He channeled every "linking word" in his arsenal. Furthermore, consequently, on the other hand. He made sure to include a complex conditional— If the government were to invest more in rural transport, the village would be more attractive —knowing it would earn him higher marks for grammatical range.
The heavy rain... Leo’s mind blanked. Prevented the flight from taking off? No, that was too many words. Prevented the flight from being on time? He gripped his pencil. He remembered his teacher, Mrs. Gable, shouting, "Check your prepositions, Leo!" Suddenly, it clicked: The heavy rain prevented the flight from taking off. He counted the words. Six. Perfect.
The fluorescent lights of the exam hall hummed with a low, taunting energy that seemed to vibrate through Leo’s very skull. Before him lay the "Reading and Use of English" paper—the first hurdle of the .