains what has happened in the story so far. choose the most appropriate words from the choices below to complete the passage.
-5 each

dahl left fouka with ample time to reach his destination before nightfall, but when he arrived at the place where 80 squadron should have been, there was nothing but 1) ____________________ below him.

dusk was falling and dahl knew that he had to land his aeroplane somehow because he didnt have 2) __________________ to return to fouka. choosing the flattest-looking piece of land he could, he brought his plane down and prayed for luck. unfortunately, his aeroplane crash-landed, 3) ________________ his skull and blinding him completely for days. to the surprise of those looking on, however, he survived, and having pulled himself from the 4) ________________, was still alive when british soldiers 5) __________________ to look over the crash site.

it was later revealed that 80 squadron had never been in that spot, which was actually 6) ____________________, a strip of land between the british and italian front lines.

no-mans-land / fracturing / rugged desert / ventured out / enough fuel / burning wreckage

Explanation:

The passage is a summary of Roald Dahl's real-life plane crash during World War II, as described in his autobiographical book Going Solo. The blanks are filled based on contextual clues and historical accuracy:

1. "rugged desert" describes the empty, harsh landscape below him where the squadron was supposed to be.
2. "enough fuel" explains why he could not fly back to his starting point at Fouka.
3. "fracturing" grammatically fits as a participle describing the physical damage to his skull during the crash.
4. "burning wreckage" is the dangerous environment from which he had to pull himself after the crash.
5. "ventured out" describes the action of the British soldiers coming to investigate the crash site.
6. "no-man's-land" is the standard historical term for an unoccupied strip of land between opposing front lines.

Answer:

1. rugged desert
2. enough fuel
3. fracturing
4. burning wreckage
5. ventured out
6. no-man's-land