IV. Choose the best word to complete the passage below.

___(1)___ six o’clock yesterday evening, the River Thames burst its banks and flooded a wide area. By nine o‘clock the floods had reached the town of Dorchester. The main street was soon ___(2)___ three feet of water. Fire engines arrived quickly to pump away the water, but heavy rain made their job very ___(3)___.
Mrs. Rose Willow, a ___(4)___ nearly 80 years old, and living alone in her cottage, was trapped upstairs ___(5)___ three hours. Finally, firemen were able to rescue her with ladders and a small ___(6)___ “My cat, Tibbles, stayed with me all the time”, said Mrs. Willow. “She ___(7)___ me a lot. She sat with me so I didn‘t feel afraid”.
The rain has finally stopped, the river level is falling and the weather forecast is good, ___(8)___ the floods have done a great deal of damage. “Luckily, nobody was ___(9)___ or injured”, Chief Fire Office Hawkins ___(10)___ reporters, “but it will take a long time to clear up the mess”.