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--- lesson 39 Nothing to worry about |
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--- Listen to the tape then answer the question below. |
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--- What was the difference between Bruce's behaviour and that of other people? |
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The rough road across the plain soon became so bad that we tried to get Bruce to drive back to the village we had come from. |
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Even though the road was littered with boulders and pitted with holes, Bruce was not in the least perturbed. |
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Glancing at his map, he informed us that the next village was a mere twenty miles away. |
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It was not that Bruce always underestimated difficulties. |
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He simply had no sense of danger at all. |
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No matter what the conditions were, he believed that a car should be driven as fast as it could possibly go. |
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As we bumped over the dusty track, we swerved to avoid large boulders. |
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The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. |
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We felt sure that sooner or later a stone would rip a hole in our petrol tank or damage the engine. |
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Because of this, we kept looking back, wondering if we were leaving a trail of oil and petrol behind us. |
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What a relief it was when the boulders suddenly disappeared,giving way to a stretch of plain where the only obstacles were clumps of bushes. |
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But there was worse to come. |
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Just ahead of us there was a huge fissure. |
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In response to renewed pleadings, Bruce stopped. |
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Though we all got out to examine the fissure, he remained in the car. |
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We informed him that the fissure extended for fifty yards and was tow feet wide and four feet deep. |
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Even this had no effect. |
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Bruce went into a low gear and drove at a terrifying speed, keeping the front wheels astride the crack as he followed its zigzag course. |
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Before we had time to worry about what might happen, we were back on the plain again. |
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Bruce consulted the map once more and told us that the village was now only fifteen miles away. |
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Our next obstacle was a shallow pool of water about half a mile across. |
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Bruce charged at it, but in the middle, the car came to a grinding half. |
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A yellow light on the dashboard flashed angrily and Bruce cheerfully announced that there was no oil in the engine! |