Final answer:
The correct verb to complete the sentence 'He began to _____ down to earth after jumping out of the plane.' is 'plummet', which describes rapid and uncontrolled downward movement through the air.
Step-by-step explanation:
The gap in the sentence provided by the student should be filled with a verb that describes the action of moving downward rapidly, especially through the air. Based on the context of someone jumping out of a plane and the literary excerpts provided, the appropriate verb to use is 'plummet'. This word conveys the sense of speeding downwards with great force, implying a certain lack of control, often associated with a rapid descent in skydiving before the parachute is deployed. The action of plummeting is vivid and intense, which matches the depictions in the literary references, where characters are portrayed as falling swiftly through space or towards the earth.
For example, in the LibreTexts excerpt, a skydiver plans to open his parachute at 1000 ft but unfortunately lost consciousness, resulting in him plummeting to the ground and crashing into a snow-covered ravine. Similar experiences of rapid and uncontrolled descents are described in the other passages, illustrating various scenarios where characters fall quickly and often dangerously.