Vocabulary & Grammar Building

Practice essential rescue terms and key prepositional phrases before writing your essay.

💡 Grammar Focus: Fixed Prepositional Phrases

Notice how these exact prepositional phrases change the meaning of time, intention, and control:

Part (a): Word Forms

Fill in the blank with the correct form of the word in brackets.

1. The rescue team managed to pull the sole ____ out of the freezing water. (survive)

2. Careful ____ before the climb helped the hikers a lot. (prepare)

3. Two hikers remained ____ inside the gorge until sunrise. (trap)

4. It was a ____ night, so the helicopter stayed on the ground. (fog)

5. The ____ lowered a rope to the climber. (rescue)

Part (b): Unit Word Collocations

Select the correct Unit word to complete each common collocation.

1. Heavy ___ blinded the pilot as the search crew scanned the mountain peak.

2. The stranded sailors fired a bright red distress ___ into the night sky.

3. Rescuers carefully secured the injured climber onto a medical ___ before lowering him down.

4. The emergency location ___ transmitted satellite coordinates directly to search control.

5. The helicopter hovered over the steep mountain ___ to drop a rescue rope.

Part (c): Common Essay Phrases

Complete each sentence using one phrase from the word bank. Use each phrase exactly once.

1. ____, governments have a moral duty to protect citizens in danger.

2. Rescue operations in extreme weather require specialized equipment. ____, highly trained personnel must be available at all times.

3. Some people believe travelers should pay for emergency assistance. ____, others argue that public safety should be completely free.

4. High altitude missions can be exceptionally expensive. ____, the equipment and the fuel for one long flight cost a lot of money.

5. Careless tourists frequently ignore severe storm warnings. ____, search teams are forced to risk their lives unnecessarily.

Part (d): Sentence Paraphrasing

Complete the rephrased sentence using the key phrase in brackets so that it retains the original meaning.

Original:

"The government should pay for all rescue operations."

Rewrite [funded by]: Public safety operations should be ____.

Original:

"People who take dangerous risks ought to cover their own rescue costs."

Rewrite [responsible for]: Individuals who take extreme risks should be ____.

Original:

"Bad weather often delays emergency helicopters."

Rewrite [held up]: Emergency helicopters are often ____.

Part (e): Grammar Quick Check

Choose the prepositional phrase that best fits the sentence context.

1. The rescue team arrived just ___ to pull the swimmer from the dangerous current before he went under.

2. The senior officer was left ___ communications during the night search.

3. After hours of intense effort through thick fog, the dangerous situation was finally brought ___.

Essay Writing Task

Write your full Task 2 essay following the structured plan and learner guidelines below.

Learner Requirements:

• Write at least 250 words.
• Include at least 5 Unit vocabulary words (stretcher, flare, beacon, lifeboat, survivor, coastguard, helicopter, gorge, fog, trapped).
• Include at least 3 target prepositional phrases (on time vs in time, at the end vs in the end, by accident vs on purpose, in charge of, out of reach, under control).

4-Paragraph Plan Starters

Organize your writing using these essential paragraph openings:

Self-Check Checklist