John was not surprised to see that nobody had met him at the station. The weather __________(BE) awful...

John was not surprised to see that nobody had met him at the station. The weather was awful — it was windy and it was raining hard. His feet got wet in seconds. His old jacket could not defend him from the rain or the wind. “If I don't find a shelter and a warm drink, I will get a cold, and no one will benefit from my coming here,” John said to himself and went back inside the railway station. It was the first time the seventeen-year-old John had ever left his home village where he lived with his mother and two sisters. A letter from his uncle was a surprise but not a pleasant one. His uncle had written that his health was getting worse and that he needed someone to help him in his grocery shop. John's mother decided that he would go to the town to work in the shop. He was far from feeling delighted about it but he was the oldest child in the family and it was his duty to help his mother and to support his sisters.

John was not surprised to see that nobody had met him at the station. The weather was (BE) awful — it was windy and it was raining hard. His feet (FOOT) got wet in seconds. His old jacket could not (NOT CAN) defend him from the rain or the wind. “If I don't find a shelter and a warm drink, I will get (GET) a cold, and no one will benefit from my coming here,” John said to himself (HE) and went back inside the railway station. It was the first (ONE) time the seventeen-year-old John had ever left his home village where he lived with his mother and two sisters. A letter from his uncle was a surprise but not a pleasant one. His uncle had written that his health was getting worse and that he needed (NEED) someone to help him in his grocery shop. John's mother decided that he should go (GO) to the town to work in the shop. He was far from feeling delighted about it but he was the oldest (OLD) child in the family and it was his duty to help his mother and to support his sisters.

Let's break down the answers:

1. was: The past tense of the verb "to be" is used here because the sentence describes a situation in the past.
2. feet: The plural of "foot" is "feet." Since John has two feet, the plural form is required.
3. could not: The past tense of "can" is "could," and in the negative form, it becomes "could not" or "couldn't."
4. will get: This is the future tense of the verb "to get," used here to indicate a future consequence of not finding shelter and a warm drink.
5. himself: This reflexive pronoun is used because John is talking to himself.
6. first: This ordinal number is used to indicate that it is the first time John has left his home village.
7. needed: The past tense of "need" is used because the uncle's requirement for help was mentioned in a letter written in the past.
8. should go: The modal verb "should" is used to indicate that John's mother decided he ought to go to help his uncle.
9. oldest: The superlative form of "old" is used because John is the oldest child in his family, indicating his seniority among the siblings.