1. The other ......... in this anecdote is a young woman called Sally Fairweather.

feature

part

character

principal

2. She too lives in this ......... and remote village where Andrew has his cottage.

minor

tiny

unimportant

wretched

3. Now Sally is an entirely different kettle of fish. Her philosophy runs as follows: "Worrying never gets you anywhere and life is too short to ......... time imagining the worst."

pass

spend

expend

waste

4. In a word she is the complete ......... in temperament of Andrew. Here comes another cliche: opposites attract.

opposite

opponent

opposed

opposition

5. But you must remember that two years ago the two main characters hadn't met, which was surprising when you consider the close ......... of Andrew's cottage and Sally's.

approximation

proximity

standing

placing

6. If you take the first left after the post office, you come to Sally's place and if you take the second ......... to the right after that you come to the cottage where Andrew lives.

turn

turn up

turn in

turning

7. The next participant in this village drama is the weather, which ......... a very significant part in English life.

holds

manages

plays

controls

8. It was late April and the sun had disappeared behind dark heavy rain clouds but Andrew had already set ......... for the local pub.

up

off

to

by

9. Naturally he had his umbrella with him and a heavy coat ......... that aphorism his mother always used: "Never cast a clout (remove an article of clothing) before May is out."

pursuing

chasing

running after

following

10. Fortunately he made it to the pub before the storm ..........

broke

fell

dropped

collapsed

11. The moment he crossed the doorstep, an old school friend comes up to Andrew, ......... to buy him a drink and tells him not to look so worried.

begs

requests

asks

offers

12. Andrew showed him the headlines: "Petrol prices rise again" — "But you haven't got a car" said his friend — "I know" retorted Andrew — "still it means everything ......... will

too

else

other

also

13. Everyone in the pub looks ......... depressed at this remark and begins to think of all the price increases that will follow.

ideally

conveniently

suitably

easily

14. The ......... is palpable. Then suddenly the door bursts open and in walks our heroine, Sally looking like a drowned rat.

boom

bloom

room

gloom

15. Most people in the pub think to themselves: "What a pretty girl" Andrew sees her as someone who is ......... and needs help.

drenched

drowned

draped

downed

16. He walks over to her and asks if she is ......... right.

everything

some

all

total

17. For probably the first time in his life Andrew actually ......... his worry from himself to someone else.

preferred

transferred

offered

differed

18. And he mixes her a ......... drink to protect her from a possible cold.

unusual

speciality

specialised

special

19. The conversation went as follows: "I hear you live in this village, too" — "How do you .........?" asked Andrew.

discover

find

know

realise

20. But Sally changed the subject. "This drink tastes delicious. How did you make it?" — "I put a drop of ginger ale and a piece of lemon in the alcohol and then ......... thoroughly."

stir

beat

mash

fork