Look and the list of verbs, then fill in the blanks with Past Simple.

be, begin, become, stop, try, can, crash, fall, see, tell, rescue, take, give, make, arrive, thank



Two men 1) were at sea in a small motor boat. It 2)…....…to rain and the sea 3) very rough. Suddenly the engine 4)……………….. The men 5) but they 6)……………….(not) start it again. Then a huge wave 7)………..against the boat and two men 8)……………..into the cold sea. Luckily there 9)………..a big ship nearby and the captain 10)……………..the two men. He immediately 11) ……….some of his crew to get a lifeboat and save the men. The crew in the lifeboat 12)………the two men and 13)…………..them onto their ship. One of the crew 14)………….the men blankets and 15) ………… them hot drinks. When they 16) ……………at the harbour the two men 17) …………..the captain of the ship and his crew for saving their lives.

1 were, 2 began, 3 became, 4 stopped, 5 tried, 6 could, 7 crashed, 8 fell, 9 was, 10 saw, 11 told, 12 rescued, 13 took, 14 gave, 15 made, 16 arrived, 17 thanked