Vocabulary exercise:

Read this text, then Choose the one word or phrase that best completes the sentence.

When Charles and Bruce entered the African Car Rally, 2,000 miles of hard driving and obstacles, they did not underestimate what they had taken on. Most of the route was along  (1)  roads covered with small stones, and pitted with holes while large boulders often marked corners. As they raced along, stones kept hammering  (2)  on the underside of the car and they were very much afraid that one would puncture the petrol tank.

    It was a rough ride and they were always being  (3)  up and down in their seats by the constant movement and were in danger of knocking their heads on the roof. They knew too that sooner or later they would almost certainly have a problem with a wild animal. After all, this was Africa, and they were surrounded by them.

    One day they stopped to rest and to  (4)  the map, not because they were lost, but because they wanted to know what the large  (5)  of water was that they could see in the distance to their right. Suddenly they saw a movement behind a clump of bushes. Then, before they had time to move, an animal charged at them. It was a huge rhinoceros. Luckily, it did not reach them because for some strange reason, when it was about 20 meters away, it  (6)  to one side and went on running in a different direction, finally coming to a halt a few hundred meters away.

    To this day they have no idea why the rhinoceros turned away from them and their car at the last minute. Perhaps it was the color of the car, or perhaps it just took pity on them! Who knows?

1. (a) cruel          (b) rough      (c) hard       (d) tough

2. (a) ominously  (b) angrily     (c) fully       (d) wildly

3. (a) leapt          (b) bumped  (c) moved    (d) jumped

4. (a) look           (b) watch      (c) consult   (d) glance

5. (a) stretch       (b) trail         (c) lot          (d) sea

6. (a) ground      (b) swerved  (c) drove     (d) steered新概念英语1

Answer: 1. rough 2. ominously 3. bumped
4. consult 5. stretch 6. swerved