Close-up p 10. It’s summer road (1)_________ time again in Majorca. Extra Cloze

By annanicholas

As I drove into Soller’s main car park there came the (2)__________ of insistent tooting from a sleek black hire (3)________ ahead of me. The driver was gesticulating wildly from the window and shouting abusively at a local Majorcan woman calmly munching (4)_________ a half eaten ice-cream in the driver’s seat of her vehicle. Unflustered (5)_________ the loud utterances being hurled (6)__________ her, she nonchalantly waggled her parking (7)___________ in the man’s direction presumably as indication that she still had time on her side to (8)_________ put and finish her snack.

Of course there’s nothing more maddening than seeing a driver return to an occupied space – especially on a busy road – and then take his or her time about driving away. While one waits for the slot (9)__________ become free, traffic piles (10)_________ behind as the occupants of the parked car languidly (11)__________ themselves in and slowly click seat (12)_________ in place. Tantalisingly the (13)_________ will take an age to insert the car key while (14)_________ fumes silently, shrugging apologies through the (15)___________ view mirror at those queuing behind. Eventually the car leaves (16)_________ red-faced, one slides into the vacated spot.
Road rage is a two way street, though. Locals and expats boil (17)_______ when happy and carefree tourists drive along mountain roads in first or second gear, (18)___________ plumb in the middle of the road to take photos of passing sheep, sea vistas or sun kissed mountains. And surely the (19)________ bummer is being caught (20)____________ a troupe of tardy pedallers going (21)___________ on a precarious and narrow road. I often see even holidaymakers frothing at the (22)_________ and slamming their hands on the (23)___________ when they are forced to sit behind cyclists – five (24)_____________ in some cases – on a local hilly route.
If I’m truthful I too am not beyond a bit of mild road rage in the heat sometimes but mine is usually unleashed at the parking (25)____________ when a queue of tourists ahead of me spend minutes gawping (26)_________ the machine and fumbling (27)__________ change only to discover that they don’t have enough coins.  They then have the audacity (28)__________ turn to one, usually in another language, asking for change and rather than stand around any longer, I weakly find myself tipping the necessary money into their outstretched (29)____________.
But back to the ice-cream eating Majorcan lady. Much as the tourist was understandably infuriated by her (30)__________ to budge, she did have the right to finish her snack, whether he liked it or not. Majorcans are laid-(31)___________ especially during the hot summer months and don’t like to be harried (32)________ hurried. It’s their island and much as they welcome tourists they do expect to be treated with respect. After (33)__________ there are better ways to make friends and influence people than by starting an ice cream war.

KEY
(1) rage
road rage: a situation in which a driver becomes extremely angry or violent with the driver of another car because of the way they are driving



(2) sound

toot: when a car horn toots or you toot it, it makes a short high sound. E.g. the sound of horns tooting.

(3) car

sleek: having an elegant smooth shape. Sp. elegante. E.g. a sleek yacht. The sleek lines of the new car.

(4) on/at

munch: to eat something steadily and often noisily, especially something crisp. Chomp. E.g. munch on/at She munched on an apple.  I munched on a chocolate biscuit as I waited.
He munched at an apple. Munch something He sat in a chair munching his toast. Karen munched an apple.

(5) by

Unflustered: Not agitated; calm and self-controlled. E.g. she seemed surprisingly unflustered by the delay.

fluster somebody to make somebody nervous and/or confused, especially by giving them a lot to do or by making them hurry. E.g. Don't fluster me or I'll never be ready. He was flustered by all the attention.

flustered: agitated or confused. E.g. he arrived late, looking hot and flustered.

(6) at

hurl: hurl abuse, accusations, insults, etc. (at somebody) to shout insults, etc. at somebody. E.g. Rival fans hurled abuse at each other.

(7) ticket

nonchalantly: / ˈnɒnʃələntli / behaving in a calm and relaxed way; giving the impression that you are not feeling any anxiety. E.g. He was leaning nonchalantly against the wall. ‘I already know,’ she replied nonchalantly.

waggle (something): (informal) to make something move with short movements from side to side or up and down; to move in this way. E.g. Can you waggle your ears? His arm waggled. Mary waggled a glass at them.

(8)  stay

stay put

(informal) if somebody/something stays put, they continue to be in the place where they are or where they have been put. E.g. He chose to stay put while the rest of us toured the area.

stay the course

to continue doing something until it has finished or been completed, even though it is difficult. E.g. Very few of the trainees have stayed the course.

stay your hand

(old-fashioned or literary) to stop yourself from doing something; to prevent you from doing something. E.g. his feelings made him stay his hand before announcing his decision.

stay the night

(especially British English) to sleep at somebody's house for one night. E.g. You can always stay the night at our house.

stay still vs stay put:

Stay still = Don't move at all. [But doesn't necessarily mean standing. The person could be sitting.]
Stay put = Don't move (very far) away from that spot. But you may move a little.

(9) to

slot:  a long narrow opening, into which you put or fit something. E.g. to put some coins in the slot.

(10) up 

pile up: to become larger in quantity or amount. Accumulate. E.g. Work always piles up at the end of the year. Problems were beginning to pile up.

