Question

(1) the end of the cylinder was being screwed out from within. (2) nearly two feet of shining screw projected. (3) somebody blundered against me, and i narrowly missed being pitched on to the top of the screw. (4) i turned, and as i did so the screw must have come out, for the lid of the cylinder fell upon the gravel with a ringing concussion. (5) i stuck my elbow into the person behind me, and turned my head towards the thing again. (6) for a moment that circular cavity seemed perfectly black. (7) i had the sunset in my eyes.
(8) i think everyone expected to see a man emerge - possibly something a little unlike us terrestrial men, but in all essentials a man. (9) i know i did.

(1)-(4) as the end of the cylinder was being screwed out from within, i narrowly missed being pitched on top of the nearly two feet of screw that now projected and then, turning away, i heard the 3)______________________ fall upon the gravel. (5)-(7) i turned back 4)______________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________. (8)-(9) i think everyone, including me, expected to see a man emerge.

Explanation:

The task requires filling in the blanks to summarize the provided text passage.

For blank 3), sentence (4) of the original text states, "...the lid of the cylinder fell upon the gravel with a ringing concussion." Therefore, "lid of the cylinder" is the correct fit.

For blank 4), sentences (5) to (7) describe the narrator elbowing the person behind them, turning back toward the "Thing" (the cylinder), seeing only a black circular cavity, and being blinded by the sunset. The summary condenses this sequence into: "I turned back to look at the circular cavity, but could not see anything because it was dark and the sun was in my eyes."

Answer:

1. lid of the cylinder
2. to look at the circular cavity, but could not see anything because it was dark and the sun was in my eyes.