Directions: After reading the passages below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with given words, fill in each blank with the proper form of the word given; for the other blanks, use one word for each blank that best fits the context.
My Life on an Island
We live on the island of Hale. It’s about four kilometers long and two kilometers wide at its broadest point, and it’s joined to the mainland by a causeway 【小题1】 (call) Stand—a narrow road built across the mouth of the river 【小题2】 separates us from the rest of the country. Most of the time you wouldn’t know we’re on an island because the river mouth between us and the mainland is just a vast stretch of tall grasses and brown mud. But when there’s a high tide and the water rises a half meter or so above the road and nothing can pass 【小题3】 the tide goes out again a few hours later, then you know it’s an island.
We were on our way back 【小题4】 the mainland. My old brother, Dominic, had just finished his first year at university in a town 150 km away. Dominic’s train was due in at five and he’d asked for a lift back from the station. Now, Dad normally hates being disturbed when he 【小题5】 (write) (which is just about all the time), and he also hates having to go anywhere, but despite the typical sighs and moans –why can’t he get a taxi? What’s wrong with the bus? — I could tell by the flash in the eyes that he was really looking forward to 【小题6】 (see) Dominic.
So, anyway, Dad and I had driven to the mainland and picked up Dominic from the station. He had been talking non-stop from the moment he’d got in the car. University this, university that, writers, books, parties, people, money…I didn’t like the way he spoke and waved his hands around 【小题7】 he was some kind of scholar or something. It was embarrassing. It made me feel uncomfortable—that kind of discomfort you feel when someone you like, someone close to you, suddenly starts acting like a complete idiot. And I didn’t like the way he was ignoring me, either. For all the attention I was getting I 【小题8】 as well not have been there. I felt a stranger in my own car.
We were about halfway across when I saw a boy. My first thought was how odd it was 【小题9】 (see) someone walking on the Stand. You don’t often see people walking around here. As we drew 【小题10】 (close), he became clearer. He was actually a young man rather than a boy. It’s hard to explain…
