阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空，在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

A couple was walking on a path in the mountain 【小题1】 it cracked below their feet, leaving them stuck at the top of what remained. The man sat at the top of the steep slope (陡坡) and his wife lay on the rocky ground below, holding onto his leg to keep herself 【小题2】 falling down. By the time rescuers arrived on the scene，she 【小题3】 (hold) onto her husband for 45 minutes.