Practical grammar

Exercise 21.
A Narrow Escape the early evening air was cool and mild as Ed Wilson walked along the almost deserted beach. He wanted to be completely alone, to think about his problems. Since he had lost his job, his life seemed to be full of problems. Walking to the far end of the beach, ted was so deep in thought that he didn't notice the dark clouds which had gathered overhead. When the first heavy drops of rain began to fall, he looked up in surprise and hurried back towards his car. The soft, dry sand of the beach slowed him down, so he started running from the hard sand at the water's edge. Before he had gone 50 meters earth, he suddenly felt himself sinking into the sand. Within seconds he had sunk in up to his waist. He realized to his horror that he had stepped into quicksand. When he tried to move, the sand pulled him deeper and the tide was coming in. The water soon covered his chest and continued to riot. He shouted desperately help. I'd go to drown. Steve McDonald was looking for shells. At the other end of the water was up to Ted's chin, and he was in. Steve grabbed his arms, pulled him out of the quicksand, and Ted was so relieved to escape they couldn't say a word. He shook Steve's hand again and again in silent thanks. After what had happened, Ted realized that losing a job wasn't the worst thing that could happen to someone. He was glad to be alive and felt sure that everything would be all right in the end.
Exercise 25.
Trapped in the Snow Bob and Ian climbed higher and higher in the bright sunshine of the late morning. It was a steep and dangerous mountain, covered in snow and ice. Even though they were experienced climbers, they were getting tired. So they decided to stop and rest inside a small cave. They took off their packs and got ready to make some instant soup. Ian was just about to light their small stove when they heard a rumbling noise. Suddenly, snow and ice started falling outside. Within minutes, the snow had completely blocked the entrance. They were trapped, freezing cold and extremely scared. Bob radioed for help. Emergency. Southeast ridge. Altitude 2000 meters. He shouted into the microphone. Okay, we're on our way. Came the crackled reply. 3 hours later, they heard muffled voices which slowly became louder. It was their rescuers. Altogether, it took 6 hours to dig Ian and Bob out of the cave. The rescue team explained that there had been a small avalanche. Once they were safely out of the cave, a helicopter took the frightened pair to the rescue center. They were still shivering when one of their rescuers asked will you give up climbing mountains now? Although it had been the scariest moment of their lives, they both shook their heads. Ian said climbing will always be the most important thing in our lives. We just won't go in any more caves.