(11) settle

settle: to make yourself or somebody else comfortable in a new position. E.g. settle (back) (+ adverb/ preposition) Ellie settled back in her seat. Settle somebody/yourself (+ adverb/ preposition) He settled himself comfortably in his usual chair. I settled her on the sofa and put a blanket over her.   

 

languidly: /ˈlæŋɡwɪdli / moving slowly in an elegant manner, not needing energy or effort. E.g. He moved languidly across the room.

(12) belts

(13) driver 

Tantalisingly: in a way that torments. Sp. causando tormento

tantalize somebody/something to make a person or an animal want something that they cannot have or do. E.g. The tantalizing aroma of fresh coffee wafted towards them. A tantalizing glimpse of the future.

(14) one

fumes: to be very angry about something. E.g. fume (at/over/about somebody/something) She sat in the car, silently fuming at the traffic jam. Fume (with something) He was fuming with indignation. + speech ‘This is intolerable!’ she fumed.

(15) rear

rear view mirror: a mirror in which a driver can see the traffic behind.

 

shrug: to raise your shoulders and then drop them to show that you do not know or care about something. E.g. Sam shrugged and said nothing. Shrug something ‘I don't know,’ Anna replied, shrugging her shoulders.

(16) and

red-faced: with a red face, especially because you are embarrassed or angry.

(17) over

boil over: to become very angry. E.g. Emotions boiled over inside me, and I burst out crying. It was too much for her to take and her anger boiled over.

(18) stopping

plumb: / plʌm/ exactly, completely. E.g. My office is plumb in the middle of town. He's plumb crazy.

(19) real

a bummer: something that is annoying or disappointing. A disappointing or unpleasant situation. E.g. It's a real bummer that she can't come. Getting stranded at the airport was a real bummer.

(20) behind

troupe: / truːp / a group of actors, singers, etc. who work together. E.g. A troupe of dancers.

tardy: slow to act, move or happen; late in happening or arriving. E.g. The law is often tardy in reacting to changing attitudes. People who are tardy in paying their bills. (North American English) to be tardy for school.

pedaller: One who rides a pedal-driven vehicle, such as a bicycle. 

(21) uphill

uphill: towards the top of a hill or slope. E.g. We cycled uphill for over an hour.

(22) mouth 

froth: to produce a lot of saliva (= / səˈlaɪvə/ liquid in your mouth). E.g. The dog was frothing at the mouth. (Figurative) He frothed at the mouth (= was very angry) when I asked for more money.

(23) horn

horn: a device in a vehicle for making a loud sound as a warning or signal. E.g. to honk/ hoot your car horn. To sound/ toot your horn.

  

slam something + adverb/preposition: to put, push or throw something into a particular place or position with a lot of force. E.g. She slammed down the phone angrily. He slammed on the brakes (= stopped the car very suddenly).

(24) abreast

abreast: next to somebody/something and facing the same way. E.g. cycling two abreast.

Idiom: keep abreast of something to make sure that you know all the most recent facts about a subject. E.g. It is almost impossible to keep abreast of all the latest developments in computing.

 

 

(25) meter

parking meter: a machine beside the road that you put money into when you park your car next to it. 

unleash something (on/upon somebody/something): to suddenly let a strong force, emotion, etc. be felt or have an effect. E.g. The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press.



(26) at 

gawp (at somebody/something): /ɡɔːp/ to stare at somebody/something in a rude or stupid way. E.g. what are you gawping at?

(27) for

fumble (at/with/in something) (for something) to use your hands in an awkward way when you are doing something or looking for something. Sp. hacer algo con torpeza, buscar algo a tientas. E.g. She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. He fumbled with the buttons on his shirt.

(28) to

audacity: / ɔːˈdæsəti/ brave but rude or shocking behaviour. Sp. audacia, osadía. E.g. He had the audacity to say I was too fat.The sheer audacity of the plan amazed everyone.

(29) hands

weakly: in a weak way. E.g. She smiled weakly at them. ‘I'm not sure about it,’ he said weakly. The patient tried to sit up but fell back weakly onto his pillows.

tip: to move so that one end or side is higher than the other; to move something into this position. Lean, pour, push at an angle. Tilt. Sp. volcar. E.g. Sarah tipped the washing-up water down the sink.

outstretched: stretched or spread out as far as possible. E.g. He ran towards her with arms outstretched/ with outstretched arms. She took her father's outstretched hand.

(30) refusal

budge: to change your opinion about something; to make somebody change their opinion. Sp. ceder. not budge: no dar el brazo a torcer. E.g. He won't budge an inch on the issue. Budge somebody He was not to be budged on the issue.

(31) back

laid-back: calm and relaxed; seeming not to worry about anything.

(32) or 

harried: Feeling strained as a result of having demands persistently made on one; harassed. Sp. agobiado.E.g. harried reporters are frequently forced to invent what they cannot find out.

harry somebody to annoy or upset somebody by continuously asking them questions or for something. Sp. agobiar. E.g. She has been harried by the press all week.

(33) all